[music playing]
Ah.
See this little outfit's cute, isn't it?
I think that would look good on her.
I'm Phyllis and I'm a certified nurse assistant.
And matches their eyes, too.
[laughs]
[music playing]
These dolls, when I look at their sweet, little faces,
it just makes me happy.
It makes me kind of warm, and cozy,
and secure, and happy inside.
There she is.
They all look so much prettier when they got clothes on.
I don't collect them because they're valuable,
I just enjoy their little company, you know?
Maybe like friends.
[tense music]
My name is Ed.
I am Phyllis's oldest son.
These dolls are like a giant tidal wave
that she can't manage, control, or deal with.
Even though dolls are a good bit cuter and nicer, supposedly,
than rats or cats or whatever else other people hoard.
50,000 dolls is hoarding.
There's no other way to splice it.
It's hoarding.
[music playing]
Well this is when I first started collecting my dolls.
I'm Bobby.
I'm Phyllis's son.
[tense music]
I don't mind her having dolls, but I
think she has too many of them.
[music playing]
These dolls are making the house structurally unsafe.
There's parts of the roof that are sagging
from the dolls in the attic.
[music playing]
Well, Bobby does have his mental issues.
Adult protective services, if they
were to come out here and see this,
they would take Bobby away.
He can't live in this house.
If you want to live here in all this junk,
you can, but Bobby is not going to live like this.
Would you stop grabbing it, Ed?
[interposing voices]
Ed can really be bossy, OK?
He's my son but he's manipulative
and he tries to make me do things that I don't want to do.
I realize this is the tough love.
I love my mom.
I want her to get the help she needs.
[tense music]
[music playing]
Good morning, everybody.
Morning.
Phyllis.
Guys, are you ready?
Absolutely.
OK.
My name is Geralin Thomas.
I'm a certified professional organizer, specializing
in chronic disorganization.
We have tarps.
We're going to empty out your back shed
and your storage unit.
And we're going to bring all of the stuffed animals and dolls
out here.
Once we have everything emptied out,
we will have you start making decisions.
That sounds very nice.
OK, good.
Phyllis is a very optimistic person
but I think the problems are going to come in to her
actually letting things go.
She lacks insight into how serious her problem is.
Let's go ahead and get started then.
[music playing]
Do you think you're the kind of person that
has to see every single item?
Or do you think you can say, well,
I think the whole pile can go?
Do you think you're--
Oh, I see a Cabbage Patch doll.
That makes you happy, huh?
I love the Cabbage Patch dolls.
[laughs]
Oh and look at that little doll sticking up there.
Isn't it cute?
[laughs]
My name is Mark Pfeffer.
I'm a licensed psychotherapist, specializing
in anxiety disorders and compulsive hoarding.
Like the bags of dolls that she stored away in the shed,
Phyllis has stored away her emotions.
What's so funny, Phyllis?
I don't know.
Even the nervous laughter was really not laughter.
It was really anxiety and fear.
That doll there, what is that?
That's real cute.
Phyllis.
What?
I could see this is going to be an interesting day.
[laughter]
[music playing]
We're ready to make some decisions, Phyllis.
I hope you are.
It doesn't mean you can't have dolls, it just means--
I can't have any hobbies, that's for sure.
What?
I can't have any hobbies.
I mean, isn't it nice to have a nice, little, friendly hobby
like this?
Cute little dolls looking at you and make you feel real happy?
What's wrong with that?
Phyllis, is this a nice, little, friendly hobby?
[laughs] Well.
The lack of reaction that Phyllis had to seeing all
her dolls in one place, I think really
supports her denial of having a problem.
This doll didn't take up any room at all.
Look at that.
OK now, Phyllis.
And I love those-- these little tiny
dolls like that are so cute.
Look at this, what's in front of you, Phyllis.
Look at this.
But this doesn't take up any room.
Look at that.
Phyllis, I'm looking at that doll,
but you're not seeing what's in front of you.
Look at what's in front of you.
[laughs] I see a lot of real cute little dolls.
Can you imagine what happen if the bad electrical system
in the house caused a short and it caught a fire?
What would happen if this caught on fire?
What's wrong, Phyllis?
What is wrong?
It just hurts me that they don't really
want me to be happy and they don't care about my feelings
at all.
I want you to be happy.
I want you to be safe, mom.
This is not safe.
Throw me in there.
I like to have you around, mom.
I like to have you around.
Are you listening?
Your boys love you.
Do you hear what your son's saying?
Do you hear what he's saying?
Phyllis sort of beats herself up verbally
in front of other people.
I can't enjoy life, I might as well be dead.
[tense music]
Maybe I'll die.
Is that really, are you trying to hurt somebody
by using that language?
Phyllis's low self-esteem really sets the bar
low for herself and others.
We're not here to blame you and
we're not here to blame Bobby.
So I'm a lousy mother, I'm a lousy person.
[tense music]
The black-and-white thinking, the self-deprecation works
because people leave her alone.
Are you listening to me, Phyllis?
Deep breath, please.
Deep breath.
[tense music]
That's kind of heavy.
Yeah, let me get that for you.
[music playing]
[tense music]
Don't you think that was a big thing
for me to let go of in one day?
And it was hard.
It was very traumatic, actually, for me to let
go of those, to say goodbye.
You are remarkable.
I'd like to give you a gold medal for getting rid of dolls.
Well, actually, I have mixed feelings about all this now.
I mean, I kind of think I wish I had them back, you know?
Phyllis is sort of backtracking
on some decisions she's made.
She's second-guessing herself.
I keep thinking about those little smiles, that little
red-haired Cabbage Patch doll.
I keep thinking I really would like to have those dolls back.
What about these?
[laughing]
I think she's getting sidetracked a lot,
so I have to keep bringing her back to task
and get her to stay focused.
See, some of these dolls I just got recently.
OK.
And I--
Can you answer the question?
See, this little doll, I got some clothes on.
I got, uh, you know.
Phyllis.
I rescued-- I'm going to be honest with you,
I rescued these. - Phyllis.
Because they were sitting out there and I'm glad
I did because I didn't know it was going to be raining today.
- Phyllis. - Yes?
What's your plan for the room?
[tense music]
This doll hospital's being closed down for malpractice.
[laughing]
These thrift shops just love it when you come in there
because they'd get rid of all the crap
that no other sane person's ever going to buy.
I think this doll is toxic.
[laughing]
In the past, I think it would be
a matter of who's going to win, as opposed to
how can we compromise?
Today, I saw a family bickering yet compromising.
And that was very encouraging to me.
Well, say goodbye to it.
I did.
Do you want to keep that for Christmas?
I'll give it to some child.
Good.
I got too many of them, I want to get rid of them.
I'll throw this in.
Look at this.
1, 2, 3.
Good.
I'm proud of you.
You so cute!
Say bye bye.
[laughs]
[music playing]
Are you still thinking you're going to turn your mom
into adult protective services?
Well, I think we've come enough way
we won't have to do that.
You think she's changed enough?
We're going to have to watch relapse.
OK.
[music playing]
I'm seeing parts of the house I haven't seen in a decade.
And that's all good.
We still got a lot of ways to go.
And I'm bracing now for the profound sense of loss.
Are you really going to do that, Ed?
We're going to have a yard sale to get
rid of the rest of this junk.
We're going to have to support her, watch
her, distract her to keep her from running
back to that thrift shop.
The support that hopefully she'll get from her sons,
plus aftercare, will be a key ingredient for Phyllis
to move on successfully.
And I'm hoping to see that happen.
[laughing]
[music playing]