We've all heard about the healing and stress relieving power of pets. And stories from pet owners will always be full of the how marvellous and loving their pets are. I know, because I am one of them.
But do they help with stabilising mood swings? Can they help pull you out of depression? Should you get a pet in order to help with mood swings?
For me, it started when my ex wanted dogs. My first response had been "I've always wanted dogs, but I didn't think I could take care of them". Because I knew I was bipolar and my consistency and reliability were less than ideal, and pets need you to be solidly reliable. And so my ex promised to be the reliable caretaker and we got dogs, and to be fair, my ex really did take care of the dogs magnificently, with a bit of help from me.
Well, right up to the point where my ex became, er, my ex and moved out of town, and I became the sole owner of three 120lb long haired dogs who needed to be groomed and exercised, and who each expected 100% of my undivided attention.
It's about here that the bipolar issues and the pet world start to intersect.
I love my dogs dearly and on a typical day I spend an awful lot of time dealing with them directly - about one and a half to three hours daily. And taking care of the dogs is so intertwined with all of the other things I do, that if they are removed from my daily schedule, the structure of my day falls apart.
That was deliberately done, by the way, because I figured since I had the dogs, I could use caring for them as the forcing mechanism to get things done.
However, it turns out neither the needs of the dogs nor my love for them makes any difference when I am depressed.
When I am depressed, the only attention I give to my dogs is feeding them. And even that goes awry. Although the dogs typically get fed between 5 pm and 7 pm, during a depression episode I often put it off until 8 or 9 pm or occasionally as late as after midnight. On two evenings in the last four years, I didn't feed them at all, although I had food and I was home with them - I just couldn't get my act together to put out the food.
In addition, when I am depressed, my interaction with the dogs is very basic. If they come looking for attention, I will ignore them or give them a few pats and then send them away. There isn't much in the way of giving them hugs or any other forms of love. And I definitely don't carry the dogs for walks, or groom them, or bathe them when I am depressed.
While my dogs love me enough to tolerate all this, it turns out that the lack of attention bothers them. If my depression episodes last for too many days, the dogs will start to act out - one used to start peeing in the back porch about 5-10 days into a depression episode. And they all will develop hotspots (sores) from licking their own skin if I am depressed for long enough.
All of this consistently happens whenever I get depressed. And none of these behaviours ever happen when I am not depressed.
For me, the bottom line is this: My care of my dogs follow my depression patterns. Having and dealing with the dogs do not affect the timing, or length, or intensity of my depression cycles.
The are some silver linings as far as I am concerned. In the entire time I have had the dogs, I have only ever hit one once due to manic anger (though I've never hit a person in anger either). So the dogs appear protected from this potential abuse.
I've also been able to take care of any major problems my dogs have had even in the midst of my depression. This matters since my dogs are susceptible to maggots and I have to deal with this once or twice a year. It turns out that I may not be able to show up for work, but I am able to carry a dog to the vet.
Minor problems are a bit more problematic. If I am depressed I might ignore them until they become fairly major problems - which is usually what happens with the hotspot wounds or matted hair or minor tick issues.
Slightly more worrisome is that bipolar equals inconsistent, so monthly or annual vaccinations or protective medications may not be given on time or missed completely. So far I have been lucky that this has not created any problems.
Some people have mentioned that their dogs do act as a focus to keep them alive and moving. I am unable to add my experiences to this because I had gotten dogs about 6-7 years after my bipolar diagnosis and I had already used a different mechanism to deal with the 'what gets me up in the morning' and the 'why continue living' issues. I do think that these dogs are awfully lucky to have owners who love them so much.
So, given all this, would I recommend that a bipolar person get a pet?
My take is that there are lots of good reasons to get a pet, but I feel that it's a bad idea to get one in the hope that they will help with the mood swings or that they will provide a structure for someone's day because they have to be taken care of. My experience is that there is no guarantee that this will happen. And if that was the hope, what happens next?
Ask yourself what is the backup plan if the pet doesn't help with the mood swings or if the person can't consistently take care of pet. If there is no backup plan, someone, probably the animal, may come out of this badly. For the first 4 years of my dogs' lives, my ex was the backup plan, which gave me enough time to learn how to develop a routine with the dogs and to experience what would happen when I got depressed. So by the time my ex and I separated, I knew how to cope.
Pets can have long lives - dogs usually live for 10-15 years. One of the things I used to worry about was that if I couldn't even plan for 3 weeks into the future, how could I plan to take care of something that would need my support for 10 years. It turned out this is less of an issue than I thought - if they are around, they get paid attention to.
