Science

13225 readers

19 users here now

Subscribe to see new publications and popular science coverage of current research on your homepage

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Pets do not significantly benefit the emotional health of owners with severe mental illness, study shows (phys.org)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

43 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Paper: https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/hai.2023.0027

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I understand where you're coming from and as a kid that sucks to be responsible for someone who is supposed to be caring for you.

Anecdotally, when I had mild depression I found the responsibility of a dog really helped me. It got me on daily walks and a schedule that helped me mentally. The cuddle part is nice but the responsibility is what I think really helped pull me out of a slump.

It's not for everyone and certainly not if you don't like dogs. Also actually severe mental issues need meds. The dog can't fix what is truly wrong in those cases.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I'm really glad it helped. It's a fairly big coin toss, to choose such a needy animal, and it's the biggest reason I refuse to own one. I'm a lot better around them now than I was as a kid and it would force me outside, but I don't think I could handle that kind of energy every day, multiple times a day, and no dog deserves the level of neglect it might turn into.