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Post by success19 on Feb 21, 2012 22:20:06 GMT -5
I don't know if anyone saw it but this house was full of cat feces. Everything was covered. The show really had to have spent a ton of money to get rid of it and clean it. I wish I knew how much. Nothing in the house could be saved from what I could see. They probably bought her all new furniture and such. I don't see how the bathroom fixtures and kitchen stuff could have been even saved. In addition they took the woman who owned the house for a make over of her own, nails and hair. It was a great episode to watch. When she came home they had completely redone the house for her. Not just a cleaning and getting rid of episode.
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Post by casper on Feb 21, 2012 22:32:27 GMT -5
Dorothy told me today that she got to shop for the new furnishings and they also had professional decorators come in, all after they had a decontamination team decontaminate, a cleaning crew clean and professional painters who stayed through the night painting. Not to forget the big trucks and all the men who took everything to the dump. Yes! That must have all cost a LOT. I wish that lady, her daughter and sister all the best.
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Post by fluffernut - now Jannie on Feb 22, 2012 9:05:00 GMT -5
I didn't see the show. But all of those shows, Hoarders, Clean House, etc. have "crews" of people come in to clean up, paint, decorate,etc. You never see a do-it-yourself one-person clean out. I'm waiting for that show to come on!
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Post by cricket on Feb 22, 2012 9:13:51 GMT -5
If the redecorating is going to be a regular feature, I may start watching again. I understand the the mental work and the dig out are the important parts, but so many shows leave us with a final image of people in unattractive, empty houses that seem devoid of comfort or function.
I can't recall who, though regular posters here longer than me will remember, but one person featured on a show posted here saying she had three pairs of pants that fit, and despite communicating this to the crew, the show tossed the two she wasn't wearing, leaving her literally with no change of clothes.
This is not the happy ending I want to see to encourage me. This feeds into my fears of destitution that keep me hanging on to crap I don't need, and is why I finally stopped watching.
I got the feeling that "normal" viewers who don't struggle with house keeping see gutting the house as what hoarders "deserve" for their poor behavior, and it really turned me off.
But if I get to see a well-furnished, functional home at the end, the show becomes a motivational tool that encourages me.
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Post by tangerine on Feb 22, 2012 11:08:46 GMT -5
I thought it was one of the better episodes. It was nice that her family were loving, not yelling and screaming like so many other episodes. She and her home really looked nice after their makeovers.
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Post by success19 on Feb 22, 2012 17:26:38 GMT -5
Nothing in her home was salvageable I am thinking. Sometimes on these shows there is useful furniture. Hers and everything else was destroyed by cat urine and feces. I was glad they could give her the basics to get started with a new life again.
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Post by Ally on Feb 22, 2012 17:54:14 GMT -5
I don't have cable and rarely watch TV... have never watched "Hoarders" until today. I just watched this episode online.
I wonder how watching the shows affects those of us who live in some degree of squalor/hoarding.
It's easy for me to watch either of the women in that show and think, "At least my house isn't that bad!" But my house is pretty bad.
How does the show affect those of you who are hoarders and/or live in squalor? Is it helpful? Do you learn anything from it? Do you learn methods to deal with the squalor? Do yo learn anything about why you have held onto stuff that you should have been able to get rid of? Do you see yourself in these women? Can you identify with them at all?
