
"Hoarders" is an often painful look inside a disease that can bury its sufferer -- literally at times -- in its symptoms. Each hourlong episode profiles two people on the verge of a personal crisis, all caused by the fact that they are unable to part with even the tiniest possessions, and the cumulative effect becomes a mountain of junk and garbage overtaking their home or apartment. If they don't respond to professional help, the consequences sometimes involve eviction, kids being taken away, or even jail time.

A woman's family has been ripped apart due to her hoarding; a man's girlfriend threatens to leave him if he does not clean up the hobby items he has been collecting since childhood.

A woman's life crumbles after her husband of 32 years dies while awaiting a heart transplant; a former psychologist is literally suffocating under her things.

A woman's house is falling down around her, but she can't make repairs because the house is packed full of her stuff.

A firefighter's co-workers worry his hoarding is affecting his job performance; a woman's two sons suffer due to her unkempt home.