I'm a card-carrying diagnosed hoarder (was evicted for it at one point in my life), and I watch those shows to remind me of how things can get if I dont' stay on top of this. I totally understand watching it so you can look at someone else and go "well at least I'm not THAT bad!", but the reality is that the only difference between me and the folks on the show is one of degree, not kind.
ETA: DS watches a lot of weed and gangster movies, and thinks he is badass. I went to see "Our Idiot Brother", and couldn't laugh at any of it because that is SOOOOO DS.