Hoarders On A&E Season Two Preview

Tomorrow, NovemberNovember reviews 30th, A&E brings back Hoarders for its second season, and if you haven’t caught this show yet, get set for an unbelievable story. The show details the lives of people who suffer from extreme hoarding, a condition which renders them incapable of getting rid of anything, even if it’s not only useless, but actually hazardous.

You may know people who have a lot of junk in their house, but as Jason, son of hoarder Augustine from the second season premiere says during the episode, nothing you can tell someone will ever prepare them for how bad it really is. Whatever you may imagine, it’s far worse in many of these cases, because there really is no way to wrap your mind around the idea that people actually live like this.

Clearly a mental disorder which doesn’t lend itself to reason as a fix, it is nevertheless hard to imagine that simply living in such conditions would not at some point spur one to change their ways to some degree or other. Not only does any desire for cleanliness not motivate those with this affliction, neither does the threat of divorce, losing their children, or the possibility of having their home condemned.

In the season opener, Augustine, who had her son Jason taken away from her 14 years ago as a result of her hoarding, is now facing another ultimate choice, the city is about to condemn her home. Jason, raised by his sister since about the 8th grade, now lives across the country, but returns home to see if his mother can be helped. After losing her child, and living without water, gas, or heat for several years, and with her health declining, Augustine now faces the ultimate test of taking steps to overcome her problem, because if she loses her home, she has nowhere to go.

Once living a fairly normal existence, Augustine now sifts through the tons of refuse that are pulled from her home, still looking for things to hold onto, and never seems truly connected to reality enough even to recognize a problem. Experts are on the scene as usual, and they describe Augustine as the highest level hoarder there is, and it’s as hard to imagine the work involved in an ultimate recovery for Augustine as it is to believe the situation in the first place.

Don’t miss this unbelievable episode. In fact, set your Tivo right here.

“Hoarders” explores the world of extreme hoarding; a mental disorder marked by an obsessive need to collect things, even if the items are worthless, hazardous or unsanitary. The series takes a fascinating look at the lives of people whose inability to part with their belongings is so out of control that they are on the verge of a personal crisis. Whether they’re facing eviction, the loss of their children, jail time, or divorce, they are all desperately in need of help. The series captures the drama as experts work to put each hoarder on the road to recovery.