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

dawnimus 21

I feel your pain OP, my dad is the same way. He hasn't had electricity in over 10 years now. We've tried to help him but he just doesn't want to change. Recently he was threatened with eviction and he's started clearing out some stuff, but I get the feeling as soon as the eviction threat is gone he'll be hoarding again. He also has 17 cats, which doesn't help. It's a crappy situation and I don't know the answer. To the people saying "get her some help", if she doesn't want help there's not a lot a person can do. Best of luck OP, I hope things get better.

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amileah13 26

I can see why you haven't visited her in many years...

5 19
Mohamedegypt 13

that's just messed up. you never know the circumstances, there might be a big reason for why op couldn't go see their mom

1 4
bleedingglitter 24

Time to call adult protective services.

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freddygasman 18

sometimes you have to do what is necessary to get the help for those you love. you can down vote me all you want but that's basically what I had to do with my mom to get her to go to the hospital where she found out she had cancer.

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Mohamedegypt 13

I don't think adult protective services is the right call for this case, they can make it much worst believe it or not (I work for them and some people just need a different kind of help). every situation has a special treatment. protective services might not help her with what she truly needs. in this case I would go for a therapist and see what happens from there.

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jbones24 22

Thats actually really sad. Maybe you should get her some help if she'll take it :(

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fordneagles 34

My grandmother is like this. She keeps trying to get us to promise we'll keep it all when she dies, we've flat out told her that we're dealing with her stuff with a bobcat and a skip.

11 3
denden_mushi 11

I hope you got her some help, because if it's this bad then she really needs an intervention and therapy. Hopefully she gets better and hopefully you keep being there for her, because she'll need your support in order to get better.

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dezman2000 21

Anyone wanna call TLC and get some cameras down there for an exciting new episode of Hoarders: Buried Alive?

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dcam13 19

she honestly needs some mental help. please help her get connected with a therapist or psychiatrist so she can get her life back.

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