I also live with the constant guilt that I am not taking care of my dogs well enough. I feel that the hotspots are my fault. I worry that they don't get enough exercise when I am depressed. I don't give them the love and attention they need when I am depressed. My dogs are healthy, but I feel guilty that I could do so much more for them or with them if I didn't have mood swings.
And on this note. I shall stop and carry doggies who are sitting hopefully by the desk for their walk.
Please leave comments about (a) if your pets help you with your mood swings, and (b) how your pets help you with mania or depression or anything else.
WP 2 likes 12 Comments
jinnahJan 31, 2018User InfoIn reply to:I had mild depression but I feel it has become worse since having a dog. I feel restricted and bothered by the fact I just don’t like him.I’m assuming that you worked with an organization to get a service dog. If you are uncomfortable with the dog, you should talk with the organization soon. Like tomorrow. You should also talk with your psychiatrist or doctor, in case your feelings towards the dog may be part of the depression itself.If you don’t think you can talk with your doctor / organisation who gave you the dog, ask a family member or a friend to do this for you.But please deal with this.ApprovedSpamTrashLikeEditReplyGJan 31, 2018User InfoI had mild depression but I feel it has become worse since having a dog. I feel restricted and bothered by the fact I just don’t like him.ApprovedSpamTrashLikeEditReplyRichardJun 12, 2015User InfoIn reply to:if you have a mental illness that you dont have under wraps, your pet will most likely end up suffering from your behavior rather than the other way around. dont depend on a helpless living creature like a dog or a cat to do your work for you. be responsible and do what you need to do whether it be taking meds, getting therapy, or finding a group to help keep you focused and for support but def dont put all your health burdens (and “hopes” for recovery) on a pet.I’m pretty sure this is what Jinnah just said in the article above if you read it Lucy. Not to mention, Chris just said the cat helps, not that it’s the only thing he’s using. Gosh, I might be manic but for some reason your comment just pissed me off.ApprovedSpamTrashLikeEditReplyjinnahJul 5, 2014User InfoIn reply to:I’ve always had dogs. At about 14 I tried to commit suicide. I wasn’t very successful and no one knew about it. I woke up the next morning and the only thought was, ‘ what if I was dead….what would happen to my dog, she would suffer’. I cried so hard thinking about the suffering and confusion she would have gone through. I may have wanted to end my life but I could never cause an innocent animal to suffer because of me. I don’t know how or why but this realization shifted me. Although the depression was under the surface at all times my dog kept me going and she became my purpose. Over the years, even at my lowest when my job, school or my own health would be ignored, my dogs would Never be compromised. Over the years I have rescued or adopted and although my little one is no longer alive I have many more furry kids. It’s been 20 years since my attempt to kill my self and not a day goes by that I don’t long for death. I have had my extreme lows and even the days when 24 hours of sleep seems the closest I’ll ever come to death…..but I’m still here. I’ve made arrangements with my lawyer for my dogs and I have them covered in my will. I am thankful for them, with out them I don’t know if I would have even tried.Memnoch,You did with the dogs what I did with my close family – after each of us tried suicide, we each wove a web of thoughts of love and caring and remorse whose intention was to protect us from trying to commit suicide again. I must admit your way sounds more heartfelt – my web was rather cold blooded and deliberately woven.I think you’ve actually found the best reason for having pets, who really have no choice should something happen to us, and so bind us to staying in the here and now far more strongly than the way I did it using people.But I’m still not willing to recommend pets to people with mood swings as a form of stability or medication. Too much can go wrong on a daily basis and it can go badly wrong.BTW, kudos to you for adopting and rescuing your kids. Good kharma will always be with you.ApprovedSpamTrashLikeEditReplyMemnochJul 5, 2014User InfoI’ve always had dogs. At about 14 I tried to commit suicide. I wasn’t very successful and no one knew about it. I woke up the next morning and the only thought was, ‘ what if I was dead….what would happen to my dog, she would suffer’. I cried so hard thinking about the suffering and confusion she would have gone through. I may have wanted to end my life but I could never cause an innocent animal to suffer because of me. I don’t know how or why but this realization shifted me. Although the depression was under the surface at all times my dog kept me going and she became my purpose. Over the years, even at my lowest when my job, school or my own health would be ignored, my dogs would Never be compromised. Over the years I have rescued or adopted and although my little one is no longer alive I have many more furry kids. It’s been 20 years since my attempt to kill my self and not a day goes by that I don’t long for death. I have had my extreme lows and even the days when 24 hours of sleep seems the closest I’ll ever come to death…..but I’m still here. I’ve made arrangements with my lawyer for my dogs and I have them covered in my