C o u n s e l i n g , C a r e e r, & D i s a b i l i t y S e r v i c e s N e w s l e t t e r
August 2010
Raider Wise Counsel
Pets for Depression & Health
In This Issue
Pets for Depression & 1
Health
Did You Know?
1
Dogs Are Succeeding
Where Psychiatrists
Have Failed
3
Quote
3
Contact Information
4
Can your depression problems improve when you interact with your
pet?
Traffic was unbearable. The work day was long, and the boss
unreasonable. But minutes later, as your pet dog wags his tail and yips
his welcome, your symptoms of depression lift.
It‟s not a coincidence, according to psychologists, veterinarians, and researchers. They concur
that pets can be good for our mental and physical health. A pet can‟t cure symptoms of
depression, of course, nor is a pet a substitute for medication or talk therapy. But a pet can
help to improve mild or moderate depression in many people, experts agree, as well as provide
other benefits, such as better sleep and overall health.
Pets and Depression: What Therapists Say
Pets offer psychological and physical comfort, says Teri Wright, PhD, a psychologist in Santa
Ana, CA, who keeps a parakeet and two hamsters in her office to break the ice with children
she treats—but finds that adults like them, too.
Pets, she says, “just feel good to hold on to.” Psychologically, she says, “they make you feel
important, like you matter.” How, for instance, could you not feel better, when your dog wags
his tail and pants upon your return, even if you‟ve just returned from a half-hour errand?
Did You Know?
In a children‟s psychiatric
hospital in Michigan, a
mixed breed dog roams a
ward and offers its
companionship to any
child who may be in
need? Just think about
how warm and
affectionate a dog can be.
It is very hard to resist.
Wright has two guinea pigs, Dex (for Dexadrin, the ADHD drug) and Zac (short for Prozac),
and feels pretty important when they squeal upon her return home. “No one else gives them
parsley,” she says of their favorite snack.
The Power of Pets for Improving Your Mood and Health
The power of pets in improving mood can be summed up in two words, says Alan Entin, PhD,
a psychologist in Richmond, VA.: “Unconditional love.”
Dogs, in particular, are always glad to see you, he notes. “When you are feeling down and out,
the puppy just starts licking you, being with you , saying with his eyes, „You are the greatest.‟
When an animal is giving you that kind of attention, you can‟t help but respond by improving
your mood and playing with it.”
Besides unconditional love, a pet relieves loneliness, Entin points out. Depression and
loneliness can go together as people withdraw. “For many people, pets are the only relatives
they have. It relieves their loneliness. People with animals tend to relate to them and they feel
better.”
Page 2
Having a pet takes the focus off the owner‟s problems, Entin says, since having a pet is a
commitment—you need to feed and care for the pet. “When people have a pet in the house, it
forces them to take care of another life,” Entin says. With the focus outward, he says, the pet
owner may not dwell on their depressed mood as much.
The pet doesn‟t have to be a dog or a cat. British psychiatrist Camilla Haw, in fact,
recommends pet parrots as ideal pets for some patients with symptoms of depression. “I have
kept pet parrots for 20 years and can recommend them for the house-bound, the lonely and
patients with depression, especially middle-age women suffering from the „empty nest
syndrome,‟” she writes in Psychiatric Bulletin. The birds can be loyal, loving, and provide
good companionship, she says.
Pets and Depression: Veterinarians Weigh In
Pets often serve as confidantes, says Bonnie V. Beaver, DVM, a professor of veterinary
medicine at Texas A&M University.
Pets also can increase social exposure for their owners—another good way to boost mood, she
says. Dogs need walks, and that gets their owners out with other people, inspiring social
contacts.
I will
wag my tail and
lick your face
until you feel
better!!
“People talk to people with animals,” she says, more so than people without pets.
Easing Stress With Your Pet
Pets help your mental health primarily by decreasing your stress, believes Richard Timmins,
DVM, of Camano Island, WA, and director of the Association for Veterinary Family Practice.
Just petting your animals can be soothing, he and others say.
Having a pet in the house can change the entire ambience, as Timmins has discovered. His
parents, when they were both 83, decided to adopt a “boutique mutt,” a shih tzu-bichon mix.
Timmins and his four siblings were concerned that the puppy would be too much work.
