How to Include Pets in Your Recovery from Depression
Seek medical help., Make a decision to include your pet as part of your treatment., Spend regular time with your pet every day., Talk to your pet., Exercise with your pet., Stroke your pet., Spend time with your pet when you feel lonely., Calm down...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Seek medical help.
If you haven't already spoken to a doctor about your feelings of depression, do so.
Dealing with depression alone is a long and hard journey; if you don't have access to the resources and tools for a complete recovery, it may be much harder to cope.
As well as your doctor, it is likely to be important to have support through professionals who treat depression through some form of psychotherapy or related therapy.
You don't have to rely wholly on their suggestions but professional advice is an important place to start.
Pet therapy (also called animal-assisted therapy) is an adjunct to approved professional means for treating your depression.
It is not recommended that you use it as the only form of treatment; as with other forms of self-help therapy like bibliotherapy and journal writing, it is not a "cure" but a way to facilitate your journey toward overall recovery.
It is a good idea to ask your doctor about getting a pet if you don't already own one.
Your doctor will be in a good position to advise on the suitability or otherwise of this course of action. -
Step 2: Make a decision to include your pet as part of your treatment.
Making a conscious choice to involve your pet as part of your recovery process will ensure that you focus on the benefits of pet therapy.
The kind of pet probably doesn't really matter as long as you can either interact with or watch your pet but the main companion animals such as cats and dogs tend to be a good choice because you can actually touch and pet them, while dogs need your help to be exercised, which brings an excellent physical benefit for a depressed person who needs to get out more.
Other pets that might work for you are listed under "Tips".
As a point of interest, the purring of cats has been researched and shown to be very beneficial to human beings, particularly since the sound level of purring (at 25 Hz frequency) happens to equate with the same frequency that helps human wounds to heal faster!If you don't have a pet, consider getting one but only if you have enough energy to care for the pet in every way, or if someone else in your household can take care of the pet if you're indisposed.
If depression has debilitated you so badly that you don't even want to get out of bed sometimes, it's unfair to not feed or exercise a pet as a result of that and it's too much added pressure on you.
On the more positive side though, the pet's needs are supposed to become the very reason to motivate you to get out and about! , It can be at a set time or any time when you feel the need but aim to spend at least a half an hour each day with your pet because it takes about 15 to 30 minutes of time spent with a pet for physical benefits such as lowered cortisol levels and increased serotonin levels to kick in., What better therapist than your pet? She will listen to you endlessly, without judgment and with loving eyes.
You'll get licks, purrs, whines, pawing and no unwanted suggestions or advice.
Talk as much as you want, for as long as you want, whenever you want.
Pour your heart out to your pet; it's a great way to get it all out of your system and still be comforted by the being by your side. , Whether your pet needs to exercise indoors or can be taken outside, you can exercise too and the movement and feel-good chemicals produced by exercise will improve your overall mood.
Take your dog for a walk, play fetch with a ball for either a dog or cat, shine a laser light around or jiggle a cat toy for your cat to catch or chase about, or get your hamster out and have her exercise across the floor, keeping an eye on her.
Even if you can't walk your pet, if she can be taken outside for a nibble on the grass or can walk about while you're outside, consider planning activities around this.
You could garden while your cat sits about, take photographs of your pet or paint or draw your pet as you sit in the garden together. , If you have a cat or a dog, time spent petting her will help to calm you.
This can be very helpful if you start experiencing the negative thoughts spiral that can occur frequently with depression.
Try to push yourself past the negative thoughts by concentrating on your pet instead and spending time together, either petting your pet or grooming her.
If you don't already have some good quality pet grooming tools, treat both yourself and your pet to some.
The shopping trip is a good excuse to go out with a sense of purpose and having nice tools for grooming will motivate you to groom your pet regularly. , Pets are a great source of relief from loneliness.As well as talking to them, the need to take care of them can increase your sense of feeling wanted, useful and having company around. , Whenever something has particularly upset or drained you, seek out your pet and simply be together.
Focusing on your pet either by sitting near one another, petting or watching your pet can help you to calm down and start to rethink the experience that you've been through.
The calming effect of your pet can help you to better order your thoughts and remind you that you're loved, valued and an important part of the living world. , While you cannot truly know what your pet is thinking, it is a very human reaction to overlay our emotions and emotional understandings onto our pets.
