Noah syndrome: good and evil in one apartment (7 photos)

Due to the fact that each person is unique and therefore there is a colossal number of mental disorders in the world. And one of them, quite serious, can cause suffering not only to the sick person, but also to his wards. Not to mention the neighbors.





In short, Noah syndrome is a pathological hoarding... of animals. At the same time, people often cannot take good care of them.

A deep bow to those who save homeless animals, those who help shelters and take on the responsibility of taking a puppy or kitten from the street, saving it from hunger and cold. But rarely does anyone dare to take responsibility for more than two or three pets.



People with Noah syndrome see no boundaries. They do not understand that their housing and financial condition are not suitable for keeping dozens of animals. Dirt, smells, noise - all this is completely ignored by people with the syndrome.

Today, there are already a number of studies on the problem of Noah syndrome and there are several options for working with such people.





Most often, the occurrence of the syndrome is associated with selfless love for animals, which for a long time had no outlet. Usually these are classic companion animals - cats and dogs. We see them most often on the streets and they are the easiest ones to establish contact with in order to lure them to their home. And the point is not that people want to save as many animals as possible, but that people with Noah syndrome do not provide proper care for them and their home turns into a concentration camp for furry ones. It is these people who most often receive complaints to the authorities: noise, barking, unbearable smell.



Who is most often affected by the syndrome.

Most often they are women aged 45 to 60 years. They may be widowed/single, with average or even low financial income. Their home is most often a mess.

Noah syndrome can also be a consequence of such serious mental disorders as: delusional disorder, OCD, personality disorder, dementia, dementia.



How to detect the onset of the syndrome.

It is very important to be able to distinguish when caring for animals develops into a pathological form. The lines between voluntarily caring for street animals and Noah syndrome are often blurred. Therefore, you need to monitor the presence of the following factors:

Categorical reluctance for other people to enter his home;

Animals that end up in the house never leave it again. The person does not try to help them in order to find them owners in the future, but simply takes them for himself;

Denial of problems. From the point of view of a person suffering from the syndrome, they help by simply taking cats and dogs off the street. And if you try to force him to “open his eyes” to the inability of high-quality care for all wards, then the denial can become categorical and hysterical;

There is no place for animals, no money for their treatment, no money for food, no energy and time for timely walking and ensuring hygiene.



What to do.

If all of the above points are met, then it is necessary, firstly, to inform the local authorities. But at the same time, careful handling of people with Noah syndrome is necessary, since they are truly mentally ill and sincerely do not understand what they are doing wrong. They are confident that they take good care of animals and consider the authorities and those who “told them” as haters of all living things.

Living next to such a person is a real hell. But direct confrontation will only make matters worse. The police and social security authorities must be notified of the person's mental state.



Is this syndrome treatable?

When the presence of the syndrome is confirmed, the first thing to do is remove all animals from the house. The reaction will be violent.

Treatment should be aimed at reducing delusions associated with hoarding living things, as well as creating new habits. Support and more support is the key to the success of treatment, which will be different for everyone, depending on the severity of the syndrome. It belongs to the “hoarding” classification and harms both the patient himself and the animals.