“My mother had difficulty with mobility, and we worried the dog would trip her,” he says.
“My dad had had cardiac problems and a hip replaced.”
Turns out, the dog was anything but a problem. While his parents weren‟t depressed, they had
become less interested in activities, Timmins says. The dog changed all that. “Now they are
outside walking the dog a couple times a day. It has given my mother and father topics to
discuss with golf buddies.”
Pets and Health: The Research
Studies about the mental health and physical health benefits of pets abound. Among the more
recent findings:
The overall health of dog owners is better than those who don‟t have dogs, according
to a study that evaluated women ages 25 to 40 in China. Half of the 3,031 women
owned dogs and half did not. Those who had dogs exercised more often, slept better,
Page 3
reported better fitness levels and fewer sick days, and saw their doctors less often.
The study is in Social Indicators Research.
Pets provide opportunities for social contact, according to a study in Social Science
& Medicine, and that can be good for someone down in the dumps. Researchers
asked 339 adults in Western Australia about their social contact and pet ownership.
The pet owners interacted more with neighbors than non-owners.
Having a dog—and petting it—may be good for your cardiovascular system, although
this research has yielded mixed results. In one study, however, pet owners had lower
blood pressure and blood fat levels than non-owners, researchers report in the Medical
Journal of Australia. Other research hasn‟t found a difference in blood pressure
levels among pet owners and non-owners.
Dogs are Succeeding
Where Psychiatrists Have
Failed
As weird and unusual as it
may seem dogs are succeeding where psychiatrist have
failed. Pets are actually
invading mental hospitals,
nursing homes, and institutions for handicapped and
mentally challenged children. Many of these residents that live in these institutions often do not interact
with anyone and are isolated. They have nothing to
do and are unloved. The
dogs help to break through
these so-called shells.
Dogs give unconditional
love, security and warmth
with no strings attached.
Most psychiatric doctors
just prescribe drugs and
leave it at that. Animals do
not exactly cure people but
they help open avenues of
communication. Dogs also
help to alleviate some of the
patients‟ anxieties. They
begin to feel needed, and
enjoy having the responsibility.
Pets and Depression: Caveats
Pets help most when symptoms of depression are mild or moderate, psychologists say. If you
are already so depressed you can‟t take care of yourself, having an animal is going to make it
worse, says Wright.
Another caveat: If someone is not a “pet person,” getting one is not likely to help improve
their life, says Timmins. There are some people who have not had that pet experience growing
up, he says. “They‟ve never had a relationship with an animal. They would be less likely to
benefit.”
“But if the conditions are right, pets can help mental health,” he says. “The benefits have been
shown for all kinds of pets,” he said, not just dogs and cats. Even watching fish in an aquarium
has been shown to help reduce muscle tension and pulse rate, he says, citing research published
nearly 20 years ago.
Sources
http://www.webmd.com/depression/recognizing-depression-symptoms/pets-depression
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/18524/
how_dogs_help_psychiatric_patients.html?cat=71
http://www.dogquotes.com/
Quote
“The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never
deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog. . . He will kiss the
hand that has no food to offer; he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with
the roughness of the world. . . When all other friends desert, he remains.” - George G. Vest
Page 4
RAIDER WISE COUNSEL
Counseling, Career, &
Disability Services
Staff:
Tracey Watson
Director
Jeff Snell
Counselor
Julianne Cole
Counselor
Tina Messamore
Support Staff
Carol Jarabek
Support Staff
Roane State Community College
Counseling, Career, and Disability Services
Contact Information
Roane County
Tracey Watson, Director
watsontl@roanestate.edu
865-882-4546
Carol Jarabek, Support Staff
jarabeklc@roanestate.edu
865-882-4546
Oak Ridge
Jeff Snell, Counselor
snellja@roanestate.edu
865-481-2003
Julianne Cole, Counselor
davisjy@roanestate.edu
865-481-2003
Tina Messamore, Support Staff
messamore@roanestate.edu
865-481-2003
www.roanestate.edu/counseling
www.roanestate.edu/disabilityservices
www.roanestate.edu/careerservices
From bottom left: Carol Jarabek, Tracey Watson, Julianne Davis
From top left: Tina Messamore & Jeff Snell
RSCC is a TBR and AA/EEO institution. RSCC publication # 11-009