Noah’s Ark Syndrome: accumulating animals at home

Do you know anyone who lives with too many animals?

Living with dogs, cats and other non-human animals is perfectly normal and widespread in most cultures today. Enjoying their company can produce great satisfaction and even have therapeutic purposes.So it is not strange that many people decide to relate daily with all kinds of specimens offering them the roof of their house and the care they need.

However, when the coexistence with animal life forms becomes a simple accumulation of animals that happen to share an increasingly reduced space, we are probably talking about cases in which there is the Noah's Ark Syndrome.

What is Noah's Ark Syndrome?

Someone who experiences the Noah's Ark Syndrome cannot cope with the unstoppable urge to accumulate animals in his house.. These new guests can be abandoned dogs or cats, purchased pets, etc.

Both the person and the animals see their quality of life diminished when space and hygiene become scarce and the caregiver cannot provide the necessary care that these pets need. It is important to take this into account, since this syndrome is not limited by the number of animals that are taken in, but by the fact of not being able to contain the desire to accumulate animals, resulting in not being able to take care of them properly.

Thus, a person who takes in many pets does not necessarily have to have Noah's Ark Syndrome if she is perfectly aware that the means and resources at her disposal make it possible for the animals and herself to live better than if she had not taken them in (and this corresponds to reality).

Some signs of Noah's Ark Syndrome

Thus, when a person presents this syndrome it is very easy that the context in which he lives presents the following characteristics:

• The person tends not to let anyone else into his home.

• Inside the house it is difficult to find free spaces that are not occupied by an animal.

• There are no delimited spaces or separations between the areas of the house dedicated to people and animals.

• The house is not very hygienic, and there is feces and hair in many of the common transit areas.

• The animals are not vaccinated and the caregiver does not comply with the legal measures regulating pet ownership.

However, any situation may present peculiarities, so compliance with these characteristics need not be synonymous with diagnosed Noah's Ark Syndrome.

Causes of Noah's Ark Syndrome

The concept of Noah's Ark Syndrome is relatively new and has not yet been agreed upon by the entire community of mental health professionals. It is for this reason, among others, that its causes and the factors that influence it are not yet well understood..

However, it is believed that on many occasions Noah's Ark Syndrome is one of the ways in which Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder can be expressed, although it can also be expressed when the diagnostic criteria for this disorder are not met. Its origin can also be found in the dependence on a pattern of adverse social dynamics: maintenance of social isolation from other people, the adoption of beliefs related to misanthropyetc.

Moreover, from the available data it seems that the people most likely to meet the typical characteristics of the Noah's Ark Syndrome are the populations of older peoplewho often live alone and socially isolated and may seek companionship in animals. The fact of accumulating pets in an uncontrolled manner has a negative effect not only on their health, but also on their social relationships: these people are socially stigmatized for their solitary habits, their lack of hygiene and the signs of anxiety and nervousness typical of those who live in poor conditions.

That is why the psychological intervention in these people is oriented both to the individual of the person who presents the syndrome and to the collective: their community of neighbors, their family, etc.

Noah syndrome treatment

This syndrome is a complex problem, which is why it requires multidisciplinary requires multidisciplinary treatment.

Individuals with Noah syndrome rarely seek help because they are not aware of the problem they have. When they receive treatment it is usually thanks to the denunciation of some neighbors or relatives, so they are patients who come to psychological consultation referred by the medical and judicial services or by the pressure exerted by their families.

But the complexity of these patients lies not only in getting them to attend therapy sessions, but also in the fact that their unwillingness to attend makes them passive in the face of therapy. makes them passive individuals in the face of treatmentThis complicates the therapeutic work.

Much of this treatment focuses on social skills training and the need for these individuals to be part of the community through different activities. and on the need of these subjects to be part of the community through different activities. It should not be forgotten that these are patients with a high level of loneliness. As has been said, the support of family and neighbors is a key element for their recovery and to avoid isolation.