Compulsive hoarding is a mental disorder marked by an obsessive need to acquire and keep things, even if the items are worthless, hazardous, or unsanitary. More than three million people are compulsive hoarders. In this episode of "Hoarders," we look at two women, Diana and Dolores. While their personalities and reasons for hoarding are very different, both are in need of some help, so that they don't lose their homes. Diana, the grief hoarder, says she is lost in her own little world, and is comforted by all her things around her. To the viewer she comes across as a very quiet, heavyset woman that is not very happy in her home and her life. Her children have all left home and she has filled her house and her void, with food containers, used bottles, actual garbage and animal feces, where you cannot even see the floor. Her daughter Reba calls it a filthy death trap. She's not wrong. Diana's son Andrew calls the house a nightmare. Diana grew up with a severely abusive father, and then ended up marrying the same kind of man. After spending her entire life afraid, Diana finally found the will and strength to take her kids and get away from him. The city has issued an ultimatum that they will condemn her home if Diana doesn't clean up. .
The psychologist issued to Diana, is the perfect fit for her. Dr. Melva Green is a gentle, compassionate woman. She talks to both the children and Diana and helps them talk about all the emotions they have pent up. Dr. Green points out that it's not healthy to repress and move on – you have to face things, you have to call them what they are, you have to accept that it's what happened, and then find a way to move forward. Over six tons of garbage is hauled out of the small home. Flooring is ripped up, walls repainted, surfaces scoured. New Furniture is brought in, and the house looks entirely different, it's clean and habitable now. Diana and her daughter are brought into the house, and Diana's emotions are overflowing, and as the viewer you can tell that this is something she has need for so long in her life.
