Pets Can Be Life-Changing For People Living With Severe Mental Illness

Most people reported either having difficult relationships with friends and family, or having a limited social network outside of their pets.  

In these cases, pets provided an important source of emotional connection and companionship, taking on a function similar to that of a human relationship. 

“I feel that the pets … depend on me and also I have daily contact with them,” the man with the 10 birds said. “They also give me a sense of well-being, which I don’t get from [anyone else] because most of these interactions with my Mum, Dad, [friend], are all by telephone rather than physical contact, and that’s the big difference is the empathetic physical presence.”

Beyond proving emotional support and companionship, taking care of a pet was often described as instilling a sense of routine and feelings of self-efficacy. Some pet owners also said that their animal companions offered a welcome distraction from their most uncomfortable symptoms. 

The man with the birds said that when he was hearing voices, focusing on the birds’ singing could help him get through it. Another participant said his two cats helped him get through the most difficult moments of his illness. 

“When you just want to sink into a pit and just sort of retreat from the entire world, the cats force me to sort of still be involved with the world,” he said. 

These heartfelt testimonies suggest that pets should be taken seriously by mental health care providers as a low-risk treatment option that could truly change the lives of those suffering in silence.