Yash Pandit drew this heartwarming comic about how his cat Bagheera helps with his depression. 😻 While this is a personal anecdote, it is proven that pets, especially dogs and cats, can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, ease loneliness, encourage exercise and playfulness, and even improve your cardiovascular health!
Artist: Yash Pandit
Do you have a cat or other pet that helps with your mental health? Let us know your experiences in the comments below!
my cat
does this
for me
i rant to her
i cry while petting her
if anxious she will leap onto my lap and demand pets
she wakes me in the morning to feed her
she helps me relax and take breaks by walking across whatever i am doing at the moment in order to grab my attention
she’s amazing
I’ve known a person with serious mental health issues who ended up with a home full of pets they no longer could truly take care of, and I wonder if part of it was trying to feel as needed and important as possible… If taking care of 1 pet feels great, then adding more and more should make one feel excellent, right? But in the end, this specific person I’m talking about ended up not being able to clean, play with, or afford to feed & take care of the pets properly because they had way too many of them. =(
So pets can help, but you need to recognize your limits: More isn’t always better, and can lead to a self-destructive path if you can’t take care of them, further reinforcing negative self-image.
Me, having struggled with mid-severity depression, stuck with my deceased mother’s two cats, and they brought immense joy (and some frustration =^^= ) to my days until the elder died and I had to give the younger away due allergies. My recommendation would be that if considering a pet, get one, two at most, and focus on them. You can’t rescue every animal on the planet, you very likely need to focus on the couple you CAN make a difference to, and that’s what makes ALL the difference between hopefully having a healthier life or becoming stuck in an even worse mental morass. Overextending will likely end up with you being unable to take care of yourself AND your charges.