Ep 2. Linda / Steven

Linda/Steven, the second episode of Hoarders' first season, follows the stories of two hoarders struggling with their respective disorders and the burdens it places on their families.

Linda, a retired nurse, has hoarded her home to the point where her grandchildren refuse to visit her. She has stacks of papers and junk piled up throughout the house, leaving little room for her to move around. Her family has tried to intervene before, but nothing seems to make a lasting impact. With the help of the hoarding cleanup crew, Linda attempts to clear away some of the debris and start fresh.

Steven, a compulsive buyer, has accumulated an overwhelming amount of clutter in his small apartment. He has spent more than $100,000 on QVC home shopping items alone. Steven's son, who has been estranged from him for years, comes to visit and is shocked by the conditions in which his father is living. With the help of a therapist and cleanup crew, Steven tries to confront his addiction and come to terms with the hoard he has created.

Both Linda and Steven face emotional challenges throughout the episode, as they are forced to confront the reasons behind their hoarding. For Linda, it is the fear of losing important documents that has driven her to hoard them all. Steven struggles to come to terms with the loss of his wife and the subsequent feelings of loneliness and emptiness that led him to compulsive buying.

As the episode progresses, both Linda and Steven begin to make headway in their journeys towards recovery. They start to let go of items that no longer serve them a purpose and begin to confront the root causes of their hoarding. But the path towards recovery is not without struggle, as both face setbacks and emotional challenges along the way.

Linda/Steven is an emotional and powerful episode of Hoarders, shedding light on the often-complicated nature of hoarding disorders and the impact they can have on individuals and their families. Through their stories, we are able to gain a greater understanding of the complex psychological and emotional factors that contribute to hoarding and the struggles that hoarders face when trying to break free from the hold of their disorder.