Your pet is there to welcome you when you come home from a long day. Some pets, like dogs, can even pick up on your sentiments and show how much they care by giving you some cuddles (after you feed them, of course). If nothing else, you know that your pet will provide you with a regular routine: Milo wakes you up at the crack of dawn to use the restroom, he needs to be served twice a day, and he requires his daily walk. In that way, you are there for each other.
While this may sound comforting to just about anyone, it is especially beneficial for pet owners with mental illeness—especially more serious disorders like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The aforementioned study, which was published in BMC Psychiatry, took interviews from 54 patients about their day-to-day experience living with a long-term mental illness. Helen Brooks, the lead author of the study, tells NPR that many of the sufferers "felt deep emotional connections with their pets that were not available from friends and family." Brooks and her team determined that not solely were pets thought-about a neighborhood of their social networks, but 60 percent placed their pets in the most important circle—the same spot for "close family and social workers," while 25 percent placed them in the circle just beyond that. Pets are able to stand by their owners' sides and provide love without needing to understand them.
In addition to being a source of emotional support and a cute distraction, Brooks insists that pets also provide a much-needed routine and sense of purpose for those suffering from mental illnesses. Mark Longsjo, a program director of adult services in Middleborough, Mass., explains to NPR that this study is vital for influencing mental state professionals' thought of pets once building treatment plans.
To showcase the essence of personal pets in coping with mental illness, here are some moving quotes from some of the participants themselves:
"There s like a chasm, deep chasm between us ... [Other people are] on one side of it, and we are on the other side of it. We are sending smoke signals to each other to try and understand each other but we don't always — we do not always get."
"[Pets] do not look at the scars on your arms. They do not question where you have been."
"When he comes up and sits beside you on a night, it is different, you know. It is just, like, he needs me as much as I need him."
"You know, so in terms of mental health, when you just want to sink into a hole and just sort of retreat from the entire world, they force me, the cats force me to sort of still be connected with the world."