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Post by moonglow on Feb 22, 2012 18:18:11 GMT -5
Ally, I think some people find these shows motivating and helpful. I however cannot bear to watch them. They make me incredibly tense. The fact is that a big rapid cleanout is not usually the best way to solve this issue. The hoarder on the show often has bad reactions to the events. There are often family squabbles and it is clear that people build up deep bitterness over this issue. Often I feel that the hoarder is misunderstood and treated badly. Even though he or she may also be behaving badly, I totally get where he/she is coming from and how intensely stressful the situation must be for them. I have not watched many of these shows so hopefully hoarders are treated better on some of them but the ones I have seen are out for drama and ratings, so the best interests of the hoarder have not necessarily been respected. To me, they are starting from a place that is destined to cause stress and strife and even failure. A total cleanout in a matter of a few days is extremely stressful and perhaps even harmful to the psyche of a hoarder, and they frequently revert to the same behaviors after the cleanout. What little scientific study there is recommends slow steady cleanout with full participation of the hoarder on each item and concurrent cognitive behavioral therapy. Keep in mind that the shows aren't intended for hoarders, they are intended for the rest of the world who can peek in and exclaim about how horrible it all is and how stupid or stubborn or ungrateful or crazy the hoarder is. And when it doesn't work there is lots of drama and everyone is angry or surprised.
I know other people here watch them, so not everyone has the same reaction I do.
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Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2012 20:03:40 GMT -5
that was a happy ending episode. Lots of them don't seem like the people would keep up thier house, but it would be nice for a ffollowup show. I am addicted to the show.
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Post by Ally on Feb 22, 2012 20:26:29 GMT -5
Thanks Moonglow. I appreciate your input.
I guess that the best treatment option might be a well planned intervention, followed by treatment, and then a gradual clean out. But I guess that might not be as good for ratings.
Ally
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Post by CaringFriend on Feb 22, 2012 21:02:02 GMT -5
I, too, enjoyed that show because it was the first one I have ever seen where they did a complete makeover of the house. Other shows cleared out the house and finally the homeowner's furniture was visible and useful. In this particular show EVERYTHING had to go!
I think the intervention was successful because she didn't seem to be a hoarder and didn't need to look through every bag/box or have a need to touch everything. I think her problem was severe depression and she lost grasp of her life and her world. Shovel it out, clean it up, repaint, and bring in new bathroom facilities, kitchen appliances, furniture, and a bed.
I resented the other woman featured on the show because she expressed displeasure to the psychiatrist and organizer for stepping on her things! If she said it once, she said it a dozen times right in a row. The organizer even tried to ask her if these things were so special why were they all over the floor, but the homeowner continued to repeat, "I don't like it that you are stepping on my things." Several others have had the same attitude. One young mother was angry that the helpers were stepping on her daughter's school photo, which no one was aware of. Her children had been removed from the home until she could get it cleaned up. That show ended with her keeping all of her stuff, including the photo, but gave up custody of her children because she didn't want to change her ways.
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Post by rickie on Feb 22, 2012 23:59:12 GMT -5
I can't usually get through the episodes where a place is filled with animal feces/urine, because I'm going to see a bunch of suffering animals, and it destroys my ability to sympathize with the hoarder.
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Post by puppybox on Feb 23, 2012 0:26:46 GMT -5
as someone mentioned, this episode clearly showed 2 seperate problems- a hoarder and a messie. not that you can't be both. I am/was sort of both. but in this show one lady was a hoarder and NOT a messie. and the other was a messie and NOT a hoarder.
too bad the "psychiatrist who specialises in hoarding" didn't notice she wasn't treating a hoarder!! i hate such unperceptive people.
The new furniture mentioned in the original post did not seem expensive or even new, really, maybe some was from a thrift store, or a walmart type store. it wasn't all nicely decorated. it was sparce, and functional but not beautiful. i LIKED this. She certainly deserved somewhere to sit. she was brave to face her fears and she worked hard. but I HATE it when on some peter walsh episode of oprah they redecorate after the clean up. we can't learn anything from that. maybe i hang on to my gross or old couch becuase NO ONE is going to buy me a new one if I throw it away. though, sitting on the floor might motivate me to find a way to afford one.
moonglow- the other hoarding show (Hoarding: buried alive) does NOT have a time limit placed on the hoarders. it usually shows them over a period of 6 months. there aren't ultimatums or that kind of manipulative stuff. the only stressful thing is that at the beginning they have to let the therapist person in to see. and sometimes a friend or family member they've been hiding it from. you might like that show. it's way more realistic and does follow the "the hoarder must go through the process at their own pace and stressing them out won't work" philosophy.
ally- i find these shows very motivating because I see how I am on the same spectrum as these people and must work hard to not go down that route! i see how they think, make decisions and how it does not work and I ask myself, am I doing that here, with this? i see the therapists asking them to do things and I say, could I do that if that were me? can I challenge myself to something similar here?
