STUFFED

ABOUT the film:  Stuffed  is an engaging documentary inviting us into the lives of 3 people who struggle with Hoarding Disorder. The film dispels the stereotype that all "packrats" are isolated, elderly, and filthy. The film, created in 2006 by Arwen Curry and Cerissa Tanner, includes commentary by a experts in the field. Beginning in 2013, the condition, long hidden by the people who hoard and poorly understood by the medical community, is likely to be officially recognized for the first time as "Hoarding Disorder", under the new diagnostic category "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Related Disorders" (distinct from "Anxiety Disorders") in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM 5). This will lead to more research and thus better understanding and treatment.

WATCH the film (21 minutes): -- available for purchase or 7-day rental from Amazon. The film will also be screened at a special film event, co-sponsored by OCD TEXAS and the Austin Hoarding Support Group, in Austin, Texas, on Oct 9, during OCD Awareness Week -- stay tuned for details.

DISCUSS the film:  After you watch the film, return here to join in the discussion at the bottom of this page.

REVIEW by Lynne:  "Stuffed" packs a lot into its 21 minutes! 

The film stands out against the depressing, degrading and exploitive reality television shows such as “Buried Alive.” Interviews with three individuals with Hoarding Disorder allow the viewer to get to know them as human beings before being shown their homes.

Jim, Betsy and Judith are all clean, articulate and personable; would not seem peculiar to anyone who met them outside their homes. This is in contrast to reality TV, where the person is almost always shown as highly-strung, unkempt and out of control.

Jim’s massive amount of stuff at first appears well-organized. But as we get to know him a little better, he emerges as someone trying desperately to create elaborate systems that will allow him to keep all of his possessions. He gets a wake-up call when the health inspector arrives.

Betsy, shown throughout holding hands with her husband, Mike, tells how her hoarding continued until “there was no room for Mike and me.” She explains that she doesn't want to waste her stuff. Mike counters by saying that instead of wasting her possessions, Betsy allows “her life to be wasted.”

Judith, as articulate and thoughtful as she is, clearly has little insight into her disorder. We see her squeezing sideways between piles in her home as she moves from room to room, sliding items out of the way to get to the restroom. As we watch her moving cartons of stuff into a rented storage unit, she proclaims “I still have some control. I’m not a complete hoarder yet.”

Far more revealing than the reality shows, "Stuffed" offers viewers education on what is known about the disorder. Well-respected researchers Gail Steketee, Steven Anderson and Sanjaya Saxena explain the medical basis for hoarding and some of the thought processes of those who hoard. Particularly enlightening are Dr. Saxena’s scans showing atypical brain activity.

"Stuffed" could be more effective if it discussed treatment for hoarding. (See the International OCD Foundation's Hoarding Center for the latest research-based information.) People would benefit from knowing the effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), especially in the form of exposure and response prevention (ERP), and new research incorporating acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). 

I highly recommend "Stuffed" to those of us with Hoarding Disorder as well as to everyone around us.

DISCUSS the film (in comments section below):

• How well does this film show us Hoarding Disorder?
• What myths or stereotypes about hoarding still need to be dispelled?