Page 6 - Compulsive Hoarding News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

So it's been stressful. >> dr. samantha morrison, a licensed psychologist, specializes in compulsive hoarding. >> by definition it includes three components. there's the acquisition or failure to discard a large number of possessions. an inability to use your home for its intended purposes due to the clutter. the third part of it is significant distress or impairment in your life. >> jessica gives our cameras a revealing look inside the house and mind of a hoarder. >> this is the entryway to my mother's house. in this room is antique lamps, boxes of blankets and sleeping bags that have been th...

>> in california, 27-year-old jessica, who asked that her last name not be revealed, lives with her mother, an admitted hoarder. >> i would describe it as bad. it's not an environment that's comfortable to be in. >> after living on her own for more than a year, jessica moves back home to save money and help her mom with her worsening condition. the transition to such deplorable conditions takes a toll. >> it's been very difficult. i grew very accustomed to having kind of a minimalistic existence in my apartment. not having a lot of stuff. and being able to clean my apartment from top to bottom...

Sudden death of her husband in 2001 that a tendency become a compulsion. >> went way over the edge. you do the grief counseling, you do all the things you think you should. sometimes it doesn't happen. what i found was i would go to work and come home and just want to cocoon myself. i just didn't want to deal with anything. >> in the cases of somebody, a spouse passing away, you have kind of two complicated issues because now you're more alone, you're more isolated and you fill things up with stuff. a lot of times people with compulsive hoarding don't trust their memory. they're afraid they're...

Sudden death of her husband in 2001 that a tendency become a compulsion. >> went way over the edge. you do the grief counseling, you do all the things you think you should. sometimes it doesn't happen. what i found was i would go to work and come home and just want to cocoon myself. i just didn't want to deal with anything. >> in the cases of somebody, a spouse passing away, you have kind of two complicated issues because now you're more alone, you're more isolated and you fill things up with stuff. a lot of times people with compulsive hoarding don't trust their memory. they're afraid they're...

Oprah: a hidden danger is >> no, i don't want to deal >> stop, stop, stop. oprah: then, just what was paid off? oprah: inside the lives of dr. tolin's book on compulsive hoarding is called "buried in there are nearly 6 million