I have the same thing with my dog. I made an attempt when I was 18, then got a dog at 20. I’m 24 now and still struggle a lot with depression, wishing the attempt had worked and all that, but would never do it now because I can’t imagine leaving my dog all by himself.
Commenting in both of these comments so y’all both see it, but be careful with having a living thing as your safety net. It’s tough to think about, but at some thine they will pass and the ground will fall out from under you. Speaking from experience here.
Edit: Sorry, not trying to darken an already dark topic.
Right on, best of luck and be safe out there. I was on the fence of whether to post anything or not. Mainly was afraid I’d get the response that I did from the other commenter. If I learned anything from that experience, and closer to what I originally wanted to convey but don’t think I did, is that it’s important to not rely on one thing to keep you going. Having a pet to help keep you going is great, but my mistake was having my dog be ‘the only thing’, so losing him also lost the last thing that was keeping me going.
Anyways, have a good one and give your puppers a hug.
Yikes. I don’t know a better way to phrase it, but I sure as hell wish someone had said that to me 10 years ago; before my dog who was my safety net got a brain tumor out of nowhere and had to be put down. What do you do when the only thing that’s keeping you afloat becomes an anchor? Animals are absolutely great and I’m not saying they shouldn’t have them or even use them to help mental health. But having a living thing that is the only thing stopping you from self-harm is dangerous.
telling depressed people, “hey, that thing you love? that light in your life? IT’S GONNA DIE!” is really fucked up, and if you don’t know better than not to say things like that, you should say nothing at aall. rubbing it in more and trying to rationalize it with an anecdote about your own horror story hardly makes it better.
if any of us had wanted your advice, we would have asked for it. I’ll listen to my therapist’s advice for an emotional support animal over some stranger on the internet who seems more interested in trolling and attention than being supportive to others.
I have the same thing with my dog. I made an attempt when I was 18, then got a dog at 20. I’m 24 now and still struggle a lot with depression, wishing the attempt had worked and all that, but would never do it now because I can’t imagine leaving my dog all by himself.
Same but with a 13 year old son. If he was way younger maybe; but he would know and remember now.
Commenting in both of these comments so y’all both see it, but be careful with having a living thing as your safety net. It’s tough to think about, but at some thine they will pass and the ground will fall out from under you. Speaking from experience here.
Edit: Sorry, not trying to darken an already dark topic.
No, you’re totally right. My hope is that I’m in a more stable place when that day comes. I’m already doing a lot better, so here’s to hoping.
I appreciate you saying that tho, I think that’s important to hear for a lot of people in similar situations, because it’s absolutely true.
Right on, best of luck and be safe out there. I was on the fence of whether to post anything or not. Mainly was afraid I’d get the response that I did from the other commenter. If I learned anything from that experience, and closer to what I originally wanted to convey but don’t think I did, is that it’s important to not rely on one thing to keep you going. Having a pet to help keep you going is great, but my mistake was having my dog be ‘the only thing’, so losing him also lost the last thing that was keeping me going.
Anyways, have a good one and give your puppers a hug.
what a shitty thing to say.
edit: replying in both places because you said it twice
Yikes. I don’t know a better way to phrase it, but I sure as hell wish someone had said that to me 10 years ago; before my dog who was my safety net got a brain tumor out of nowhere and had to be put down. What do you do when the only thing that’s keeping you afloat becomes an anchor? Animals are absolutely great and I’m not saying they shouldn’t have them or even use them to help mental health. But having a living thing that is the only thing stopping you from self-harm is dangerous.
telling depressed people, “hey, that thing you love? that light in your life? IT’S GONNA DIE!” is really fucked up, and if you don’t know better than not to say things like that, you should say nothing at aall. rubbing it in more and trying to rationalize it with an anecdote about your own horror story hardly makes it better.
if any of us had wanted your advice, we would have asked for it. I’ll listen to my therapist’s advice for an emotional support animal over some stranger on the internet who seems more interested in trolling and attention than being supportive to others.
Ok, have a good one.