How Clinically Serious Can Our Obsession With Pets Become?
Catnip? Check. Scratching post? Check. Self-cleaning litter box? Check. Cat leash? Check. Luxury cat toys from Versace? Check. Specially designed room solely for cat purposes? Check.
We all sometimes have our Instagram feed flooded with pictures of furry friends and their antics.
Whether it’s pet owners showing off their pet wardrobe and accessories, baby-talking to their pets, or taking them on a luxurious trip to Italy—social media posts show an obsession with animals.
Some people even fantasize about what life would be like if they could talk to their pets like humans and they could talk back.
But, did you know that a recent study revealed that our obsession with pets verges on schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)?
Feeling isolated when your pet is not around or getting panic attacks when you can’t see your pet are initial signs that you are becoming overly dependent on your pet
and that you may be verging on dependent personality disorder (DPD), schizophrenia, severe anxiety, and even psychosis.
That’s why most people find it devastating when their pets die. However, critics of pet cemeteries over the world have criticized the burial arrangements
as exaggerated grieving and a clinical obsession with the lives they led with their deceased furry pals in the past. Animal hoarding is also considered a similar type of OCD.
Other studies also reveal that for pet owners with OCD about germs and contamination, caring for a pet and maintaining cleanliness around the house can trigger anxiety issues.
Having a pet lick your face, cleaning a litter box, or tending to a sick pet can trigger them
and cause them to suffer from nervous breakdowns or be at an increased risk of mental health disorders like PTSD or panic attacks.