Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: How to Spot the Signs

By SUZAN CLARKE

This morning on "Good Morning America" you saw a report about "Obsessed," the new A&E reality series that looks at the daily lives of people who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The disorder, commonly known as OCD, is a debilitating illness that affects more than 2 million Americans.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, OCD is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts and repetitive behaviors.

Sufferers are mainly treated through cognitive behavioral therapy, comprising talk therapy plus exposure and response prevention..." More & video

Troy house a 'blight on neighborhood'

By Cecelia Martinez

A Belle Avenue home was posted unfit after over a year of complaints from neighbors that the owner, Carol Boskin, was hoarding garbage, clothes and other items in violation of code safety standards. The city Code Enforcement Department secured the property and posted the notice while workers from the Department of Public Works cleared cars and debris from the property and exterior of the home.

“At this point I can’t perform an interior inspection,” said City Inspector Dave Sheeran. “The violation is that the building is unsafe.”..." More & video

Understanding extreme hoarding

Mark Edwards

"A person simply is hardwired that way and are born with the pre-disposition to have hoarding."

Jerry Fried has been working with hoarding disorder patients for more than 20-years, and says in this community, thousands are affected. but far less by what was discovered yesterday.

"It's about just 26 people of the population of Knoxville have severe hoarding."

But what makes people want to hoard...Especially animals?

Fried said "They tend to have great and strong beliefs, that they might be put to sleep. If not for me they...God gave me these animals to take care of and just really extreme kinds of beliefs."..." More & video

BURIED ALIVE: Recognizing the Warning Signs of Extreme Hoarding

By: Asher Kade

One of my two favorite books as a child was Shel Silverstein's "Where the Sidewalk Ends". It is now my older son's favorite book too. We both like "Sarah Cynthia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out." It seems fitting

or the article I decided to write after being inspired by ashow I watched the other day about extreme hoarders.

Do you throw everything away and only live with the minimalism motto in mind-like my baby sister? Most of keep some things we simply don't need anymore but can't depart with the junked treasure. But, a few of us can't throw anything away. That's extreme hoarding.

SEE VIDEO

Their purses, their houses, their cars, they all have trash piled to the ceiling or bursting at the seams with old, unusable receipts, paper waste, human waste, and sometimes dead animals. These animals often keep these people company, as their social life begins to suffer understandably. Many are compulsive shoppers. Others fear throwing something away because they think something bad will happen. Most people that are hoarders suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. ..." More

San Diego Hoarding Conference

Conference offers peek into hoarding

Event educates professionals on how to detect, treat mental disorder

By PAUL SISSON

Speakers at San Diego County's first conference on hoarding repeatedly returned to one central message Friday morning: Hoarding is not a choice.

Mark Odom, a hoarding expert from Orange County, told a crowd of interested professionals from diverse parts of government that they should get over the notion that people choose to stuff their homes with worthless junk.

"What we've discovered is it's not a decision, it's a disorder," Odom said.

The purpose of the conference was to help professionals better understand hoarding behavior and to connect those who might encounter it through their jobs with the mental health community that can offer treatment.

Hoarding is typically defined as an obsessive need to collect and keep items, even those with little or no value, regardless of the negative consequences that can result in a person's life and home. The disorder recently gained national attention through reality television shows that highlight the behavior and the personal devastation it can cause.

But experts have known about the problem for years. In 2004, Odom helped found the Orange County Task Force on Hoarding, with the goal of developing a comprehensive approach to identifying and helping individuals with the disorder. San Diego County officials are working on a similar effort, and Friday's conference was part of that response..." More

Video Report on the San Diego Hoarding Conference

Animal Rescue Foundation: Dog Hoarding Rescue

The foundation rescues 11 dogs from a hoarder in Mobile, Alabama.

You tube video:  here   (Video is without sound)

Bloggers note:  Donations are requested by the foundation for help with the care of the dogs rescued.  It is our suggestion that prior to sending a donation to any person or organization, that you investigate them throughly.