Therapy Birds

[Jayyj]

Thank you for sharing that, and it sounds like you've had a horrible couple of years. It's easy to see in this sort of situation that caring for a bird can be a huge help and, beyond a one off incident that nobody has any place judging you for, it sounds as though you're as conscientious as the next person in looking after the birds.

It might be making an assumption without full grasp of the facts, but would I be right in saying your type of depression is not bipolar though? The problem that strikes me that is unique to bipolar is that there are swings from the pits of despair to periods of manic energy with irrational decisions and behaviours that have the potential to cause problems just as serious as the depression.

 

[Mayden]

Thank you for sharing that, and it sounds like you've had a horrible couple of years. It's easy to see in this sort of situation that caring for a bird can be a huge help and, beyond a one off incident that nobody has any place judging you for, it sounds as though you're as conscientious as the next person in looking after the birds.

It might be making an assumption without full grasp of the facts, but would I be right in saying your type of depression is not bipolar though? The problem that strikes me that is unique to bipolar is that there are swings from the pits of despair to periods of manic energy with irrational decisions and behaviours that have the potential to cause problems just as serious as the depression.

Edit: I shouldn't say "it's not bipolar" without obviously checking with the person, but what I actually meant was 'even if it's not bipolar - the attitude is still..." etc. Sorry for the abruptness and seeming assumption!

It's not bipolar, but the attitude is still the same during one of the phases, the apathy, the lack of caring for ones self, or others, the self destructiveness, etc. So you can draw parallels. Mania is similar in the sense of; impulsiveness, agitation, 'action without consequence'. The actual method is usually different between the two cycles (recklessness for the 'thrill' in mania, recklessness for the 'i dont care what happens to me' during depression), but the outcome is generally the same... 'recklessness'.

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(This is not directly addressed to you Jayyj!)

Mania and depression are both equally destructive to people.

I really have to stress how someone can be manic and 'just' have elevated moods and energy - or they can be full throttle manic and have psychotic breaks etc. There is such a HUGE difference between them but yet it is still 'mania'.

The same is said for the depression, someone can 'just' feel like they have no point in their day/role in the world, or they can be harming themselves with every object within reach. HUGE difference, still 'depression'.

People can literally just be 'more energetic and elated'/'feeling crap throughout the days' to 'psychotic breaks'/'suicide attempts' and yet they are BOTH still suffering from 'bipolar disorder'.

HUGE (cannot stress this enough) difference between the two people and there's such a spectrum of 'in the middle' between both examples. So please please please do not tar everyone with the same brush for a singular illness.

In this example, (if they were both educated on animal care and animal lovers!) I would happily let one take care of an animal, but would outright refuse the other. Despite both being clinically classed as 'bipolar'.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

visiting with fun and cute and ineresting pets that he can touch or hold could be very helpful when he is in the down/depressed phase. there might be a shelter or even a local pet store to make such an arrangement with. there are hospitals, hospices and nursing homes that have therapy pets brought in on a regular basis by volunteer owners. perhaps that is a resource to find more info.

 

[Abigal7]

Thanks for sharing faeryphoebe. Depression can be a crushing thing. I went though it for a little while as a teenager. They said I had a chemical imbalance and I took some medicine for awhile to fix it. Luckily I also had my birds and vigilant parents which kept me going. I know one man who has a wife who is bipolar and in his case adding a pet would only add more workload and stress for him.

 

[Abigal7]

Another look at this subject is exposing the ill person to a therapy parrot. I use to work with my Eclectus parrot Joaquin as a therapy pet. I use to take him to visit the Hospice patients and I took him to the mentally ill wards to help patients feel better. Joaquin had a unique talent for helping people feel better. He bought the dying peace and helped the depressed feel some light. Joaquin brought their pain into himself and helped people. I never had a companion like this and was in awe of him every time I took him for this work.

I miss being involved with this kind of work and I hope to get involved again. But I need the right kind of bird for this kind of work and frankly Valentino is not the parrot to be a therapy pet. He is too large, loud and busy for such work. Valentino can be a handful believe me so I know he would make a wonderful performing bird but not calm enough for therapy work. This is the scenario I see in my head involving Valentino:

I walk into the patients room with Valentino.
"Good morning Mr. Smith. This is Valentino.."
"HIIIIIIIIII" Valentino says LOUDLY interrupting me while bobbing his head up and down. He then hops off my hand into the bed and begins to play with the blanket. I get Valentino to step back up on my hand but because I took him away from him wanting to play with the blanket he takes off flying around in the room probably scaring the poor patient.

Yea, Valentino would make a terrible therapy pet.

