Bipolar? Ever Considered This?
Published: Tue, 09/07/10
Hi ,
How's it going?
Hope you are doing well.
Recently I had someone asking me for
advice on a topic that I didn't expect.
They were a supporter to a person who
has bipolar disorder, and they were looking
for a pet for their loved one.
They wanted to know what type of pet they
should be looking into.
They had heard of psychiatric service dogs,
and were also wondering whether that
would be appropriate in their situation.
A psychiatric service dog is a dog who
helps out a person who has a mental illness
to do the things in life that they would
normally find difficult.
They can remind the person to take their
medications at a certain time every day, or
cheer them up when they are depressed.
They can help calm them down when they
are irritated, and can even call 9-1-1 if a
medical emergency arises!
But psychiatric service dogs need a lot of
training, attention, and care.
They need an owner who will love them
and understand their needs, and they need
to be taken with the person nearly
everywhere they go.
Psychiatric service dogs are a great thing,
but they are only appropriate in certain
people's lives.
But a pet in general can work into most
people's lives.
And, of course, there are many different
kinds of pets.
The two most common are dogs and cats,
but I've heard of everywhere from fish
and hamsters to snakes and birds, and even
to more exotic animals.
Some of these animals can be great
therapeutic animals for people who have
bipolar disorder.
Sometimes that's just because something
else is depending on the person, and it's
just like as if they were growing a garden
or something of that nature.
Other times it's because the animal can
interact with the person.
And, of course, some people are just not
animal lovers, so you need to take that
into consideration, also.
Don't get a pet for your loved one if you
think they will ignore, abuse, or dislike it.
But if you are convinced that it will do
them good, then the next step is to pick
out which kind of animal would be best.
To start off with, as a rule of thumb, I
would avoid the more dangerous animals.
Then, think about whether the person will
need the animal to interact with them or
not.
If they will need interaction, then I would
not suggest a hamster or a lizard.
Then you might think about how much
energy the person is going to have to deal
with the pet.
Dogs usually require a lot of energy.
So if they have a lot of energy to give to a
dog, then that might be the best bet.
If not, then you might consider a different
animal.
Finally, we get to temperament.
Each animal has its own temperament.
So does each person, for that matter.
Matching up your loved ones temperament
with the animals should be done with your
loved one present, as it is often like finding
a new friend.
There are lots of things that are great to
do as surprises, but picking an animal for
someone is probably not one of them.
They need to be there to help pick out
which individual animal is right for them.
In the end, you may need to help your
loved one to take care of the animal while
they are depressed, but don't completely
take over the job.
Encourage them to get up and take care of
their pet, reminding them that their pet
depends on them.
This will most likely help out with their
depression, as well.
Pets can, under the right circumstances and
if chosen right, help out a person who has
bipolar disorder.
Do you have any pets?
If so, have they helped out your loved one?
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Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
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