By childofcrazy - 25/06/2015 20:03 - United States - Milwaukee

Today, I went to visit my mother after many years. Her hoarding has gotten so bad that now the house is entirely filled with junk and garbage, and she is camping out in the jungle of a backyard, cooking on a cauldron over a fire and shitting in the compost pile, with no working heat or water. FML
I agree, your life sucks 29 018
You deserved it 2 410

childofcrazy tells us more.

childofcrazy 3

Many thanks to those who understand hoarding behavior and who defended me. In case you were wondering: 1. I have tried to help my mother for over 20 years and she refuses help, professional or otherwise. 2. I exaggerated how long it has been. I have seen my mother many times, usually she visits me. She has not allowed into my childhood home since I left for college 12 years ago. It has just gotten worse now. She really is living in the backyard, this is not an exaggeration. 3. I am currently working on what to do for her; I am trying to get her some help in this crisis, even if that includes forceful removal. 4. Humor helps me deal with tragic circumstances. This is why I chose to share this ridiculously sad story. 5. Hoarding is never the child's fault. I have been living this down and getting over guilt my whole life. 6. I can only imagine being on TV would be akin to suicide for her, as hoarding is a secretive problem. 6. Kids, if you live in a cluttered landfill of a house, your parents' hoarding is its own mental disorder. It is an addiction. Childrenofhoarders.com is a great first resource. There is help. 7. Yes, I think my mom is probably doing spells in the backyard. I gotta get this shit figured out before winter. She is in Iowa.

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Top comments

IcemistDragon 20

You really should get her some help,she can't keep living like that even if she thinks it's acceptable.

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Comments

littlepiglola 14

"On this episode of 'Hoarding: Buried Alive'..."

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Lalala579121 27

That's even worse than the hoarding episode of House...

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kellyem2 20

This must be a tough position for you. Unfortunately in a lot of ways your hands are tied because as a consenting adult she needs to agree to get help. But on the other hand this is clearly a situation that's way out of hand. Unfortunately you might need to report her to the authorities on code violations to get things in motion to help her. Jokes aside, I wish you (and your mom) good luck OP. It sounds like you have quite a bit to deal with ahead of you.

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Drosophila82 18

Your mom need professional help and the discovery Channel.

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jtsmommy 11

Did we use to date? I dated a guy who's mother was a hoarder. It does sound like it's time for professional help, though, regardless of your dating past. It's not safe or healthy to keep living like that.

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hanikayy 15

She needs help. Hoarding is a mental illness

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ZombieSazza 34

My former flatmate was a hoarder, and it's very hard to get them to become aware of their problem, you can only help her once she actually admits she has a problem, which she might never do. Hoarders have emotional attachment to the junk they collect, so even if you managed to throw everything out, her behaviour would continue and she will collect again. Also, throwing stuff out can cause huge anxiety to the person in question and cause them to panic. It's a vicious circle and incredibly hard to get someone aware of their problem. I suggest getting someone to talk to her that is not family, it can take someone outside of the family to make people aware of their problem. Message me if you want to chat, I'm happy to help you if I can.

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1stones 8

Thats why you should treat your mom like a queen til the rest of her days. If my mom lived like that it would mean i died or something lol

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lactemps 3

A dose of constant visit with much needed love and affection will HELP heal and cure her need for hoarding.

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