
"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 develops post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her mother's hoarding; a woman's excessive shopping leads to the loss of two children.

A woman who lives in a million-dollar neighborhood sifts through trash bins; authorities warn a couple that they must clean their cobweb-infested, filthy home.

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.