will. I am thankful for them, with out them I don’t know if I would have even tried.ApprovedSpamTrashLikeEditReplyDebbieApr 29, 2014User InfoDear peopleI have 7 dogs . Three chiwawas 2 strayCocker spaniels mix and there pup and one huge pitbull mix that my son left when he moved out on his own!If it weren’t for these animals I would probably never get out . I have to walk them feed them and pick up after them.. When I don’t feel we’ll the house goes to shitI love my dogs! When I’m sad one of my favorite dogs will kiss my eyes and nose..ApprovedSpamTrashLikeEditReplybillApr 18, 2014User InfoI feel deadApprovedSpamTrashLikeEditReplyrhondasquallsMar 30, 2014·www.roadstothemiddle.comUser InfoReblogged this on http://www.roadstothemiddle.com and commented:FantasticApprovedSpamTrashLikeEditReplytplNov 14, 2013User Info….hitting a dog or any animal ‘once’ is too much. don’t have a pet if you are at risk of physically assaulty or abusing them. having depression is absolutely no excuse for that.ApprovedSpamTrashLikeEditReplylucyFeb 16, 2013User InfoIn reply to:I’m not sure if my cat helps my moodswings. I still get them so there is not really any stability coming from it. However I always imagine her company as a single candle giving some light to a completely dark room, aka my depressions. The same goes for my horses which I have 3 of. But I dont live where they do so I dont really feel that as much as my cat. My cat motivates me to get out of bed. Before I had her I could lie in the bed for several days, not caring how much I starved or dehydrated. Now I have to get out of bed to make sure she is taken care for. And when I’m are up anyway, I try to do basic things like eating something, brush my teeth, shower and such things. She also keeps me company when I do lie in bed depressed. She is very cuddly, wants to lie in my arms or on me and she even “washes” (licks) me on my hand, arm or face. She will also pick up stuff with her mouth, jump up in bed and give me to me. Keys, her toys, my glasses, some paper, whatever she can lift. The horses are a different story. When I’m depressed it almost impossible for me to take care of them, so my parents will help me out. But I do find comfort in their company when I’m depressed. And 3 horses is a good way to burn off manic energy. So stability.. Not in my case, no. But they do help me with my moods, and my cat really kinda keeps me alive when the suicidal thoughts start. She doesn’t like other people, so she would even have to suffer or be put to sleep if I died.if you have a mental illness that you dont have under wraps, your pet will most likely end up suffering from your behavior rather than the other way around. dont depend on a helpless living creature like a dog or a cat to do your work for you. be responsible and do what you need to do whether it be taking meds, getting therapy, or finding a group to help keep you focused and for support but def dont put all your health burdens (and “hopes” for recovery) on a pet.ApprovedSpamTrashLikeEditReplybearhair61Jan 12, 2013·bearhair61.wordpress.comUser InfoI completely agree that one should not get a pet in hopes of it making a difference in your disease. If you wouldn’t risk adopting a 1 year old child in hopes the responsibility would keep you alive or stable, then you shouldn’t adopt a pet for that reason either.As far as your existing pets, my personal opinion is that you need to develop another, reliable, back-up plan, because it seems like they ARE being negatively impacted by your inability to care for them at times.That breed of dog does need regular exercise, for both their body and their mind. If they’re left to languish inside with no physical or mental challenge, they will become neurotic and obsessive, as you’ve noticed with the hotspots.So the question is, what can be your back-up? A high school-aged kid in the neighborhood who likes dogs? A friend or family member that is close by or is willing to take the dogs to their home during your depressions?ApprovedSpamTrashLikeEditReplyChris Vindahl StentoftJan 6, 2013·www.facebook.com/CRAFTVindahlUser InfoI’m not sure if my cat helps my moodswings. I still get them so there is not really any stability coming from it. However I always imagine her company as a single candle giving some light to a completely dark room, aka my depressions. The same goes for my horses which I have 3 of. But I dont live where they do so I dont really feel that as much as my cat.My cat motivates me to get out of bed. Before I had her I could lie in the bed for several days, not caring how much I starved or dehydrated. Now I have to get out of bed to make sure she is taken care for. And when I’m are up anyway, I try to do basic things like eating something, brush my teeth, shower and such things.She also keeps me company when I do lie in bed depressed. She is very cuddly, wants to lie in my arms or on me and she even “washes” (licks) me on my hand, arm or face. She will also pick up stuff with her mouth, jump up in bed and give me to me. Keys, her toys, my glasses, some paper, whatever she can lift.The horses are a different story. When I’m depressed it almost impossible for me to take care of them, so my parents will help me out. But I do find comfort in their company when I’m depressed. And 3 horses is a good way to burn off manic energy.So stability.. Not in my case, no.But they do help me with my moods, and my cat really kinda keeps me alive when the suicidal thoughts start. She doesn’t like other people, so she would even have to suffer or be put to sleep if I died.