I'm officially obsessed with "Hoarders", a new show on A&E. Has anyone else seen it? It's all about people who have a compulsive desire to, well, hoard nearly every tangible object that comes into their lives - their possessions take precedence over everything, including their families. It definitely makes me think about conflict and consensus...many of the people on this show appear, on the surface, to be perfectly well-adjusted, but their lives are in complete disarray. They're functional members of society (consensus), but their private life is completely untenable (conflict). It's fascinating. If you're as morbidly curious as I am about this phenomenon, I recommend picking up Helen Worden Erskine's "Out of This World" - it's about hoarders in NYC in the early 20th century. Most of the book's subjects are hermits, though, which removes the consensus piece of the equation, but it's engaging nonetheless. The LA public library has a few copies.
I think. My dad has this issue.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have watched this show, Its hard to imagine living a life where you cant even walk through your own house, or like the woman who almost died in her own pile of garbage!I wonder what experiences these people had that gave birth to their hoarding..our mind works in strange ways..
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