Did you know that dogs get depressed too? Or that cats can suffer from OCD? Separation anxiety anyone?
We often say that animals are just like us humans, but we forget how true that premise actually is. Laurel Braitman studies animals exhibiting signs of mental health issues. She tries to explain people that sometimes, animals suffer from the same oddly human-like problems we have.
Her story starts with her adopting a dog, a Bernese mountain dog. Six months after she adopted, she found out that her dog suffers from separation anxiety. She then tried to help him cope with anxiety, sadness and other human-like problems.
The question Laurel asks is what we can learn from watching animals cope with depression, anxiety, OCD and similar problems that we experience as humans as well. Can we use what we learn from our pets and apply to human behavior? Yes, we can.
So, the next time you see some funny animal videos, ask yourself, is it possible that behind those videos, lays some oddly human-like problem?