This can be used to creative advantage when you wish to express yourself through art, photography, writing and similar pursuits.
The image shown for this step is a good example of the human transposing their own feelings onto a beautiful photo of a pet and in a small way, finding something funny to say amid the sad feelings.
Some of your creativity might be directed at your pet.
For example, sewing a dog coat or sweater, making cat toys, making a pet bed or making bedding for a cage pet, creating healthy food from scratch for your pets, etc.
These may seem like small activities but a key element of overcoming depression is to stay active and to involve yourself in doing things that distract you from over-thinking the negative stuff. , Ultimately, the benefit of having a companion animal is the companionship and your reciprocal interactions.
If being around your pet makes you feel good and increases your sense of well-being, then you know it's benefiting you and ultimately, much of coming through depression is about discovering for yourself what increases your sense of well-being in ways that you can personally reproduce for the rest of your life.
Being a pet owner is something that you can look forward to throughout your life, it is something over which you have control and it brings priceless benefits to you personally. , You can spend time with animals through other means, such as visiting friends and family who own pets and asking to spend time with their pets or visiting zoos, aquariums and nature reserves and simply taking the time to sit with your thoughts while observing the animals as they play, sleep and feed.
You can still use animals for creative purposes even if you don't own a pet.
Find images of animals online or in books to inspire your creative pursuits such as writing, drawing, painting and jewelry making.
Explore the meanings attributed to animals by native peoples over the centuries; you may be surprised to find how much some of those meanings resonate with you and it may be helpful to choose an animal as your totem or as a source of reassurance you can draw on in times of panic or frustration.
Consider volunteering to work with animals at a local rescue center, zoo or similar place.
There is a double benefit from this – you get to spend time with animals but you're also spending time with people who care for animals (a common interest!) and this gets you out of the house and doing something enjoyable.
Aiming to get a pet when you're feeling well again can be a source of inspiration to help you through recovery in the darkest days.
So, even if you don't have one now, the thought of gaining a pet later may be a very uplifting source of comfort. -
Step 3: Spend regular time with your pet every day.
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Step 4: Talk to your pet.
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Step 5: Exercise with your pet.
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Step 6: Stroke your pet.
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Step 7: Spend time with your pet when you feel lonely.
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Step 8: Calm down with your pet.
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Step 9: Use your pet to inspire your creativity.
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Step 10: Enjoy your pet.
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Step 11: For those who cannot have a pet or for whom caring for a pet would be too much of an added burden
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Step 12: animals can still form a part of your recovery process.
Detailed Guide
If you haven't already spoken to a doctor about your feelings of depression, do so.
Dealing with depression alone is a long and hard journey; if you don't have access to the resources and tools for a complete recovery, it may be much harder to cope.
As well as your doctor, it is likely to be important to have support through professionals who treat depression through some form of psychotherapy or related therapy.
You don't have to rely wholly on their suggestions but professional advice is an important place to start.
Pet therapy (also called animal-assisted therapy) is an adjunct to approved professional means for treating your depression.
It is not recommended that you use it as the only form of treatment; as with other forms of self-help therapy like bibliotherapy and journal writing, it is not a "cure" but a way to facilitate your journey toward overall recovery.
It is a good idea to ask your doctor about getting a pet if you don't already own one.
Your doctor will be in a good position to advise on the suitability or otherwise of this course of action.
Making a conscious choice to involve your pet as part of your recovery process will ensure that you focus on the benefits of pet therapy.
The kind of pet probably doesn't really matter as long as you can either interact with or watch your pet but the main companion animals such as cats and dogs tend to be a good choice because you can actually touch and pet them, while dogs need your help to be exercised, which brings an excellent physical benefit for a depressed person who needs to get out more.
Other pets that might work for you are listed under "Tips".
As a point of interest, the purring of cats has been researched and shown to be very beneficial to human beings, particularly since the sound level of purring (at 25 Hz frequency) happens to equate with the same frequency that helps human wounds to heal faster!If you don't have a pet, consider getting one but only if you have enough energy to care for the pet in every way, or if someone else in your household can take care of the pet if you're indisposed.
If depression has debilitated you so badly that you don't even want to get out of bed sometimes, it's unfair to not feed or exercise a pet as a result of that and it's too much added pressure on you.
