Pets and Mental Health

This month, one of our Wellbeing Volunteers, Shelby Smith, shares her thoughts on Pets and Mental Health…

Pets can be so helpful when we are struggling with our mental health. They are the ones who follow us, rely on us and comfort us without judgement whenever we need it. They help us feel less alone when we feel the world is against us. They are hard work sometimes physically, mentally and financially, but the way they look up at us, cuddle us and provide comfort can be really beneficial to both our physical and mental health. Whether they are fluffy, scaley, slimy, swimmers or spiky, pets can be our best friends! 

There were times as a young person struggling with my mental health that I can wholeheartedly say that my pets kept me going; they were relying on me to feed them, take them out for walks, play with them, cuddle them - how could I say no to them? For the longest time they were my motivation to get out of bed every day, my motivation to go out for fresh air when I wouldn't have wanted to go outside, and my motivation to give them cuddles when I felt unworthy of care. Now that I am well and thriving, my pets are who I look forward to seeing every day and who give me unconditional love, they are my best friends! I will never forget the strength my pets gave me when I was unwell and I will be forever grateful that they were part of what got me through my most difficult times in life. 

Photo by Alec Favale on Unsplash

Whilst there are so many positives to having pets, there are also some negatives that we also have to think about such as being able to afford the costs of having pets (food, cat litter, vet bills), and having the correct housing for them (such as vivariums, cages, ways to keep the temperatures), and this can become very expensive! When pets have difficult behaviour, this can be quite distressing and stressful and sometimes can have a negative impact on our mental health… or when we are working or in education, it can be difficult to give pets the time and care that they need.

So, whilst pets can give us so much, we also have the huge responsibility of being able to give our pets what they need.

Thankfully there are a few things we can do when we don't have pets to get our animal time. We can spend time with other people's pets, we can go out into nature and watch the lovely little creatures wander around, we can go to places that have animals that we can watch such as farms, animal experiences, and zoos, and we can watch cute and funny animal videos, documentaries and shows.

Or sometimes we just might not be interested in animals in general and that's totally okay too! 

"The difference between friends and pets is that friends we allow into our company, pets we allow into our solitude." – Robert Brault 

Find out more about Shelby and her work at the link below.