Do pets actually help at all with mental illness? you'd

Get an animal with a longer lifespan

Dogs and cats are the norm

Rodents and birds will just off in a few years

when pets die, mourn them, then get more pets. repeat

>>17955389
Actually birds can outlive people depending on what type you get, if you don't want your pet to die, get a young parrot and hopefully you can die first.

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>>17955385
Yes totally.

>>17955385
Dogs help you heal. Since they are social animals, and most breeds require you to go t and walk/ exorcise them multiple times weekly. They also respond to your moods.

Cats do the opposite. They make you feel more comfortable rotting in your home, nor leaving it or socializing, sine the Egyptians fucked up and me them thin you should be worshipping them 24/7. All they give a shit about if if you feed them.

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>>17955389
>birds will just off in a few years

>>17955385
>mentally ill people should get pets

Hello darkness my old friend

Get a cactus and water it with your tears

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>>17955411
>walk/ exorcise them multiple times weekly
>exorcise

>>17955413
I said mentally ill, not retarded. Conditions like depression, ptsd, ocd, etc

Pets can both help and hurt depending. Managing depression and dealing with the responsibilities of having a pet is an enormous burden. I have a cat. It's hell to take care of him, it's exhausting and draining when I have to correct him when he goes after wires or something else. It's hard for me to work up the motivation to play with him, I don't find it fun, I find it a chore. It's an enormous and draining task to take care of his basic needs like feeding him and his litter box. But it's nice that when I'm crying or having a panic attack that he rushes over to me, grabs my hand in his paws, and gently bites until I calm down.

I imagine having a dog is the same way, you can get a dog, but unless it's an actual pre-trained service dog specifically tailored to your needs, you're going to have a lot more negatives than positives. People list taking a walk as a good thing, and it is a good thing for you. What happens on the days you aren't feeling motivated about taking a walk? What happens on the days you can't bring yourself to get out of bed? Your dog needs to be able to use the bathroom and get exercise, and if you want to be a good owner and take care of the living being you're responsible for, that's absolutely mandatory.

You end up spending a lot of the energy you could otherwise spend on important or pleasurable tasks on meeting the needs of your pet. A trained service animal or mental illnesses other than depression and anxiety would be a whole different ballgame though, I think.

>>17955481
Yeah I said mentally ill too.

For me pets are the same as people, if they live a long and happy life then I'm not too upset about them passing but of course I still miss them.

eh

I'm not really an animal person, but I've had a fucking load of pets because every girl I've been with is obsessed with them.

I view them in this cold and transactional way, they 'love' me (they have no concept of love as we interpret it) because I give them something. I find they are a burden you take on, you've got to feed them and clean up after them, watch them get older and ill and then try to take care of them as they sicken and die. They stop you going away and doing things.

That said, if you need company and your lifestyle supports it, a pet can be good company and the trade off makes sense. Not if you work full time and are never around though, it doesn't seem fair.

>>17955424
Don't. It will get rotten like your soul.