Topic : 07/01 A Secret Inside: Extreme Hoarding

I watched the rerun of this episode yesterday and I am truly saddened by the state of affairs in which these children are living.  I wanted to know if there has be an update and if they are dealing with issues and allowing the children to live in a home instead of a garbage pit.  I agree with others who said that this needs to be addrressed or the authorites need to get involved.  It is obvious that Nancy has some extreme issues, depression and alcoholism, along with denial.  She thinks she is the victim when in actuality her own bad choices in life have gotten her where she is today.  The children need to be protected and deserve a normal healthy childhood and a safe haven (a home) to live in.

I will be praying that this woman can get it together and will use the resources that Dr. Phil has made available to her and her family.  It will not be something fixed over night but the y have got to get it together for the sake of the children.  This lifestyle is completely unfair to them and they are learning all kinds of bad coping skills and inappropriate behaviors from their parents.

Another thing that has really helped me overcome my obsession with hoarding is giving the clothes I don't wear anymore to consignment stores and/or donating them to charity. It truly is better to give than to recieve! Take the focus off yourself and put it on the people who are truley in need.   

Since this show aired several months ago, I'm hoping that the Dr. Phil Organization has cleaned the putrid mess from these homes and the storage unit.  I cannot tell you how much empathy I have for the children.  What's up with the husband?  Does he just sit around and drink  in order to zoom out, not SEE, not SMELL?  I was amazed to hear the wife/mother say that she has a keen sense of smell.  Where does she keep it, in the OCD part of her brain?

I'm sorry to say that this was the most disgusting show I've ever seen on  Dr. Phil.

 Jeania Howard

As I have repeatedly stated, not all people with OCD have a problem with hoarding! The way people on this board brandish this disorder around they make it sound like anyone who has it, such as me, should hide their heads in shame because we must all have a filthy house. Because OCD has been thrown around so recklessly, it is now going to be a shameful secret for us and that we will never feel comfortable to disclose to others because of how people will view us without knowing the truth. I am not a hoarder and will never be a hoarder, I am actually a very clean person. Does this surprise everyone? Are all of you in shock? Between the false impression of OCD and the OJ message board I am in a rather pissy mood! I can't believe how narrow minded most people are.

P.S. If people are going to be judged by false information then how many people are going to admit that they in fact have a similar disorder? I know that I won't be so wiling to share in the future, and I won't be willing to try and help others who are trying to deal with a problem. What a shame!

I think most people understand that people with OCD are not all hoarders.  However, MOST hoarders have OCD. My daughter, 16, shows signs of OCD but she is not a hoarder.

I do not think a new kitchen is the right answer either. My mother had a small fire and she is getting lots of new stuff from the insurance agency. I feel like she is being rewarded. The fire marshal told her to gut the place. Well it is all going into storage until the house is fixed and then it will all go back.

I GIVE UP

Michelle

I'm wondering if the problem is hoarding or organization.

  You know you could have a neat garage full of 'stuff' and that's fine, but if you  just throw it in that isn't.

When we needed to build a home with no money our 'hoarder' neighbor had everything we needed to do it with .  How many years had he had that stuff?  But we came along and used it. 

That's the problem no one recycles.

There are lines and you have to draw them.  But it's all so personal.

I realize that hoarding is a serious thing and that it comes from depression and a mental state of mind which is caused from a trauma of life and I know that everyone can fall victim to this. 

My issue is this . . .

The family in this situration need serious help no question but they had financial means to get their "homes" into a better, cleaner environment.  These people need to have coucelling, no question there, to resolve their issue to be able to overcome their hoarding and they even need help in having the mess cleaned up.  My issue is the cost.  Dr. Phil had Lowes donate all new counter tops and new appliances to these families.  The family in this situation had TWO homes, a condo and a large family dwelling, that were under great disarray.  I don't understand why these people could not afford to redo their homes themselves.  There are families that are lucky to put food on the table and yet these families hoard things and get to have a new home.  They get things remodeled and clean and their old items replaced.  There are families who have nothing.  We live in a very small apartment and do not get the luxuries that this family had of having two homes.  And then they get them remodeled at no expence to them. 

I am not a hoarder and my house is far from organized and I haven't had what you would call an easy life but I am being held accountable for my actions.  Who's to say that they have their homes all taken care of and then they just make it a mess again.  They haven't put any money into their situation so its not their money going to waste.  Its like a child who finally realized the value of a dollar and starts to respect his belongings because he purchased them himself.  Who's to say these people will care what happens to this homes.  Dr. Phil will just come back and clean it up again, no biggy. 

I commend you for helping these people but make them accountable to their actions at some point.  And why are all the people on you show in a better then most situation financially or people with down right nothing.  Do you never help the families who are in the working poor class?  Oh yeah I forgot there is no such thing to others who have the money in the first place.  We are just swept under the rug just like in the polictical eyes as well.