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 Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2005 9:47 pm
I recently read an article on BBC News about how pet therapy helps people with Schizophrenia find more joy in life. For a long time, pets have been used in hospitals for people with all kinds of illnesses because they can bring all sorts of positive changes in people, from lowering blood pressure to raising spirits! Does anyone else here with a mental-illness have a pet that really helps them get through the day? If not, how would you feel if your therapist or even your doctor brought a pet with them to your appointment? BBC News A team from the Technion Institute of Technology in Israel looked at the effect of bringing dogs into therapy sessions. Patients in these sessions were much less apathetic compared to those who underwent conventional therapy. The study is published in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. Reaching people early with the right care and treatment is the best way of recovering a meaningful and fulfilling life Paul Corry, Rethink The research team looked at anhedonia, the inability to gain pleasure from normally pleasurable experiences, which is a major factor in schizophrenia. For example, an anhedonic mother gains no joy from playing with her baby, a footballer is no longer excited when his team wins and a teenager is left unmoved by passing their driving test. The condition is linked to poor social functioning and has proved resistant to treatment. Rehabilitation The researchers compared 10 schizophrenia patients who underwent animal-assisted therapy and 10 who were given non-animal therapy over a 10 week period. In each case, they assessed patients' clinical symptoms, their subjective views of their quality of life and their hedonic tone - a psychological term relating to whether someone views experiences as pleasurable. The group who were given pet therapy showed a significant improvement in the hedonic tone compared to the other group. They were also seen to show an improvement in the use of leisure time and a trend towards improvement in motivation. The researchers, led by Dr Inbar Nathans-Barel, concluded animal-assisted therapy "may contribute to the psychosocial rehabilitation and quality of life of chronic schizophrenia patients". Paul Corry, director of campaigns and communications for the mental health charity Rethink, said: "This is an interesting research and we welcome any new research or progress into understanding the causes of schizophrenia. "But it would need to be checked before it would make a difference to the thousands of people living with severe mental illness in the UK. "In the meantime, reaching people early with the right care and treatment is the best way of recovering a meaningful and fulfilling life." As a side note, I have several pets, and I feel like they help me reduce stress in my life.
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2005 7:07 am
Well, as you know, I am not diagnosed with any mental illness. I am an animal lover, though. I especially love cats.
I used to have a cat, Socks, he passed away a year and a half ago, and he was probably my best friend. Yes, he was grouchy and moody, but he was always there for me to pet, play with, and spend time with. He never judged me or demanded more of me than I could offer, he accepted me for who I am, and I accepted him for who he was.
Since I have social difficulties, having my cat was good for me, because he provided the type of comfort I do not really know how to seek in other people. It is nice to have someone around that you can just be with without having to force conversation, like most people seem to want to do.
I also have a dog, she is a dalmation named Melody. She can be a bit too overbearing and needy for me, but as she ages, she has begun to calm down. Just having someone to cuddle with is nice, and when I am home with her it does force me to go out of the house sometimes when I would otherwise just closet myself in, because she needs to be taken care of (walked).
I think having someone who depends on you is a good experience, because you don't want to let them down, even if you yourself are feeling awful or out of it. And pets do not demand too much. They are much simpler than people. A little bit of food, water, walking or litter box cleaning, and some petting, and they are perfectly happy. You don't have to worry about guessing what they are thinking or worrying if you've offended them, or any other complex social things that tend to come up with humans. It is also a fulfilling experience, knowing that you can take care of another living creature, in a way.
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2005 10:19 am
That's interseting. Pets are also said to make you more relaxed.
What pets do you have?
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2005 2:35 pm
Civet Moon I think having someone who depends on you is a good experience, because you don't want to let them down, even if you yourself are feeling awful or out of it. And pets do not demand too much. They are much simpler than people. A little bit of food, water, walking or litter box cleaning, and some petting, and they are perfectly happy. You don't have to worry about guessing what they are thinking or worrying if you've offended them, or any other complex social things that tend to come up with humans. It is also a fulfilling experience, knowing that you can take care of another living creature, in a way. I totally agree. Taking care of pets has been the thing that got me out of bed in the morning on some days. And pets never care whether you've got an illness or not! I used to want to be a Zookeeper because I felt that taking care of pets was something I could do well. Between the two of us, my fiance and I have a lot of interesting pets in our house! We have two dogs, three snakes, a lizard, an opossum, and about four Egyptian Spiny Mice right now.
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2005 11:24 am
Smart Alex Between the two of us, my fiance and I have a lot of interesting pets in our house! We have two dogs, three snakes, a lizard, an opossum, and about four Egyptian Spiny Mice right now. Wow! lol. Whats an opossum? redface
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2005 1:04 pm
It's the only marsupial native to the United States! They have silvery fur, and a naked tail that they can use to wrap around branches and things! They're not usually pets. In fact, most people only see dead ones after they've been hit by cars on the roads!
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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 11:22 am
Smart Alex It's the only marsupial native to the United States! They have silvery fur, and a naked tail that they can use to wrap around branches and things! They're not usually pets. In fact, most people only see dead ones after they've been hit by cars on the roads! I did a Google image search for 'opossum'. They look rather sweet. whee Are they hard to tame or just not usally pets? Sorry to be silly and completely off-topic, but is your fiance left-handed?
