Too Attached to A Pet? When Bonding May Be Unhealthy

There is such a thing as having too much of a good thing.  ~ Michelle Gomez

A reader writes: In my opinion there are just too many people around the world who love their pets more than they love people. Do you have any more detailed information\articles outlining signs of unhealthy relationships with pets? Or maybe you can point me in the right direction.

Understanding and Managing Grief, January 7 - January 13, 2024

Best selections from Grief Healing's X feed this week:

When Naomi Judd died by suicide in 2022, after a long struggle with mental illness, her daughter Ashley found her. In this deeply moving, revealing, and insightful conversation Ashley Judd talks about the trauma she has worked hard to face, the grief she now feels, and how her mother’s spirit is still very much alive in her life. Anderson Cooper interviews Ashley Judd: Grief, Love and Naomi « All There Is With Anderson Cooper

Voices of Experience: Four-Footed Healers Support The Team

by Michael Shannon O’Keefe

Isolation is a natural reaction to depression and grief. If you’re in the depths of depression, it can be hard to pick up the phone and call a friend. If you’ve lost of a loved one, lost your good health, or lost a relationship, you may pull inward and grieve alone.

But just because isolation is natural doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Isolation can create a spiral of despair. Depression and grief cause people to cut themselves off from friends and family, which in turn causes more depression and grief, and so on.

Talk therapy and medications are the standard treatments for these states of mind. Recent research, however, points to another way to help people escape that spiral. It’s been called the pet effect. Simply put, being around animals helps people feel less isolated, depressed, and grief-stricken.

Coping with Pet Loss, October 8 - October 14, 2017

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Grieving for a pet can take many forms and duration can vary, vet says, http://j.mp/2gf1t7U « Kansas State University

I've been there: Pet grief support comes to Philly, http://bit.ly/2yj0xG3 « Philadelphia Inquirer

Pet grief: When you lose your most faithful friend, http://j.mp/2ga6Jtd « Daily Mail Online

Loving A Pet Too Much: When Bonding May Be Unhealthy

Find the latest version of this post here:

Too Attached to A Pet? When Bonding May Be Unhealthy

A reader writes: In my opinion there are just too many people around the world who love their pets more than they love people. Do you have any more detailed information\articles outlining signs of unhealthy relationships with pets? Or maybe you can point me in the right direction.