A Channel 5 documentary 'Hoarders: Buried Alive in my Bedroom' looks at the lives of extreme hoarders.
The show, which aired tonight (Wednesday, September 18), followed three people who admit they have a really issue with letting things go.
Hoarding can be a very isolating mental illness, with many sufferers living on their own.
There are often a number of other underlying issues when a person is hoarding to the extent that it affects their day-to-day life.
In the show, we meet 69-year-old Richard who is obsessed with collecting newspapers and magazines, something he has done for four decades.
13 years ago he even had to pick up a paper round to fund his hoarding.
He said: "Some of these go back to 1976. I am the only one in the country doing this, it makes me unique."
There are an estimated 1.2million hoarders in the UK but the NHS do have a series of helplines and advice if you or someone you know has an issue.
Faye told the producers how her obsessive compulsive disorder has contributed to her mass hoarding as she has to go through a long ritual in order to throw anything out.
She said before something can go in the bin she need to look at it, touch the sides and shake it 30 times.
Faye felt embarrassed by her condition and said it had cost her so much, she said sleeping on the sofa has become her "norm".
Sally, who lives in a council flat in the Midlands, faces eviction if she does not get rid of her hoard.
When cleaners come round, her kitchen can be smelt from the lift and they condemn it as a biohazard as a mountain of rubbish covers the floor and stacks of paper plates with cat food, maggots and carpet bugs fill the work tops.
She explained to them that when she had the flat cleared two years ago, she bought a new bin, but it remains new in the box.
The cleaners said they were mad with her, but not because of the mess, but because the help is there and she didn't accept it.
Sally wanted her bedroom cleared so she could finally sleep in there, saying: "I am being buried alive in my bedroom."
Viewers though had deep sympathy for the people on the programme, tweeting about the difficulties they must face.
One, @isfromupnorth said: "Channel 5s hoarders is such a powerful programme. Some parts I relate to. #hoarders #depression #anxiety."
Another, @Debraj_OT said: "Understanding is vital when working with people with this mental health condition. "
A third, @erinjeandodds, hit back at others on social media who called them 'lazy', saying: "Disgusting how people are slagging these people off for being hoarders.
"Don’t people understand it’s an actual disorder that people can’t just easily control and it actually causes them distress? Annoys me."
