Dogs and cats are a real antidote to depression, even the one that can arise from a separation with your partner or even from a bereavement.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himDogs and cats I'm a real antidote to depression, even the one that can arise from a separation with your partner or even from a bereavement.
New research, by a team at Florida State University, has found that the company of a pet helps to better cope with the loss of a spouse, whether it is due to a separation or an outright bereavement.
Dogs and cats, in fact, help reduce feelings of depression and loneliness in adults, especially in the elderly. The study, published in The Gerontologist, looked at depressive symptoms and loneliness in a sample of people aged 50 and over who experienced the loss of a spouse following death or divorce.
Dawn Carr, lead author of the study, points out that there is growing evidence of the importance of social support networks in maintaining our mental health following stressful events, such as the loss of a partner. The research, however, wanted to understand if the alternative represented by affection and the company of a pet could offer as many benefits.
The research team then compared the situation of people who had faced marital loss with or without a pet in their life at the time of death or divorce. It was thus highlighted that people without animals had more significant increases in depressive symptoms and greater loneliness compared to those who had them.
“This is an important and impressive discovery. Experiencing some depression after a loss is normal, but we are usually able to adjust to these losses over time. Persistent loneliness, on the other hand, is associated with greater episodes of mortality and faster onset of disability, which means that it is particularly harmful to health. Our findings suggest that pets could help people avoid the negative consequences of loneliness after a loss "
The researchers pointed out that further studies should be conducted to explain why having pets offers benefits in the event of a partner's loss. However, Carr suggested that the reason may be to continue to feel important to someone. In essence, those who remain might think:
“Well, at least this pet still needs me. I can take care of it. I can love him and he appreciates me. This ability to give back and give love is really very powerful "
Read also:
- Like a dog it improves the health of the whole family. The scientific studies that confirm this
- How the dog improves life: 10 reasons not to do without it anymore
- Cat therapy: the psychotherapeutic POWER of cats
- Adopting a cat is good for the heart (and not only)