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Post by rededen on Feb 23, 2012 10:05:42 GMT -5
Ally, I think some people find these shows motivating and helpful. I however cannot bear to watch them. They make me incredibly tense. The fact is that a big rapid cleanout is not usually the best way to solve this issue.... ... they aren't intended for hoarders, they are intended for the rest of the world who can peek in and exclaim about how horrible it all is and how stupid or stubborn or ungrateful or crazy the hoarder is. And when it doesn't work there is lots of drama and everyone is angry or surprised. I know other people here watch them, so not everyone has the same reaction I do. I agree with you that the big, rapid cleanout is not the way to go. These shows don't get to the bottom of why the person hoards. We hoard because we have all sorts of insecurities, imo. (Red is on her soapbox here !). I actually think some of these 'hoarding' shows are actually ghoulish. Occassionally an episode of hoarders is on public tv here in Aust - I don't have pay tv so I don't know what's on the Aust pay tv network, and anyway, tv here is Australia is woeful. Having said all this, I have watched the British tv show 'How Clean Is Your House' and I have picked up some cleaning tips from it. Some of these hoarding shows remind me of the weight loss competition 'The Biggest Loser' of which we have an Australian version. Again, the show isn't intended for weight loss help but a form of voyerism. The current series is on overweight singles and the message that show sent out is that if you're morbidly obese or grossly overweight then you are unlovable and worthless as a person. It's the same with many of the hoarding episodes. If you're a hoarder then there's obviously something wrong with you and you're not normal and you're probably fat, lay*zee, unmotivated, slothful, lack self discipline or whatever. And definately unlovable. ALL OF WHICH ISN'T TRUE. It is surprising how many 'normal' people (whatever that means) are actually hoarders. And not everybody who hoards has an OCD. Many do to a greater or lesser degree, but not all. I have a friend who watched episodes of these hoarding shows and then rang me at some ungodly hour screaming down the phone saying 'Red I'm a hoarder' and promptly burst into tears. Whatever the particular episode of Hoarders showed, she found it traumatic. It was like having cold water thrown over her and she was greatly shocked that she was a hoarder. She was quite traumatised and later admitted it would have been better to have come to that realisation in a more gentle manner. But tv producers tend not to think of the consequences to the hoarders but are purely interested in ratings and of course the dollar value too. I very much doubt if there are follow up episodes of how the de-hoarded hoarder is actually doing. I shall now get down off the soap box.
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Post by gadget on Feb 23, 2012 13:11:28 GMT -5
I really enjoyed this episode! I only watched because I had seen the happy ending on the Internet. I have stopped watching the hoarding shows because I find them so sad.
I don't think anyone (even "normal" people) would give someone else permission to throw out their belongings. Yet the hoarders are all forced to do this and they are presented as unreasonable when they ask to see what has been tossed out. I think it is very unfair.
I hate when family or friends get to "tour" the house and make hateful comments. The Hoarder sits frozen and unhappy and is presented as Not Caring or Not Helping. I think the poor person is just traumatized and ashamed!
This episode was very helpful. I loved watching the lady at the spa. She looked so pretty with her new hairdo. I loved watching her see her cleaned up house for the first time. She was crying for joy! I really appreciated that the decorating was very simple because it is attainable by almost everyone.
This episode really emphasized the simple joys of a comfortable bed to sleep in, running water, a kitchen clean enough to cook in and a clean bathroom. These goals can all be met. I found it very inspiring.
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