Animals and Emotions

There's an animal in there, somewhere.

 

Oh, how I love ScienceDaily.com! Let me count the ways...

I was in a conversation last night where a friend of mine was explaining to me why a cat curls up next to a human. From what he said, I deduced the following: It's not because they're cold (they have fur) or they're bored (they like to chase nothing) or they're hungry (if you're not holding food, LOL), but it's because they want companionship. Who would've guessed! A cat or other animal seemingly has no object but to eat, sleep and... well, you get the picture. So, I decided to see if my favorite website had anything to say about the issue. Sure enough!

ScienceDaily.com has an article (for the actual article, click here: Science Daily article) where they talk about how animals use emotion to make decisions. According to the article, an animal's environment shapes the way the animal "feels" (negative or positive emotions) and that those emotions are reflected in the decisions the animal makes. So, if your cow is depressed or anxious because it is always in peril of being eaten by a coyote, it will tend to make interpretations of a stimulus (such as a bush moving) as a negative event -- mainly, that a predator is lurking in that bush.

It would seem from this article that anxiety and other negative emotions can affect animals in similar ways to humans. Humans don't tend to have a high quality of life if they are constantly on guard or depressed. Maybe your Fido or Fluffy could benefit from some positive emotions from you -- and maybe a little hug wouldn't hurt either.

HAVE YOU HUGGED YOUR PET TODAY?

Exercise and the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award

Alright, so I've been hearing for YEARS that exercise is a great form of stress control, lowers your blood pressure, and is good for cardiovascular health.

I started a regular exercise program in 2004, and have been steady at it for at least 20 minutes a day (now it's more like 35-40 minutes a day) 5 days a week ever since. Here's a list of the types of activities I go for:

• Jogging
• Walking
• Stationary exercise bicycle
• Aerobics (purchased DVD or online at sparkpeople.com)
• Yoga

I'm feeling the itch to get into some more activities and am considering getting a gym membership. For the past 7 weeks, I've also taken on the President's Challenge which is to remain active for 5 days a week for 6 out of 8 weeks and I've succeeded at that and beyond! So, I'm ramping it up a bit: I'm going to go for the bronze award they have posted on their website (click the link above). I know this all sounds hokey and a bit cheesy, but for me, I need the motivation and if someone's gonna give me a pat on the back for doing what I normally do anyways, I'm all for it!

I challenge you to do the same. The site offers a great way to remain accountable and the awards offer motivation that normally isn't available. I'm psyched to exercise now because I know I get to log my progress somewhere. See what it can do for you! I gotta run... (no pun intended)

Mental Health and the Diagnosis-Happy Professional

Recently, I heard of the following story: a woman, distraught and led by a close friend (who's also a mental health professional) to seek mental health assistance was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder at the third session.Granted, it was an intern who approached the diagnosis (haphazardly, at best) with the client and it was her supervisor (supposedly) that gave her the idea. But, really. Who are we to be slapping a label onto someone who comes in asking for help?

To be more specific about the needs of the woman, she was going through an extremely tumultuous divorce. Given the following symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder and we could see why a (insight-lacking) intern might make the call to say the woman had BPD:

1) Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.

      Note:  Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior*** covered in Criterion 5.

2)  A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between  extremes of idealization and devaluation.

3)  Identity disturbance:  markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.

4)  Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating).

Note:  Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior*** covered in Criterion 5.

5) Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior***.

6) Affective [mood] instability.

7) Chronic feelings of emptiness.

8) Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights).

9) Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.

See how the symptoms mimic what many people go through during the course of a breakup? To be sure, the woman did not have Borderline Personality Disorder. And, thanks to her friend, she was able to be reassured that she didn't. But the effects of having a "professional" label someone like that is much more damaging than it may initially seem and it stays with the client.

A lot of mental health professionals think they have the magic diagnosis stick and can bop any readily-available client on the head with it and be correct. This is so wrong on so many levels. True, diagnosis is needed for insurance purposes. But, to label a human being with a disorder when all they wanted was a listening ear, is a tragedy at the very least. It's no wonder non-professionals do this labeling every day -- even with themselves. The label is not the point. Being a good therapist/friend/listener is.