Pets can be good therapy. I sometimes bring my small dog and bird to see elderly people. Nursing homes are starting to have cats or dogs live in their building. I know of a Hospice place that has a cat. Some nursing homes are starting to have a big aviary with song birds or budgies. Fish tanks are becoming popular for places involved in the medical field.

 

[faeryphoebe1]

Jayyj: The doc that treated me for about 10 years had diagnosed me as bipolar II, not bipolar I. However, I've had 2 psychiatrists who disagree with that particular diagnosis and said that I have borderline personality disorder (which I've read up on but still do not understand). Either way, I'm still stuck with the depression, OCD & anxiety.

Bipolar II is episodes of hypomania (less intense mania which are usually less destructive than the type of mania associated with bipolar I) and episodes of extremely severe depression. A person with bipolar II having a manic episode might go on shopping sprees, overcharge on credit cards or spend all their rent money on the latest Marc Jacobs bag, lol. With bipolar I, their mania can result in much more dangerous behaviors such as a person driving recklessly at 100mph or having un-safe sex with 10 different strangers in one night. One seems more destructive and less easily managed than the other. That's for certain.

Mayden: You gave such an intelligent, informative description of the varying degrees of emotional ranges that can occur with both depression and mania. It's so scary to read this stuff when I'm thinking rationally and am not caught in the "depths of despair" as you so well described.

BTW: Hoping, with the grace of God to never reach that bottom low that I hit last year ever again. I have kids, fids and a dog & cat who need me to take care of them.

 

[Jayyj]

The impression I'm increasingly getting from this thread is that those of us who have a little experience of bipolar disorders possibly still have a lot to learn before we go too deep into telling people with the illness what they should and shouldn't be doing. I'd like to think I have a reasonable knowledge of the illness - I've dealt with helping someone through both manic and depressive periods so I'm not unaware of the specifics of it - but realistically there is a lot more for me to learn before I start making snap judgments.

I've encountered people with borderline personality disorder and again it seems an unpleasant thing to cope with, but I don't know a lot about it.

Thanks to those who've contributed their informed experiences, it's an interesting discussion.

 

[faeryphoebe1]

Abigal, I've seen some cats and an aviary with finches in a nursing home and it does seem like the animals have quite a therapeutic effect in that setting.

 

[MissJD]

I have borderline personality disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder among other things and have extreme ups and downs. I have surrounded myself with animals as they have always helped to keep me grounded. I know everyone is different, but for me having a galah has helped immensely, because I am forced to think of her before myself. Now I have a Major Mitchell as well, and the feelings of responsibility and love have only intensified. I am lucky to have a partner who understands me and is very patient, and who has no problem telling me when I'm being unreasonable, which helps. For me, having a companion animal has turned out to be possibly the best thing I could ever have done and tends to be more effective than any drug or counselling. In fact, I am currently off all medication (with my doctor and psychiatrist's backing) and have never had such a clear head.

Being a born animal lover (sometimes I think I'm more animal than human) means that no matter my mood, no matter how low or self-loathing I am.. Those feelings mean absolutely nothing compared to my love for my fur and feather babies, and I am able to push through whatever dark thoughts I'm having, because my babies need me.

I think that I can do this as I have finally reached a point where I am fully aware of my issues, fully aware of how my mind reacts to different triggers and I have taught myself to recognize the warning signs in time to either get help or put myself into an environment where I am safe and so is my family. Luckily, these extreme episodes are very few and far between these days, and I absolutely attribute that improvement to my animal family who are always there for me, love me unconditionally and will never, ever judge me.

Having said all of that.. I think it is entirely dependent on the person, their condition and their ability to deal with it, as to whether a companion/therapy bird is appropriate and a good idea.

 

[jugoya]

First off... everyone who spoke up and expressed some positives about this topic rather than simply judging? Thank you.

I have Bipolar Disorder.

I suffer from extreme anxiety and panic attacks because of it.

I got my bird primarily to deal with that, people like me tend to have other sociological problems that make it hard for us to interact with other people. Fear of how the world will interact with us... I also suffer from Anthropophobia; an extreme fear of people; in this instance I have the mindset of the victim and likely will suffer from that all of my life. I interact best with only a small number of people at a time or with children and animals.

Having Porter, a companion that needs me as much as I need him is a therapy all in itself. Something to occupy time and make at least myself forget that often times I'm alone.

I've always had animals for this capacity; when I went away to college I had a gerbil, then I had a budgy... and for a while I had a Hans Macaw I called Charlie.

Then I had a dog called Apollo.

All of these pets are now with other members of my family as my move to Texas made me unable to keep any but the smallest of them. My Budgie Quay Quay (RIP) and Daffy made the trip with me to Texas...

But Porter is the pet that helps me mellow my moods.

I HAVE to be calm for him... and as such everything he brings into my life.

