The subject of hoarders and hoarding has notoriously been met with negativity. Hoarders are often seen as crazy, lazy, or intentionally being difficult. However, hoarding is an actual disorder that is diagnosable, and treatable. The disorder, hoarding disorder, causes one to have a very difficult time parting with possessions, even one’s others may see as junk, due to a strong attachment and the need to save them. Parting with – or even the idea of parting with- possession causes severe distress. Due to this distress, the hoarder will often accumulate more items, thus increasing the hoarding. 

“Who am I without my stuff?”
– Beyond Hoarding (2019)

The documentary film Beyond Hoarding: From Disaster to Recovery (2019), takes the perspectives of those with hoarding disorders as they go through treatment for their disorder. With coaching from mental health experts, the film shares an insight into the inner workings of this disorder. The goal of this film is to illustrate the distress that both the hoarder and the family of hoarders go through and to stress that people with hoarding disorder are victims of their disorder. 

Watch the film for free on Tubi here

Image Credits:
Feature Image: Eli Francis, On Unsplash, Creative Commons