It has been said that keeping pets can help relieve depression, so is it really helpful to keep pets to treat depression?
Western medical circles have long advocated using pets to fight depression. Whether it is the elderly or children, caring for pets can stimulate their passion for life. Many negative emotions will be reduced in the interaction with small animals, including depression. This kind of therapy is called “animal therapy”, which has a good effect in treating depression, mental illness and autism.
Experts said that patients with depression usually tend to be introverted, have a simple life, and have a narrow social range. They will have a strong defensive mentality when communicating with strangers, and it is difficult to relax. And lovely pets, which make people feel harmless, fragile and need to be taken care of, will make people naturally put down their guard, relax their mood, and also produce a sense of need. Compared with traditional therapy, this therapy has certain advantages, because in traditional psychotherapy, patients are in a passive state, and psychological workers actively contact and inquire. In the process of keeping pets, patients are in an active state, and should feed, play with, walk, etcetera.
Pet ownership has changed the owner’s daily behavior, and the changes of these three factors after pet ownership have made it possible to treat depression with pet ownership.
- Companion
Pets themselves have strong affinity and can form close friendship with patients. With the help of pets, patients’ mental health has been significantly improved,
- Sense of responsibility
The sense of responsibility will make the patient’s life become regular, thus affecting the host’s mood. Moreover, this sense of responsibility has also become a kind of insurance. Even if the mood is lower, this sense of responsibility prevents the patients with depression from taking aggressive actions.
- Social
The owner of a dog must take the dog out for a walk, which not only improves the owner’s physical condition, but also gives the owner the opportunity to talk with other pet owners, and improves the social ability of patients with depression. So as to improve the mood.
