People With Sick Pets Have More Anxiety and Depression

More than 90% of pet owners think of their dog or cat as a member of their family, according to a 2015 Harris Poll. While that close bond makes pets a boon to human happiness—and even, in many cases, to mental health—it can also come with a downside. New research suggests that when people care for ill pets, they have more depression, anxiety and caregiving distress: symptoms that are similar to how people report feeling when caring for sick relatives, the study authors say. In the new study, published in the journal Veterinary Record, researchers surveyed 238 owners of dogs or cats. Half of the animals were healthy, and half had a chronic or terminal illness. Pet owners were asked to fill out an online survey about how taking care of a pet affects them. Owners of sick animals reported a significantly higher caregiver burden—a condition people encounter when they’re providing informal care for a sick family member—than those with healthy pets. Sick-pet owners also reported higher stress, anxiety, symptoms of clinical depression and a lower quality of life than owners of healthy pets, and all of these measures were closely linked to the caregiving burden. Depression was an especially pronounced problem for these pet owners. Depressive symptoms were even worse for people who belonged to pet disease social media groups, which the researchers say could indicate the members were seeking support for their distress. The people in the study were mostly...
Source: TIME: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Anxiety caregiving Depression Mental Health/Psychology Pets Research Stress Source Type: news