You may have seen some television shows showcasing what it is like to live with a hoarder or people trying to overcome being a hoarder and change their lives. Hoarding has several levels of severity and can significantly affect people’s lives. Someone with a hoarding disorder has a difficult time throwing things away or giving things away. They get extreme anxiety at the thought of it and can get worried that they might need the items one day, or they can be fixed or used one day. Sometimes these items are literal garbage, but they find a reason to keep the things anyway.
Hoarding is a mental illness that professionals recognized pretty recently. However, it coincides with another disorder, usually Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). You can treat can both with therapy, but it is a complex and lengthy process. Hoarding not only affects the person who is the hoarder but their families as well. Hoarding takes over living spaces and is usually very unsanitary and unsafe to live in. Some people will also hoard pets, which can be a massive problem if they outnumber you. Check out these signs someone might be a hoarder if you are worried. Here are our 30 top hoarding stories found on Reddit, told by Reddit users, in no particular order.
30. The first date that went horribly wrong.
Reddit user BuffaloVampireSlayer says, “I had a first date with a girl a few years ago. She really seemed to like me and wanted her family to meet me after the date. Parents usually love me, so I agreed. I walked in the door to a 6-foot high pile of trash. After maneuvering my way through the trash labyrinth, her parents invited me to sit… I sat on a stack of newspapers. Nice people, but you should really warn someone first. I probably looked like a deer in the headlights of a garbage truck.” This Reddit user isn’t wrong. You should warn someone if they are walking into an uncommon situation.
This girl must have really liked him. How else could you forget to tell him that her family has a hoarding problem? Or, maybe she thought that this was normal behavior and she didn’t have to warn him about it. Hopefully, now by his reaction, she realizes that she must warn other dates about her parents hoarding problems. This way, it won’t make her date uncomfortable, or if they aren’t okay with it, they can end the date and go their separate ways. It is better to be upfront about it.