I have only seen the show once. I had to turn it off after a few minutes and ran to the bathroom to take a shower. It felt as if the germs had crawled from my high def TV and were let loose. (I now hate high def TV).
This reality hoarding show has sparked conversation at Girls Night Out (GNO). Those who like garage sales are now being teased (or accused) of being some type of closeted hoarder. Those who have loads of clothes packed away that are a size 2 and are now a size 16 and are living on the idea of "some day", are also wondering if a form of the disease is buried in their system and waiting for the right time to break loose. There is also a group of gals who tend to hide treats (like cookies, candy, and chips) in secret hiding places so family members won’t discover their vice. I watched the eyes of these women and could see their minds churning inside, wondering if this, too, was a mild case of hoarding.
To make sure I didn’t suffer from this illness, this weekend I threw out a bunch of stuff I had in the garage. I boxed it up, labeled it, and it is waiting for the local charity truck to swing by and pick it up.
Next time I go to GNO I will report I am clean and have absolutely no trace of the hoarding illness. But I assume the conversation at our next GNO will turn to the next reality show making a splash; the "Housewives of NJ, NY, or whatever". There are some real looney tuney women on those reality shows and some of them (like Danielle) seem to be suffering from another type of mental illness altogether.
Soon the shock of exposing the drama of mental illness on TV will become passe and part of our normal lifestyle. After all, we became numb to seeing those with mental illness walking around homeless when the psych hospitals were closed under President Ronald Reagan. Soon we will learn to be numb to the mental illness on TV, too. It just takes a little bit of time and the shock and disbelief wears off. Soon we won't even think these new mental nut cases need help. We will see them as just part of our cultural norm. Who knows? If they have money, I bet some will even want to be just like them.
