Disorder often keeps sufferers from seeing danger of habits
But this wasn't a case of messy adolescents. It was a mother's hoarding disorder that left the bedroom — and the rest of the house — in a state of squalor. Only when Child Protective Services took the boys — Louis, 14, and Sam, 11 — away for 24 hours did their mom, Deborah, realize the severity of her problem.
The 49-year-old Tennessean, whose story was featured on the Jan. 4 episode of A&E's Hoarders, went public, using the show to receive the help of a therapist and organizing expert in an effort to keep her family together. The show does not disclose last names.
"I am tired of being ashamed," Deborah said in the January episode. "I am tired of being a prisoner to my home. It affects everything in my life.".." More