A West Vancouver, B.C., woman is sharing her decades-long struggle with hoarding in an effort to get help for the problem that is making her a prisoner in her own home.

The mobile home of Shannon Studer is so cluttered with mountains of belongings that the 52-year-old can’t even sleep on her bed. Piles of colourful candles cover her stove while stacks of craft supplies and racks of clothes make it nearly impossible to walk through the living room.

What many people may see as a giant mess, Studer sees as treasure. She even digs into dumpsters to fill her home with what she considers art supplies and gifts.

“I see so many good things, it's so tempting,” she told CTV Vancouver. “Look at the glorious stuff they throw out here.”

Studer recently cleared out thousands of items, but she’s started collecting again, saying she feels that there is no help for people struggling with hoarding issues.

“How am I going to live in my house?” she asks through tears.

Studer says she hoards because she’s “grieving a loss,” adding that she was sexually abused as a child.

North Vancouver therapist Don Collett, who specializes in treating hoarders, says the issue is more common than most people think.

He calls hoarding one of our culture’s “best kept secrets” and says it’s extremely hard for patients – many who suffer depression, anxiety and obsessive tendencies -- to let go of their possessions.

“The idea is you collect objects to buffer yourself from the world,” he said.

The West Vancouver fire department has helped to remove some items from Studer’s home but says it can’t provide more assistance.

“The fire department can help from a lifesaving point of view but we can't provide support these people need,” said Assistant Fire Chief David Owens.

Firefighters on the North Shore have begun talking to mental health organizations to come up with a better way to help compulsive hoarders.

A task force to help hoarders was set up in Vancouver two years ago following a fatal fire. To date, 170 hoarders have received help.

City officials say many hoarding cases remain undetected until they’re out of control, because people are ashamed to speak about their problem.

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Mi-Jung Lee