My Pets & I.
Pets mean a lot to us. Humans tend to find a companion in their pet. When I brought Kal at home, he was a tiny life. He was smaller than my feet at that time. In a short time, he has since then become a big part of my life. When he first met Coco, when we ran behind each other all the way to the day Coco died and how worried I was about him since then. Kal has come to mean a lot to me and to my parents. He has become someone who looks forward to them coming home and runs like a madman when the bell of arrival rings. Everyone in my family loves him like he is a part of the family except for Max. Max is for some reason bent on eating away the existence of Kal as a dog.
Kal and Max also write for my blog and you can go through their adventures in The Dog Blog section of this site. When pets become so close to us, we must beg the question of whether or not they can actually have some positive effect on our mental health. I introduced Kal as my symbol of hope a year back when I first met him and since then I have come a long way. Is it possible that they might have had something to do with it? Let’s look into the science of it.
Science of Pets.
Before the advent of modern medicine in the late 19th century, pets were often used in a therapeutic setting. This practice was revived later in the 1960’s. Despite the many hypotheses that claim pets have a positive effect on immunity and anxiety, researchers continue to struggle in establishing the validity and efficacy of these hypotheses. There is also the struggle to differentiate between recreational pets and therapy pets. The definition of service pets is something different altogether. In recent times, we have also seen the use of term Emotional Support Animals (ESA).
In a review of literature, it was found that there are about 20 different definitions of pets and their purposes. All these studies then go on to talk about how pets can be useful in tackling both physical and mental illnesses. This has understandably led to a lot of confusion among the experts and the debate still rages on about how recreation can be differentiated from therapy.
Pets & Mental Health.
The claims of pets, especially dogs, reducing anxiety and increasing arousal are very common to find. There is little data which can be considered convincing of this fact though. Pets do play a demonstrable role in therapy. It was observed that often kids and adults like to project their feelings on to their pets and use that as a channel to express their emotions. A child might say, “Buster (dog) was upset because people around him didn’t love him.” This could be something vital for a therapist in trying to create a bridge between the patient and themselves.
It was also observed that mentally ill people who regularly take their dogs out for a walk are more expressive to their psychiatrists. Their answers are quick, long and in high volume compared to a patient who doesn’t have any family pet.They also help people learn social appropriation as they give an honest and immediate feedback to our actions.
Pets mean a lot to us. Even for the best of us, the sight of our dog running towards us when we come home brings a smile on our faces. The chirping of the birds in excitement on our visit breathes a new life and just for that tiny moment, it makes us feel loved and appreciated and that fleeting feeling is what makes all of it truly worth it.
Beautiful episode on pets linking with mental health. Completely agree with you. I have 6birds at home. Two Indian ring neck parrots and four love birds. The chirping sound keeps me engaged. Although sometimes I sigh and complain for the workload of cleaning the shit, at the end of the day, they are my 😍. I feel a sense of security when they sound. A blessing in disguise to have pets at home. Super post arjun
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That is true indeed. When my dogs come running at me in the morning or when I come home, I feel so energised and happy. They are constant energy boosters and supporters for ke
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Yes, we love when they run toward us and that in itself means a lot, because we feel important and loved.
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Pets are a symbol of constant and unconditional love .
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Arjun,your pets wait for you . every time bell rings,they expect you.l have seen that expression many times but it’s always the same love and lots of love.
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I wish I could have a pet, they give you unconditional love. Living alone though, I dont think it would be fair to the poor thing 😦
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I know that feeling Neha. I was afraid of the same thing initially. Luckily for me my parents loved them too and now take care of them. If you have long working hours it may get too lonely for the pet.
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Its nice to have science verify what we have felt all our lives. I love dogs, cats, squirrels – anything really and they live with us in a beautiful symbiotic relationship.
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It is even more interesting to read the evolutionary history of these domestications. Especially the dogs.
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‘ It was also observed that mentally ill people who regularly take their dogs out for a walk are more expressive to their psychiatrists. ‘- Found that v interesting.
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It is interesting because people are more friendly to other people with dogs. Dogs are brilliant ice breakers and that makes people more friendly and accepting. this leads to more comfort with the psychiatrist.
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I had the luxurious company of a pet dog, few cows and a buffalo while growing up. They all made my childhood memorable. They loved me so much that I never bothered if I did not have friends to play with on certain days. Pets do make a lot of difference in life. The positivity and loyalty expressed by them is beyond words. I am sure the pet have a bigger role to play as the companion for the person fighting the mental challenges.
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They do indeed. The thing to remain cautious about is that the person doesn’t get too attached to the pets , causing him/her to lose social skills
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You are absolutely right Arjun. I was so attached to our pet dog that when it died of age, I could not come to terms to it. I was very young in those days and had given my parents a tough time, as I used to cry and grew irritated. Things came to normalcy when my uncle got a puppy some days later.
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The same happened with me and Kal when Coco died. Kal just became so inactive and I got very worried for him. We got him a new brother soon but he and I haven’t been the same since.
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I have been in the company of pet dogs very recently in life though not at my own house. I now know that they make a huge difference to our lives by being active and expressing themselves so well whether we are angry or not. Their unconditional love is the best thing that we can learn.
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Pets are an important part for the people who have them. If we are angry the love us, if we are sad or even if we are hopeless, they always love us
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Pets are catharsis for our soul. I have experienced their healing properties in my life and continue to. Don’t know what I would do without my Laila and Cotton. Very apt post Arjun. Thank you for sharing
Natasha
natashamusing
April Anecdotes
Painted Not Tainted
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True words Natasha. My Kal and Max are so dear for me. Every week I look forward to the day I get back to them. The euphoria they have when I visit is something no human could match.
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I don’t have any pet but always wanted to have one. Nice post.
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Thank you 🙂 and sorry about the late reply.
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Arey.. don’t be. We all can understand each other here.
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