The wonderment I feel from knowing there are others who know and
understand this obsessive disorder is all-consuming right now... so much so,
that my "story," one that has been my constant companion these last
forty years, has suddenly escaped me...

My mother
Source : I didn't "hear" about it:  I lived, and am STILL living it.
Message : Wow - so I really have to put this down on "paper?"

Writing about it makes it true, and I've been avoiding this truth for
so long now.  My mother is a hoarder, and I suspect (fear?) that I have
some of those impulses as well.

The wonderment I feel from knowing there are others who know and
understand this obsessive disorder is all-consuming right now... so much so,
that my "story," one that has been my constant companion these last
forty years, has suddenly escaped me...

I am a perfectionist, especially in my writing (which may, or may not
thrill you, Dear Reader) and I find this very difficult to convey...
  but my need to reach out and be heard, and to listen, is paramount...
  I'll get there.

Forgive me if I cannot find the words to describe - right NOW - my
experiences.

It is enough for me, to have made a gentle introduction.

In a way, I am beyond telling my damn story, because I am weary of it -
and I want to move into "recovery" with my mother so badly - she is
almost 75 and we may not have many good years left.

My goal is simple:  get help, for myself first, so I can help her.

...not unlike the instructions on the airlines for administering oxygen
as a result of a loss of cabin pressure....