People with hoarding behaviours (PwHB) need to be able to access a range of support options in a timely manner for their own wellbeing as well as that of friends and family. In response to recent calls to understand more about support groups and the role of peers in relation to hoarding, we investigate an online forum for PwHB.

To explore the types of messages exchanged on the popular online discussion platform Reddit and the sort of information and support that is available.

We randomly scraped 100 threads from a hoarding subreddit or subcommunity on Reddit and undertook a thematic analysis of the 1297 individual messages collected.

The analysis produced three themes: Emotional and practical support for help seekers; Seeking help on behalf of others; and Practical problems with discarding. The forum provides a place for exchanging emotional and practical support where posters detail their lived experience of practical strategies for reducing their ‘hoard’. Progress updates provide a sense of continued connection and posters seeking advice on behalf of someone else are welcomed and supported. The forum exposes debate and frustration around the practicalities and ethics of disposing of items, highlighting additional obstacles for PwHB and the limitations of geographically dispersed support groups.

The online forum provides both opportunities and challenges for PwHB. The type of content exchanged within the online forum helps us better understand support issues for PwHB and points to clinical implications for therapy.

To compare the experiences of women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) in computer-mediated and face-to-face support groups.

Interviews from 18 women with MBC, who were currently in computer-mediated support groups (CMSGs), were examined using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The CMSGs were in an asynchronous mailing list format; women communicated exclusively via email. All the women were also, or had previously been, in a face-to-face support group (FTFG).

CMSGs had both advantages and drawbacks, relative to face-to-face groups (FTFGs), for this population. Themes examined included convenience, level of support, intimacy, ease of expression, range of information, and dealing with debilitation and dying. CMSGs may provide a sense of control and a greater level of support. Intimacy may take longer to develop in a CMSG, but women may have more opportunities to get to know each other. CMSGs may be helpful while adjusting to a diagnosis of MBC, because women can receive support without being overwhelmed by physical evidence of disability in others or exposure to discussions about dying before they are ready. However, the absence of nonverbal cues in CMSGs also led to avoidance of topics related to death and dying when women were ready to face them. Agendas for discussion, the presence of a facilitator or more time in CMSGs may attenuate this problem.

The findings were discussed in light of prevailing research and theories about computer-mediated communication. They have implications for designing CMSGs for this population.