For people living with bipolar disorder, pets can help your mood stability and encourage a regular, healthy schedule.
Whoever coined the phrase “man’s best friend” was on to something. Dogs — and cats and birds and other critters — have well-documented properties for boosting our well-being. For those living with bipolar disorder, pets can help improve your mood and maintain a healthy routine.
When psychologists from Miami University in Ohio and Saint Louis University in Missouri compared pet owners to people who did not own a pet in three different studies, people with pets scored higher on self-esteem, were more physically fit, and tended to be less lonely, less fearful, and less preoccupied.
One experiment showed that thinking about a beloved pet is as effective as thinking about a human friend in helping someone feel better after experiencing rejection. In fact, research shows that the bond people have with their dogs can be as strong as the bond with their closest relative.
“A third were closer to the pet dog than to any human family member,” says Sandra Barker, PhD, who co-authored that study. “Wherever I speak around the world, dog owners aren’t surprised by that.”
How Pets Help Ease Stress and Anxiety
Dr. Barker was director of The Center for Human-Animal Interaction at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, and is a professor emeritus of psychiatry. She’s been involved in a body of research documenting the power of even 15 minutes with a therapy dog in cutting levels of stress, anxiety, and fear for both psychiatric inpatients and hospital staff.
That reduced stress response, whether with therapy dogs in health care settings or pet owners “in the wild,” has been documented across a range of physiological measures, including brain waves, blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol, the so-called “stress hormone.”
Pets provide a type of companionship humans can’t — a more predictable one, without judgment.
According to the latest research from the World Animal Foundation, 66 percent of households in the United States — that’s 86.9 million homes — own at least one pet.
Therapeutic Benefits of Interacting With Animals
Aubrey H. Fine, PhD, editor of the Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy and author of several books on the benefits of human-animal ties, notes that dogs are very attuned to nonverbal behavior and, therefore, responsive to emotional distress.
In his most recent book, Our Faithful Companions, he writes about how the comforting attachment of a golden retriever named Magic helped his wife through breast cancer. Like many people who study or have companion animals, Dr. Fine talks about the emotional boost from a dog’s faithful devotion — their excitement upon seeing you and total acceptance, without judgment.
“That unconditional sense of love gives people a sense of hope that they can persevere,” says Fine, a professor emeritus at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona. “I remember my wife said, probably a couple months post-treatment, ‘Magic is the hope that I need to get on to the next day.’“
Unlikely Pets and Their Therapeutic Power
Cats and dogs don’t have exclusive bragging rights, though. Fine first got intrigued by “pet power” in the 1970s when he saw how children he was treating responded to a gerbil named Sasha. Clients in his private practice engage with his cockatoos and other birds, and even his bearded dragon (a type of lizard).
“Fish are very relaxing,” he adds, referring to research that shows how watching fish tanks decreases stress hormones.
A goldfish in the cardiac unit was the catalyst for People-Animal Connection, a volunteer program based at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. “People noticed that it had an effect not just on the patients, but on the staff, as well,” explains program coordinator Stephen Goldstein.
Since then, People-Animal Connection has therapy dog-and-owner pairs visiting almost every unit of the hospital, including the psychiatric institution. The organization also arranges for people to spend time with their own pets, which combats loneliness and raises spirits.
“Words can’t quite describe the effect,” muses Goldstein. “The dogs provide something that medicine cannot.”
RELATED: The Essential Guide to Depression and the Power of Pets
For his part, Goldstein has a cat, Athena, waiting in his condo when he gets home after work. He finds solace in petting her.
“There’s scientific evidence that petting, whether a cat or a dog, reduces blood pressure,” he explains.
How Pets Can Improve Your Health and Mental Health
An alliance of scientists, researchers, veterinarians, and pet advocates have teamed up to share evidence that pets improve the health and well-being of our communities.
Although the studies are smaller and often not the best quality, there is research that suggests pets influence our bodies (and lives) in a variety of beneficial ways. For example, some studies have shown pets can:
- Slow our heart rates
- Positively impact chemicals in our bodies that help regulate stress and mood
- Elevate feelings of social support
As noted above, even observing live fish has been shown to improve perceptions of mood, relaxation, and anxiety.
