When I first started this blog two years ago, I was excited. I’m still excited, I write down new ideas every day. So, what’s happened that made me stop? Depression hit hard for me. I didn’t expect it. It felt like it came out of nowhere, but if I’m being honest, it’s been coming up for years. On top of dealing with Major Depressive Disorder, a close family member attempted suicide. I became demoralized as I looked for a full time, salary job that I would enjoy, and my current work hasn’t exactly been the best for my mental health either. The one constant was my dog, Bear. Baby Bear, who is very happy and excited to see me, and who has grown older every day while maintaining his puppy attitude, and a lot of medication, but since this is a blog post about doggos I’ll keep it to just the doggos.
Depression: the psychology and the feeling.
Chronic and seasonal depression are distinct from the feeling itself. People who have never had to deal with the psychological version of it assume that it’s when a person is just sad for no reason, but it isn’t just that at all. The series Harry Potter actually gives depression an entity in the form of dementors, which are almost spirit-like beings that are dark. It sucks out a person’s joy leaving them a shell of themselves. Even this is a very basic version of what it actually is.
For me, personally, I became very angry and bitter. The tics I have (due to Autism) became worse and more noticeable. I yelled at everything and at home I collapsed in my bed and I couldn’t do anything. Even turning on the tv was a challenge and taking a shower made me so fatigued. I was a shell of myself during this time. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, there was just nowhere to go. It was scary.
Depression the feeling is more like a feeling of sadness and hopelessness. This state is temporary, often lasting hours, whereas the more chronic forms, like major depressive disorder and seasonal depression, can last for months and are lifelong conditions, often needing medications and therapy to help control. The NIH has a very thorough breakdown of what depression is exactly.
Dogs and their depressed people
While depression weighs down the humans, the dogs still need everyday care like being fed and watered, and being walked regularly. Depending on the breed of dog, they may be more inclined to cuddle their depressed humans or try to find ways to ease their sadness.
In one short TikTok video I watched recently, a dog using those talking buttons was asking where their friend was, who had just passed away only weeks before the video being filmed. The Australian Shepherd featured in the video realized his human had started immediately crying, and ran to comfort her, even bringing her his favorite toy. This demonstrates that dogs can understand human emotions if they’re exposed to them often. In short-term depression, this type of comfort can really help people, and if cuddling your dog is comfort then you experience a rise in oxytocin.
Oxytocin is nicknamed the “love hormone” and studies have shown that cuddling or even mutual gazing (where you and your dog look at each other) increases oxytocin in both people and dogs. This slight rise in oxytocin, which may be a lot lower in people with Major Depressive Disorder, may help people with depression a lot more than we realize including providing a sense of purpose to a person’s life.
Major Depressive Disorder
However, this sense of purpose alone won’t be enough for people with major depressive disorder. We see time and time again that mothers will abandon their children with family members before committing suicide, and I’ve also seen this happen with dog owners as well, and it’s been in my home state.
In an article from 2016, Kayden Clarke, an Autistic transgender man suffering from major depressive disorder and other mental health issues, was starting to gain quite the following on YouTube. Even I followed some of his YouTube videos because, as someone who is also Autistic, I was trying to find ways to train my dog, Bear, on ways to help me during meltdowns. I was very impressed that he trained his own service dog to get him down and lay on him during his meltdowns. Well, in the final days he dropped off his dog with his parents, and he committed suicide by cop. Unfortunately, his dog couldn’t help him.
Dogs can only help so much with people who have major depressive disorder. That’s why it’s important to get the help you need as soon as you realize you may have seasonal or major depressive disorder.
Conclusion
Ah, I got a little dark there, but depression itself is a very dark topic. Dogs can help in a myriad of ways, including forcing you to be active and raising oxytocin levels, but it can only go so far.
If you suffer from suicidal thoughts, please call or text 988 in the USA and Canada, or call 111 or any of these other resources in the UK, and they can help you get the resources you need. Of course, if you have an emergency, please call 911 in the USA.
ADHDoggo 