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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 7:31 pm
M is for M+Ms Are they hard to tame or just not usally pets? They're just not usually pets. A lot of people think they're gross looking for some strange reason! M is for M+Ms Sorry to be silly and completely off-topic, but is your fiance left-handed? Erm, yes, why?
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Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 6:45 am
I think possums are cute (why is it sometimes called "opossum" and other times "possum"? Is it regional?)
I do not know much about them, but I made an animation recently with a possum as the character. If I am able to get it onto my computer, I will post a link to it smile .
What are possums like, Smart Alex? What is their usual disposition, and how do you keep one and care for him/her?
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Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 8:08 am
Smart Alex Civet Moon I think having someone who depends on you is a good experience, because you don't want to let them down, even if you yourself are feeling awful or out of it. And pets do not demand too much. They are much simpler than people. A little bit of food, water, walking or litter box cleaning, and some petting, and they are perfectly happy. You don't have to worry about guessing what they are thinking or worrying if you've offended them, or any other complex social things that tend to come up with humans. It is also a fulfilling experience, knowing that you can take care of another living creature, in a way. I totally agree. Taking care of pets has been the thing that got me out of bed in the morning on some days. And pets never care whether you've got an illness or not! I used to want to be a Zookeeper because I felt that taking care of pets was something I could do well. Between the two of us, my fiance and I have a lot of interesting pets in our house! We have two dogs, three snakes, a lizard, an opossum, and about four Egyptian Spiny Mice right now. wow..Egyptian Spiny Mice? *google image search* that sounds interesting. I once watched a program on Animal Planet where the inmates at a womens prison trained the animals (mostly dogs) and brought them to the old folks home nearby. It was such a good program and I remember one of the inmates saying thatgoing through with training the animals has made her a better person..more calmer and patient and less stressed i think. It was sad in the end though : her community service activity was changed to something else..
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Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 9:33 am
Smart Alex M is for M+Ms Are they hard to tame or just not usally pets? They're just not usually pets. A lot of people think they're gross looking for some strange reason! I think they're cute. surprised It suprises me to think that most people think they're gross-looking. Poor little possums. sad To answer Civet, dictionary.com says it's regional and that the south of the USA uses possum. smile I use it as I had heard possum before (probably on TV) but not opossum and I find possum easier to pronounce. sweatdrop Quote: M is for M+Ms Sorry to be silly and completely off-topic, but is your fiance left-handed? Erm, yes, why? There was a thread a while ago about left-handed people and you said something about your boyfriends always being left-handed. xp
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Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 3:33 pm
Quote: To answer Civet, dictionary.com says it's regional and that the south of the USA uses possum. I use it as I had heard possum before (probably on TV) but not opossum and I find possum easier to pronounce. I am from the North-east United States. I just say "possum" because it is easier. It is not a word that comes up often, so I'm not sure how most people around here say it. My brain practically short-circuited the other day, when my teacher asked me what animal my character was (he thought it was a mouse). I said "o..o..o..o..o.. ah.. .a possom" because I did not know which was the correct way to say it and tried to stop myself in the middle redface . Smart Alex, how did you come to own so many exotic pets?
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Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 8:40 pm
Civet Moon why is it sometimes called "opossum" and other times "possum"? Is it regional? The common name of the species is "Virginia Opossum." 'Possum is just a sort-of slang term. We use it up here in the NorthWest too. Civet Moon What are possums like, Smart Alex? What is their usual disposition, and how do you keep one and care for him/her? They're kind of aloof. They don't like to play very much, but mine isn't aggressive or anything. She likes to explore and climb things. If you put your hand up to her, she'll probably nibble gently at you to see if you're made of food. Then she will get bored and wander elsewhere. She's easy to take care of. She's litter box trained and eats a combination of a base omnivore dry diet food and fresh fruits and vegetables. Occasionally I give her fresh raw meat, but she needs a special balance of protein and calcium so you always have to include the bones. Civet Moon Smart Alex, how did you come to own so many exotic pets? Before I was disabled by my illness, I got a degree in Zoology and was planning to be a Zookeeper. I've always loved animals and had odd pets. I also have rehabilitated injured wild animals. For a while I was very active in a local reptile society. Now that I'm disabled, I have a lot of time on my hands and very few friends. My pets are what keep me going. I also volunteer at my local zoo once a week!
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 4:38 pm
Pets provide something to work with when it comes to responsibility and social skills; one can either talk to it endlessly, or learn life skills through taking care of it, as is the case of inmates.
Pets can also relieve boredom.
But isn't that what video games are for? [/end biased statement xd ]
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 8:33 pm
1kNoKotoba Pets provide something to work with when it comes to responsibility and social skills; one can either talk to it endlessly, or learn life skills through taking care of it, as is the case of inmates. Pets can also relieve boredom. But isn't that what video games are for? Haha! They have video game pets! Like "Catz" and "Dogz!" But it's way easier to take care of a real cat or dog!
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