All the frustrations and all the clownish antics... make my life a little easier and a little more calm in a sea of crashing waves of emotion.

So yes.. a bird can be an amazing therapy animal.. as can pretty much any pet that actually interacts with you.

One of the big things people need to understand about Bipolar disorder... is that the severity on the scale is a very fundamental thing; when I was younger I had extreme mood swings and in truth was an absolute terror as a child. SOME people with the disorder however can control it if they work hard enough at it, and have the personality I do. The severity of my disorder has calmed over the years due to an extreme expanse of mediation and other key factors.

Routine is one of the VERY THINGS that can help us keep control over the mood changes. The very same routine that I keep my pets on, everything is done at a specific time and in the right place. Time is important... It is part of a treatment that was developed with me and my doctor; an military style day that keeps me stable and secure and has quite readily for several years.

Another thing to understand is those people with Severe Bipolar are in the minimal percental range.. most people with Bipolar have a milder form of it and are not likely to go out and 'harm' anyone or even themselves save for the manic depression that can follow. This is a disorder that is different for every single person that has it and in truth can be classified as many different disorders lodged under one solitary name.

The simple explaination is that people with this disorder have no real 'middle ground'.

Like a puppy there is no mellow moment when they or I interact... during a period of 'mood swings' just extreme emotion.

So when one is angry many times its an anger that is very very bright.

Same with sadness... if I am sad I'm usually somewhere deep down in a sorrowful mood; unable to see the bright light at the end.

Same with happiness.. bright as sunshine all the time. It is the individual that makes the disorder, each situation and each person with it is unique, putting us all into one lump sum simply furthers the prejudice. Most people like me are able to function pretty normally, no I do not have a full time job and do not feel as if I really could do so. I have in the past and I succeeded through hard work and my own inner strength but I gave up many other things as well.

All in all?

Do not jump to conclusions please... until you know all of the truths of something. I'm simply a person like any other and have been dealing with ill conceived rumors almost all of my life. I don't tell people my issues; simply because it has cost me friends, respect and even made others fear me.

All because of those horrible misconceptions.

I am not insane... I am just as normal as anyone else.

I love my birds, I talk to my neighbors...

Yes this is a sore topic with me.. Everywhere I go, there is at least one person who if they find out about my disorder has caused me distress. Threatening to have me fired; expelled from school... even fearing me for what I might do to them if I have an 'episode'. I didn't expect to see it here, didn't expect the topic to come up... and can perfectly understand if I'm banned from the site or just plain ignored. I'm used to it; heck i've rewritten this post so many times... but hey honesty and simply being me is more important than what others think of me.

Porter is my baby, and for anyone that thinks that I because of this disorder should not have him? Tell that to my Vet who gives him a clean bill of health each time i take him in, tell that to the people who delight in simply seeing him when I take him out... tell that to Porter who with his calm personality charms anyone i try to teach about birds as he fearlessly flies to their shoulder or hand looking for affection.

I raised him, and he is one of the most socialized birds anyone I know has ever seen. Could a person unsuited to having a bird give him that confidence?

I think not.



http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-report/bipolar-depression/bipolar-disorder-misconceptions.aspx
http://psychcentral.com/lib/medias-damaging-depictions-of-mental-illness/0002220
http://cosozo.com/article/bipolar-beliefs-myths-and-realities

I am me. Not my disorder.

 

[faeryphoebe1]

MissJD, my pets have also been my one saving grace my whole life. They are the best therapy.

Jugoya, thank you for sharing. That was brave. Isn't it unsettling when people find out? Sometimes I can see a certain look cloud over their faces and after that, they begin to act differently around me.

Most times, if it's someone who has known me for a while, they proceed to tell me that the diagnosis is wrong and that there's no way I could suffer from mental illness (hehe, they haven't seen my downs).

There's such a stigma attached to it, even in this day and age. If I told someone that I was a recovering drug addict (which I'm not), they would congratulate me on the progress along with well wishes.

However, if I were to say, "I have severe anxiety disorder, sometimes associated with agoraphobia, OCD, borderline pd, PTSD, severe depression and possibly bipolar II"... well, they'd probably take 10
steps back slowly, say goodbye and run. It's right up there with being overweight. We're the dredges of society. I'm ashamed of being this way. Even many medical professionals (unless they are psychiatrists, psych nurses or therapists) treat us like pariah, which is unethical by the way. ER docs can be the least empathetic. Some don't seem to understand or believe in mental illness.

I don't tell anyone anymore (except here, lol). It hurts too much and I want to be seen as "me", the person with a big heart for all animals and kids instead of a bunch of labels that make me sound like a total loon. Animals and children are easier for me to be around as well. Adults can be cruel.