compulsive hoarding

The child of a compulsive hoarder reveals the difficult challenges she endured throughout her youth, describing her witness to the disorder's progression before her mother's diagnosis with cancer prompted a radical cleaning and a coming-to-terms with the psychology of hoarding behaviors.

Psychologist Randy O. Frost and social worker Gail Steketee present cases studies that examine the causes and implications of compulsive hoarding and discuss their own limited success in the treatment of hoarders.

Kim Miller grew up in a household that had junk and stacks of newspapers in every room. Her father had a painful and unending struggle with hoarding that affected his entire family. Despite her own personal struggles with her family's lifestyle, Kim maintains a complicated but loving relationship with her parents that has thrived in spite of the odds.

Discusses the problem of compulsive hoarding where people keep almost everything and throw out next to nothing. In time, this behavior can lead to rooms or entire houses filled with unused things, leaving little usable living space.