83: Growing Up in a Hoarder House with Animal Hoarding

Summer grew up in a severe hoarder home (level 5) where rooms became inaccessible, utilities stopped working, and over 30 animals lived in extreme neglect inside the house. Behind the scenes, she was dealing with chronic bullying, isolation, domestic violence, emotional abuse, and the impossible pressure of protecting her family while trying to survive her own childhood. She opens up about what it was really like going to school embarrassed by the conditions she was living in, being removed by CPS, couch surfing as a teenager, and realizing in college that the life she grew up in was never normal.Summer shares the long-term impact of growing up with parents who have hoarding disorder, narcissistic family dynamics, parentification, and severe animal hoarding, along with the complicated grief that comes from loving parents who were unable to provide safety or stability. She talks about the shame children of hoarders carry, the survival behaviors that follow them into adulthood, and the difficult process of learning basic self-care, relationships, and normalcy after years of living in chaos.Summer’s Links:https://www.instagram.com/summerjoy.cptsd_survivorhttps://www.tiktok.com/@summerjoy4https://youtube.com/@summerjoy4https://linktr.ee/summerjoy4Collaborations/Media: [email protected]:International OCD Foundation (Hoarding)https://iocdf.org/hoardingChildren of Hoardershttps://childrenofhoarders.comInstitute for Challenging Disorganizationhttps://challengingdisorganization.orgNAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)https://nami.orgHoarding Cleanup Directoryhttps://hoardingcleanup.comCrisis Text Line 741741Beyond the Monsters Socials:https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.Topic: Hoarding Disorder, Animal Hoarding, Childhood Trauma, Family Dysfunction, Childhood Neglect, Complex PTSD (CPTSD)If you have a story you'd like to share on the podcast, please fill out a form here: https://form.jotform.com/243366933402153Please contact [email protected] for any business inquiries! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.