Pets and Depression

Pets are often considered the best friends of man. It is, therefore, not surprising that we in the community often have the issue of how important pets are. Many of the depression sufferers confirmed that the biggest help in the fight against depression comes from their own dog or cat.

Often you can hear something like "I would not have made it without my pet" from the person who was in deep depression a few weeks ago.

Scientists in the Depression Research and Clinic Program at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) came to a similar conclusion. They also dealt with the following question: how do pets help?

Unconditional Love

Ian Cook, psychiatrist, and director of the program at UCLA says: "Pets give unconditional love. This can be very helpful in depression."

Dog keeping, for example, reduces tension and overstress in some patients. In particular, this unconditional love is very helpful for people whose relationships, for example, in the context of family or partnership, are very difficult. But even with other symptoms of depression, pets can provide relief.

Activity

Having a pet often leads to physical activity that helps to fight with depression. People often cannot fight with depression, because for them it is too hard to get up from the couch. The connection between physical activity and depression is considered increasingly important.

In many cases, scientists said that it is very helpful to understand how it is important to adhere to a daily rhythm. From my own experience, I can say that this point is also very important to me. Pets can help you here in a very gentle way.

Social Contact

Many of us know what it's like to retreat into depressed behavior. Anyone who has a pet is never alone. In addition, the walks with your dog can cause you to make in contact with other people. Animals are often the much-touted "icebreaker."

Contact

Studies have shown that people feel better when they have physical contact with others. The same effect could be detected with pets. Petting your dog or cat will make you feel much better.

Health Status

More generally, studies have shown that pet owners' health is better than the health of people who don't have a pet. There are also several studies that indicate that an animal can be an additional motivation to get back on your feet. Furthermore, pets also have a positive impact on the physique of humans.

The Decision

Now, you probably want to buy a pet immediately, but you probably should be considered to some factors. First of all, you should answer the following questions:

• Do I have experience with pets and can I manage to treat the animal well? Treating an animal needs a lot of effort.
• Could I guarantee pet welfare?
• Can I afford an animal?

Not only the purchase of the animal but also animal retention (food, etc.) generate corresponding costs.

For the pet's retention, you should also be clear whether a pet may be kept in that apartment and if so, on which conditions.

Unfortunately, some apartments owner prohibit to keep pets in the apartment, others will allow it, but only small pets.

Matching these questions with the apartment owner can definitely prevent trouble and gives you a feeling of certainty and peace so that you can be sure that everything is fine.

Conclusion

Pets can make a very important contribution to the fight against depression and generally improve mental and physical human well-being.

What are your experiences with pets? Do you also believe pets help to fight with depression or that they have a positive impact on the psyche?

About the Author

My name is Thomas and I have been working for 7 years as a PhD writer. My specializations are Psychologic and Art. Writing is my passion and I enjoy writing useful and interesting stories. When I was a student, I often buy essays online for college and now I am the one who can write an essay in less than a few hours. In addition, I am an owner of two dogs (German Shepard and American Akita) and one cat. I really like to spend time with them.