Psychology of a Pack Rat
Hoarding and pack ratting typically starts in a closet or attic and then slowly consumes the entire house and sometimes the entire property. Being a hoarder or pack rat is more that simply being lazy or a bad housekeeper.
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Interference With Daily Life
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Hoarding becomes a problem when it interferes with a person's life, but at that point the person may or may not realize he has a problem. It may interfere with him inviting friends and family to the home or, at its worst, it can cause a person to not want to leave the home at all. Hoarding can become a major problem when what is being hoarded causes health issues, such as if the person is holding on to expired food and trash. It can also be a serious health risk if vermin and pests move into the residence because of the trash.
Genetic and Mental Health Reasons for Hoarding
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Hoarding may be linked to chromosome 14 and the genes on that chromosome. People who are related to someone who is a pack rat or a hoarder are more likely to be one themselves. Also, people who suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are likely to become hoarders because hoarding and saving is a symptom of OCD. Once someone is identified as a hoarder, it is sometimes found that the person suffers from depression or other anxiety disorders. A UCLA study showed that pack rats have different brain activity than those who are not pack rats. This brain activity could be the link between the decision making part of the brain, the cingulate gyrus, and the person's ability to decide what to keep and what to get rid of. Hoarding is also related to compulsive shopping and is typically treated like an addiction.
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Spectrum of Examples
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There are mild and severe cases of hoarding. The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization has set up a scale system for hoarding for professional organizers. Level 1 would be considered a normal home without hoarding, while level 2 is determined by narrowing pathways, one exit being blocked and clutter having taken over one or two rooms completely. The most extreme level of hoarding, level 5, would include conditions such as obvious structural damage to the home, rodents evident and in sight, kitchen and bathroom considered nonfunctioning due to clutter, and spoiled can goods and other food products. In level 5 the home is uninhabitable and the person is likely living elsewhere.
Treatment Plans for Hoarders
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Hoarding should be treated as an addiction. Many people who are hoarders will need the help of both professional organizers and a psychologist. Family members can hold an intervention just as with a drug, alcohol or gambling addiction. Only after the person realizes that she has a problem and wants to change can she receive help with a smaller risk of relapsing back into the hoarding behavior. If the person is not willing to admit a problem, the family should definitely enlist the help of a psychologist or psychiatrist.
Helping Someone with Pack Rat Tendencies
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Remember that people who are hoarders develop emotional attachments to the stuff they hold on to. Do not underestimate the emotional connection that person has with an object. Help the person get rid of things that have "sentimental" value by letting him photograph the object and start a journal of the importance of that object in his life.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is almost always necessary for the person to get over the hoarding compulsion. The hoarder will be asked why the hoarding is happening and how to organize and discard of possessions. Also the hoarder will learn relaxation techniques and attend family or group therapy. Group therapy will help friends and family understand the reason for the hoarding and how to help the person. Occasionally medication may have to be prescribed for some patients.
Getting Rid of Items
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Once the person is willing to get his home and life back into order, a system should be set up for keeping items, throwing items away and donating others. Avoid calling the person's items "junk" and degrading his feelings about an object as this can cause a defensive response that can shut the cleanup down. In the end the pack rat must have the final say on what stays and what goes. This may have to be done several times over a year for the home to become manageable again. The hoarder will most likely need someone to work with him for the long-term in both organization and therapy.
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References
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