What possesses someone to save every scrap of paper or bread tag that’s ever come into their home?
What compulsions drive Moira to cram her own home so full of collectibles and chickens that there is hardly any space for her?
Or Stewart, whose house is so full of stuff the authorities have threatened to take his children away?
Hoarding cost Judy her marriage.
It’s a national problem, estimated to affect more than 600,000 Australians. It influences people’s safety and their relationships and can often lead to isolation, depression and homelessness.
In this episode of Insight, we also examine the pull that possessions exert on all of us.
Whether we’re keepers, chuckers, collectors, minimalists or compulsive shoppers, none of us is free of the impulses that drive hoarders to extremes. We investigate the causes and outline the often ineffective treatments for hoarding.
For the 600,000 Australian sufferers, their relatives and friends, and the rest of us with complicated relationships to our things, Hoarders explores the question of what happens when our stuff starts to own us.
Credits
- Presenter: Jenny Brockie
- Producer: Alex Tarney
- Associate Producer: Milena Dambelli
