Throughout my Bipolar Depression, My Dog Was At My Side

I wanted to write about a simple, straightforward, “just do it” topic today.

First of all, however, along the lines of an earlier post where I suggested that anybody who is depressed should try to have a mission in life — the entrepreneurial project I have been working on for 18 months will likely launch this week. I have amassed the largest database of sober livings and halfway houses in the country, and we have got California almost fully input. So I am going to launch here in California and roll out across the rest of the country, state by state. It has been pretty cool to put together the world’s first fully comprehensive recovery house site, as it allows searchers to have a pictorial as well as just a descriptive view of a house they might like to live in. For people without cars, or who want to explore houses without making appointments and wasting time at strange properties, this can be their answer. You can find it at Sober Living Search.com after September 29th, 2010. Please help spread the word to anybody in the alcohol and drug abuse recovery business.

While this project helps me get out of bed each morning with a purpose in life, I don’t know that I could have made it through the first year of fighting off my bipolar depression without my dog, Senator. I would recommend that anybody who is living alone with depression seriously consider getting a dog.

Out of the blue, it might not sound like such a great idea, and if you are “down” right now the responsibilities of owning a dog may seem overwhelming. Hell, you can hardly take care of yourself, right? Just realize that if you are depressed you will think those responsibilities are too much, and your mind will likely go to the negative side of this idea to the degree you’ll push it out of your head. At least at first that’s what I did. A dog needs to be fed at least twice each day, he or she needs to be walked a few times a day, they need to be played with and expend energy somehow, and — you have to pick up their dog crap — which really sews up the decision to say “forget it”. But the only thing a dog really asks for or needs in return for him being your best friend is a little bit of love. The dog will help get you up in the morning, help get you outside for walks, and allow you the feeling that if you did nothing else at all productive that day, that at least you loved your dog and he loved you back.

Let me tell you something. Seeing that tail wag, having that dog at home there to greet you with a happy bark no matter what you have or have not done in a day, does more good for your soul than I could possibly express and describe here. We all need a little love in this world, and while you might be alone and think it is a person missing in your life, or if you screwed up your marriage like I did, or if your parents live out of state, or if you have lost a lot of friends because your depression has kept you isolated, the RX from this depression doctor is simple — go adopt a dog. Puppy adoptions take place all over whatever city or town you live in every weekend, and while you need to come up with a small fee to adopt one, you are saving a life and giving yourself an amazing gift at the same time.

If you are depressed, just trust me — go get a dog. He or she will bring some joy and meaning to your life, and get you up in the morning with something rare in your state of mind (if you are a depressive) — a smile on your face.

The pet industry continues to be a growing multi, multi billion dollar industry. The thinking goes that as our society becomes more and more screwed up in terms of being dysfunctional and less social because of computers and other reasons, people are turning to pets to assure that they have an uncomplicated, loving relationship in this world. The number of times I fell into tears and hugged my dog amidst a bipolar depression in the past few years I couldn’t even start to count, but Senny is always there for me and I swear that I feel like we connect on another level. No, not like “Son of Sam” do I hear him talking to me and telling me to do things — but I do feel like he can hear me talking to him. And he knows I love him. He has been a lifesaver and if you are reading this post it’s because you or someone close to you is depressed. With a dog you’ll have companionship and a friend for life that you’ll appreciate more than you can imagine.