To people who watch this show, what is the fascination?

Hello all,

I am an adult child of a hoarding family. I am lucky to have left recently and have been slowly but surely working on my recovery, some of that includes making sense of the abuse I faced and recognizing what my triggers are. When I still lived in the hoard I would watch the show to remind myself I wasn't crazy to question my upbringing and also to get out some frustration since I knew I was never gonna get a chance to clean up my own home. Still, I realized slowly that the show wasn't so pleasant to watch and was often making me disassociate just because of the imagery and scary music, not to mention I've never liked how the show focuses more on the hoarder and not any children or pets affected by it, so I have stopped for now.

Still finding this subreddit was very very eye opening to me. "There are people who aren't related to hoarders who still want to watch this show? People fascinated by hoarders exist?" Is what I've been thinking. I'll be real, it brings up a mix of emotions in me, some positive, some negative, some just bewildered.

So I'll ask, for you, why do you watch the show? Are you interested in things like psychology or mental illness? Are you just surprised that hoarding exists? Is it seeing people get rehabbed? Or is it something else entirely?

At the very least, I do hope this show has given you a look into some of the pain and torture many young children and animals go through alone. It is a very isolating experience that is too embarrassing to share with others, so please remember that if you see a kid in grimy clothes, unwashed hair, old smelly things or eating rotten/old food or is too afraid to invite anyone inside... That kid may be struggling with hoarding. Don't be afraid to call the authorities to help them, you might save a tiny fragile life (or several).