Dear Cheryl,
I read your message and just wanted to tell you how much I admire your honesty in talking about such a personal subject. I know several people who are hoarders and have great, in fact, enormous difficulty dealing with it in their daily lives. I would describe it as overwhelming for them actually. So overwhelming that just trying to sort out some of the possessions to discard is actually painful. There are several of us in my family, including myself, who have OC behaviours, but not hoarding, so it's difficult for me to give any helpful suggestions other than a couple of websites I'll post down below. I'd also suggest, even though maybe I shouldn't, that if you are feeling that you're not getting enough help or support from your present counsellor, then I'd maybe see someone else. I don't know. Maybe you feel you are. From what I know about OCD as a whole, there are strategies that can help, but you need the right support and you would need to be really motivated because I would imagine it would be very draining and emotionally difficult to change some of these behaviours after all this time. My heart goes out to you. It really does.

There are several sites recommended on the OC Foundation website:

The Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation:
http://www.ocfoundation.org/hoarding/

The Anxiety Disorders Center at the Institute of Living:
Hartford Hospital
http://www.instituteofliving.org/ADC...e_hoarding.htm

Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy:
http://www.aabt.org/

From Anxiety Disorders Association of America.
http://www.adaa.org/GettingHelp/Anxi...orders/OCD.asp

Thinking of you.
Lara