Questions & Answers.

Harvard Mental Health Letter, December, 2004

Q. My elderly friend has a serious clutter problem. She can't throw things away or organize them, and her apartment is so stuffed that it is hard to get around. She has tried herbs, hypnosis, and sessions with so-called experts, but nothing works. Could you explain this problem and describe how she can be helped?

A. The impulse to gather and store has had evolutionary advantages for the human race. Many people are happy to regard themselves as pack rats, collecting possessions while keeping them in good order and out of the way until they are needed. But some people acquire and keep so much stuff that they no longer have space to live, cook a meal, or pay their bills. They live in squalor, and they risk falling or causing a fire. In a grisly case that occurred in New...