Season 1; Episode 6: Jake / Shirley
There is much debate regarding the affliction of compulsive hoarding, the causes, the adjacent issues, and even the what constitutes hoarding. This can range from the unwillingness to disregard items of no discernible value to chronic disorganization with the potential to endanger the well-being of the hoarder or their family with a myriad of other subsets in between. A&E's Hoarders is a reality show that attempts to assist a chronic hoarder by identifying the problem and clearing away the objects of little value but through a psychological approach to prevent the affliction from returning.
Jake lives in a small, cramped apartment with his alcoholic father. In addition to his father stashing away thousands of empty wine and liquor bottles, Jake is hesitant to disgard anything, even empty beverage containers or clumps of hair from his shedding dog due to a sentimental attachment to anything he comes into contact with.
Meanwhile, Shirley and her husband reside in a modest house that is not only overtaken by trash and other materials the couple has acquired in their years, but as Shirley has become the self-appointed stray savior, she also has at least thirty cats living throughout her house.
The notion of hoarding has always interested me due to the fact that it is mostly contributed as a symptom of OCD, but I have a semi-close family member with the same tendencies that typical hoarders do. In addition to the refusal to trash meaningless items, some hoarders while some at thrift stores multiple times a week, purchasing items with no apparent usefulness because it was affordable or they foresee a possible use in the near future.
In Jake's case, being a gay 21-year-old living in constant clutter with a drunk, inattentive father, his contemplation suicide over the disarray in his life has lead to the intervention of a professional psychiatrist to help him realize the solution to his problems but without pushing him too hard that which may result in a mental breakdown. While Jake is undoubtedly a drama-king (or would that still be queen), it is painfully clear to see the undue pressure that he must endure, not only due to his own problems but also of his father's.
Shirley on the other hand starts the process as all but accepting the lifestyle she, her husband, and their dozens of animals live in. When her locality determines Shirley could be at risk of prosecution for animal cruelty, she is forced to clear the house to save just a fraction of the animals from the throes of animal control. While she is not unhappy to see the mounds of trash removed from the house, the removal of the animals, some alive and some long since deceased, is heartbreaking for the retiree who thought she was merely helping to save the lives of the cats.
In the end, both Jake and Shirley were able to come to grips with their disease. After deconstructing the irrational attachment to the trash and dog hair surrounding him, Jake is able to start over, clutter-free, seemingly on the right track to recover and avoiding relapse. Shirley though, while cleared of any charges on animal abuse, loses most of the cats she wanted due to other medical issues, resulting in grief and hopelessness. At the close of the show, both Jake and Shirley are reported to be undergoing counseling for their hoarding behaviors.
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