The connection between humans and dogs goes far back. During an excavation in the late 1970s, archaeologists found a Paleolithic tomb in Northern Israel, dating back 12,000 years, in which a human had been buried alongside the remains of a wolf, dog, or puppy. Scientists consider this the earliest indication of a close relationship between human and canine.
The Unique Bonds Between Humans and Their Pets
Emerging research reveals more details about how other kinds of pets connect with humans, too. One study has found that, despite their reputation for being independent and even indifferent, cats bond with their caregivers just as much as babies and dogs do.
Research from the Oregon State University’s Human-Animal Interaction Lab, published in the journal Current Biology, showed that 64.3 percent of kittens formed secure attachments with caregivers. In comparison, 35.7 percent had an insecure bond, demonstrated through anxious or avoidance behaviors. The researchers found similar results with older cats.
And this goes for nontraditional companion animals, as well. “A bird or reptile might also produce that same impact, and if you have allergies, they can be a great choice,” says Steven Feldman, executive director of HABRI, the Human Animal Bond Research Institute, in Washington, DC. “When you know that an animal is counting on you to care for it, it does provide an important stabilizing force in your life, and that sense of purpose is really important when you’re dealing with depression and anxiety.”
Animals Can Be Beneficial for Your Social Network, Too
According to a HABRI survey of pet owners, nearly three-quarters reported mental health improvements from pet ownership. However, ownership isn’t necessarily necessary to experience the pet effect; sometimes, contact with an animal is enough.
In addition to providing support directly, pets can also help build out human support systems around their owners.
Pets are an instant conversation piece, says Feldman. “When you walk a dog, you meet other people in the neighborhood, and those people become friends,” he says. “Friends do favors for each other and become part of your social support structure.”
Should You Get a Pet to Improve Your Mental Health?
With depression in particular, pets can be beneficial because, in addition to helping us feel less lonely, they “allow us to have a focus of attention,” says Alan M. Beck, professor emeritus and a former director of Purdue University’s Center for the Human-Animal Bond. He’s also an expert on how people and animals influence the psychological and physiological state of each other.
“They keep us in the present instead of bemoaning the past or worrying about the future,” Beck adds. “And if we can stay in the present, even transiently, we’re less stressed.”
When Pets Aren’t the Right Fit for Everyone
However, getting a pet isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Some of us just aren’t “animal people.” Others may have issues with health, time, money, or housing that make having a pet problematic.
“We can’t make a blanket recommendation that everyone should get a dog,” notes Megan Mueller, PhD, an associate professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. “It really depends on the family’s circumstances and their ability to care for the animal.”
She also points out that the emotional benefits of animal companionship depend on the quality of the connection between human and animal.
In one study of children in military families, she found a deep attachment to the family pet was associated with greater resilience when a parent was deployed; it was “an acute stressor,” she says. The simple presence of an animal in the home wasn’t as important as “what kind of relationship someone has with a pet,” Dr. Mueller says.
Coping With the Loss of a Beloved Pet
The deeper the bond, however, the more painful it can be when it’s broken. When we invited readers to share the ways companion animals add to their well-being, several alluded to the destabilizing effects of losing a beloved companion. As with so many triggers, having a coping plan in place can moderate the fallout.
“Most people are surprised and shocked by how intensely they feel grief after the loss of a pet,” says Barker, who is known for her work in supporting bereaved owners. “Pets don’t live as long as humans do. It’s important to remember that and prepare as the pet ages.”
She suggests thinking in advance about ways to commemorate the pet, such as planting a tree or writing a poem.
Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking
- The Truth About Cats and Dogs: Pets Are Good for Mental Health of “Everyday People.” ScienceDaily. July 11, 2011.
- Pet Ownership Statistics — Inspiring You to Bring Home Your Next Best Friend! World Animal Foundation. October 3, 2023.
- The Power of Pets: Health Benefits of Human-Animal Interactions. National Institutes of Health (NIH): News in Health. February 2018.
- Vitale KR et al. Attachment Bonds Between Domestic Cats and Humans. Current Biology. September 23, 2019.
- Mueller M, Callina K. Human–Animal Interaction as a Context for Thriving and Coping in Military-Connected Youth: The Role of Pets During Deployment. Applied Developmental Science. October 2014.
UPDATED: Originally printed as “Friends With Benefits,” Spring 2015