Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Hoarding: The disorder of the decade

Dealing with ‘disposophobia’; Helping hoarders cut through the chaos to reclaim their lives is the aim of this pioneering Ottawa business.

By:
Maria Cook

Sharen Bowen is the child of hoarders. Years later, she finds herself back in the chaotic world of unusual clutter — this time as a professional helper.

“It was very lonely,” Bowen, 63, says of her childhood in Brandon, Man. “Nobody came to visit.

“We used to joke about my dad that he would take a truck full of garbage to the dump and bring two back.”

At one point there were 11 furnaces in the garage.

“We never ate in the kitchen. It was full of tools,” she says. “You always ate on your lap in the living room.”

As an adult, Bowen pursued a career as a psychiatric nurse..." More


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