On the more positive side though, the pet's needs are supposed to become the very reason to motivate you to get out and about! , It can be at a set time or any time when you feel the need but aim to spend at least a half an hour each day with your pet because it takes about 15 to 30 minutes of time spent with a pet for physical benefits such as lowered cortisol levels and increased serotonin levels to kick in., What better therapist than your pet? She will listen to you endlessly, without judgment and with loving eyes.
You'll get licks, purrs, whines, pawing and no unwanted suggestions or advice.
Talk as much as you want, for as long as you want, whenever you want.
Pour your heart out to your pet; it's a great way to get it all out of your system and still be comforted by the being by your side. , Whether your pet needs to exercise indoors or can be taken outside, you can exercise too and the movement and feel-good chemicals produced by exercise will improve your overall mood.
Take your dog for a walk, play fetch with a ball for either a dog or cat, shine a laser light around or jiggle a cat toy for your cat to catch or chase about, or get your hamster out and have her exercise across the floor, keeping an eye on her.
Even if you can't walk your pet, if she can be taken outside for a nibble on the grass or can walk about while you're outside, consider planning activities around this.
You could garden while your cat sits about, take photographs of your pet or paint or draw your pet as you sit in the garden together. , If you have a cat or a dog, time spent petting her will help to calm you.
This can be very helpful if you start experiencing the negative thoughts spiral that can occur frequently with depression.
Try to push yourself past the negative thoughts by concentrating on your pet instead and spending time together, either petting your pet or grooming her.
If you don't already have some good quality pet grooming tools, treat both yourself and your pet to some.
The shopping trip is a good excuse to go out with a sense of purpose and having nice tools for grooming will motivate you to groom your pet regularly. , Pets are a great source of relief from loneliness.As well as talking to them, the need to take care of them can increase your sense of feeling wanted, useful and having company around. , Whenever something has particularly upset or drained you, seek out your pet and simply be together.
Focusing on your pet either by sitting near one another, petting or watching your pet can help you to calm down and start to rethink the experience that you've been through.
The calming effect of your pet can help you to better order your thoughts and remind you that you're loved, valued and an important part of the living world. , While you cannot truly know what your pet is thinking, it is a very human reaction to overlay our emotions and emotional understandings onto our pets.
This can be used to creative advantage when you wish to express yourself through art, photography, writing and similar pursuits.
The image shown for this step is a good example of the human transposing their own feelings onto a beautiful photo of a pet and in a small way, finding something funny to say amid the sad feelings.
Some of your creativity might be directed at your pet.
For example, sewing a dog coat or sweater, making cat toys, making a pet bed or making bedding for a cage pet, creating healthy food from scratch for your pets, etc.
These may seem like small activities but a key element of overcoming depression is to stay active and to involve yourself in doing things that distract you from over-thinking the negative stuff. , Ultimately, the benefit of having a companion animal is the companionship and your reciprocal interactions.
If being around your pet makes you feel good and increases your sense of well-being, then you know it's benefiting you and ultimately, much of coming through depression is about discovering for yourself what increases your sense of well-being in ways that you can personally reproduce for the rest of your life.
Being a pet owner is something that you can look forward to throughout your life, it is something over which you have control and it brings priceless benefits to you personally. , You can spend time with animals through other means, such as visiting friends and family who own pets and asking to spend time with their pets or visiting zoos, aquariums and nature reserves and simply taking the time to sit with your thoughts while observing the animals as they play, sleep and feed.
You can still use animals for creative purposes even if you don't own a pet.
Find images of animals online or in books to inspire your creative pursuits such as writing, drawing, painting and jewelry making.
Explore the meanings attributed to animals by native peoples over the centuries; you may be surprised to find how much some of those meanings resonate with you and it may be helpful to choose an animal as your totem or as a source of reassurance you can draw on in times of panic or frustration.
Consider volunteering to work with animals at a local rescue center, zoo or similar place.
There is a double benefit from this – you get to spend time with animals but you're also spending time with people who care for animals (a common interest!) and this gets you out of the house and doing something enjoyable.
Aiming to get a pet when you're feeling well again can be a source of inspiration to help you through recovery in the darkest days.
So, even if you don't have one now, the thought of gaining a pet later may be a very uplifting source of comfort.
About the Author
Laura Carter
Creates helpful guides on organization to inspire and educate readers.
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