
All treatment approaches for depression had failed, but then they adopted a pet - laurex
https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/11/26/for-these-people-with-depression-all-treatment-approaches-had-failed-but-then-they-adopted-a-pet/
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intralizee
To me the diagnosis of depression is too vague in modern society. There should
be a subcategory attached to the word: past-trauma, lack of finances,
loneliness, nihilistic, pessimistic, cognitive abnormality, physical
abnormality, social cause "surrounded by assholes",...

Currently the medical field from my perception, prefers ignorance to the
external forces effecting the person by just labeling someone with depression.
There is always a cause to why a person suffers misery or simply is in pain.
In acquiescence the patient just takes the label, takes a prescription and
becomes unaware to the underlining problem.

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lisper
Makes sense to me. When I get depressed it's generally because I'm feeling
useless. Nothing like having another living thing depending on you for its
well-being to make that go away.

(Which is not to say that this is a cure-all. Post-partum depression is also a
thing.)

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archontes
15 years taking prescriptions. Now a shrink like, "I dunno, maybe get a
kitten."

Aesop Rock - Kirby

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candiodari
2100 years ago, in Rome, on the floor of the Senate, someone asked:

"Cui Bono ?"

Maybe you should wonder about that in this context too. What, exactly would
the monetary situation be of the people administering that treatment if it
worked ? And what would it be if it failed.

And before you say I'm accusing those people of being bad people, I'm not. Not
really. Because that's the way the rewards work the ones making the choice the
government pays for will grow, and ones making the right decisions will
shrink. Over time only one thing can happen.

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fellellor
I hope they continue the study for a few years and see if the effects remain
the same. Hopefully the pet doesn't become part of a routine, and the symptoms
don't resurface. I have seen a lot of people adopt pets and then discard them
once they get bored of it.

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aequitas
Besides that, not every pet is a bundle of joy. Cats and dogs get sick or
chronically disabled (most therapy breeds are also highly susceptible to bone
deceases). So now you have your "best friend" that requires constant
attention, medication and money.

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orev
Not that you _want_ to deal with it, but taking care of other living things
does have emotional rewards.

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aequitas
It can have its rewards indeed. But there is no guarantee it will.

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scopie
Their control group is useless. Perhaps the "control group" did adopt pets was
because they were more depressed than the "experimental group" than did adopt
pets.

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scopie
control group DIDN'T adopt pets

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diminoten
Having recently adopted a puppy (though I love her to death already), I wonder
if the pets in this study were house trained...

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MekaiGS
Cats are usually house trained to boot so that's a plus!

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lupinglade
Yep. Title should say cat, not “a pet”. Cats are quite different from other
pets.

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diskmuncher
I hope the patients won't regress when their pets almost inevitably die before
they do.

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orev
Grief is normal and not the same thing as depression. In fact, feeling _down_
once in a while a is healthy. Depression is a long-term issue. After the grief
passes, you can just get another pet.

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WalterSear
Grief can trigger clinical depression.

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yasp
Has a similar study been done with having a baby?

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diminoten
Good question, but the ethical morass is probably insurmountable.

