If you feel like your bun is emotionally theraputic…

[Smudge]

Would you being willing to tell me how the bunny helps with any emotional imbalances and what else he or she does for you that helps you feel calmer/better/happier/relaxed?

Either reply on this thread or in a private message if you want to. I am working on my admissions essay as I apply to grad school for my M.S. in animal behavior consultation and training and I want to get an idea of other people’s experiences with their bunny.

Thanks,

Molly (and Smudge of course) 

[manic_muncher]

I learned (the hard way) that I am bipolar and have ocd. I do not have depressive cycles very often, but have several manic swings a year. After seeing some bunny videos on youtube, which had me happily giggling, I started researching rabbits as house pets.

I thought it would help me with them being so quiet and requiring a lot of patience to earn their trust. I do look forward to the day when (if) Bumpy will appreciate more pets and stroking from me, but in the meantime, simply watching him quietly enjoying his greens or grooming himself helps me relax.

I have had 2 severe manic episodes since Bumpy has been with us, which would have normally been followed by at least a mild depressive swing. However, I never got to that low point these last 2 times. I find so much joy watching him just be happy, he makes me giggle, and the amount of care needed to maintain a house rabbit makes crawling in bed and staying there impossible. His happiness and well-being trump my self-loathing and desire to hide from the world.

I have to mention, like many bipolar people, I HATE MEDS! I stopped taking them in July (which is why I had those extreme manic episodes), but without suffering through the ending depression, I believe Bumpy had some part in that. It’s really hard to be sad when they express happiness so exuberantly! If I can think of anything else relevant, I’ll add later.

[Smudge]

On the other thread I was going to talk about being bipolar but I didn’t want to assume. I’m also bipolar and have generalized anxiety disorder and I was having a bit of a manic episode when I got Smudge (uhhhh, oops) but now I really think my subconscious was aware of and remembered the amount of emotional-regulation it takes to bond with a prey animal. 

When I was riding and had a horse I had to control and force relaxation upon myself or my horse would act like an idiot, which would make me more anxious, which would cause him to respond in kind, and so on would go the cycle until we were spooking at ridiculous stuff and pretending to buck etc. 

[manic_muncher]

lol yes, bunny researching started, I’m almost positive, in a hypomanic state. I suspected it when I was spending hours and hours pouring over website after website absorbing everything I could about house bunnies. oops indeed. I’m sure you are right about the energy, I can see it in my dogs quite easily. Their reactions almost always match my state of mind. My husband copes with anxiety, so I can understand.

I think you are in a great position to succeed in your endeavors with animal therapy. Your experience with animals in general, coupled with a personal understanding of various emotional issues and the effects on the mind and body, should really help with your success.

[LongEaredLions]

Yes definitely! I am OCD and have seasonally-induced depression. I don’t take meds either. Ditto to everything ManicMuncher said, I think them being happy rubs off on you!

[bunnytowne]

Wow  I just met other bi polars on BB,  Thank you for revealing yourselves.   

Before  I got Cotton I did a my research.  Which is why I got a bunny instead of a piggy.  I had been taking meds for years.  I stopped after my 2nd back surgery had the 2nd of my worst depressed moods.  I thought I was being treated for depression.  Then my girlfriend said you sure you don’t have bipolar you have some radical mood swings.  

my hubby came to Dr. with me and sure enuf bipolar.  

So my bunny.  When I start shouting It affects Cotton.  It helps remind me to slow down.  Nothing is worth shouting over.  I don’t want Cotton frightened.  He does relax me and calms me.  When hubby is gone Cotton comes to me a lot for pettings.  When hubby shouts I say stop shouting and he does.  It frightens Cotton.  It helps us check ourselves.  We don’t shout much anymore. Cotton trained us. lol. 

He come in the mornings for pettings and in the evenings even with Fouad home.  I love it.  When I go to the kitchen to make our salads he knows his is coming too.  He is so cute.  I love having this little fellow to look after.  Being a prey animal helps in a way a cat or dog doesn’t.  A prey animal needs to be treated differently and calmly.  Needing a calm environment and a different kind of understanding.  Cotton helps me with myself in that respect. 

Its like my bunny and I have our own type of communication system.  He doesn’t make much noise but he sure does use his body language. We have an understanding that way.  It helps me to slow down and read what he is saying to me. 

When I do his nails my vet said wow this is a job for 2 people.  I have learned to take it easy on Cotton he does get out of the towel and I have to go slow with him.  There is a no  rushing him rule we go by.  I do his nails myself.  I have learned patience with him.  The nails will get done just takes a bit.  

I never want to go off my meds.  Did that don’t want to go there again.  Learned my lesson.  I get too depressed.  I get manic with my meds sometimes but it doesn’t last long.  I am on the right meds now.  Its funny I used to vacuum at 3am  lol. and rearrange the furniture. Oh my upstair neighbor hated that lol.   I have no real manic crazy episodes now. 

Besides I don’t want to keep Cotton up.  

[Deleted User]

WOW BT and thank you!

[Smudge]

That’s totally what I have noticed and why getting Smudge has been so important to me. Thank you for sharing your story

[Katie779]

I suffer from co-dependency disorder and anxiety/depression and having my pets (family) is the most therapeutic thing there is. There are days when I feel as though I don’t have the strength to get up in the morning, but my pets provide me with so much joy that they help me over come my “rough patches”. Before bringing home my Holly we lost our 17 year old cat that I had since childhood and it was devastating for me. That, paired with it being winter and suffering from SAD, and a few other things going on in my life, I was finding it difficult to pull myself out of my rut. But since getting Holly I’ve been happier every day waking up to her sweet face. Having animals in my life, bunny and others, is one the most rewarding aspects of my life, and I can honestly say they keep me grounded, when otherwise, I tend to get lost in my own thoughts.

I hope this helped/ was what you were looking for!

[bunnytowne]

Another thing.    When I was flying home to hubby and Florida   it helped to have Cotton to focus on.   I was so much more concerned about how he was going to handle flying and ears popping that I didn’t worry about my own nervousness of flying.  In fact I rather enjoyed it watching the wings work the flaps and the flexing of the wings where otherwise I would have been thinking scary thoughts. 

It has been 13 years since I flew.  Yes having a bunny to focus on is very therapeutic.  His comfort was my focus and he absolutely wasn’t going into cargo.  

Cotton did need some comforting on the first flight.  It was a short flight.  A get ready for the 2 hour flight  flight.  I took him from under the seat and opened the carrier his eye was big so I talked n petted him he calmed down.  He was my first priority and concern.  As he calmed down and his eye got normal again I felt so much better.  Relief. 

His eye didn’t bug out of his head or anything just a bit rounder than normal lol.  I say eye cuz I saw him from the side therefore seeing only one eye lol.  I say eye a lot for that reason.  But yes he did help me on those flights too. 

I put his normal pet carrier on my carry on luggage so I could put him in the more comfy one once we got to orlando. Its good to have a prey animal pet to think about besides myself.  Makes me feel good. 

[LittlePuffyTail]

I have OCD, I was diagnosed as a child and also suffer from stress issues and panic attacks. My rabbits are truly the best therapy. If I’m feeling sad or stressed, I go sit in the rabbit room. Just looking at them and petting them for a few minutes makes me feel better. I read that there were studies done that proved that petting an animal slows down the heart rate. I think that all animal are therapeutic.

[sleepy538]

i like this thread! i especially like how open all of you are! i have a handful of psychiatric diagnoses, too. first cosie and now callie are very therapeutic. even taking care of them is helpful, because it pushes you to get up and moving. cosie was much more attentive to me, though. callie i have to bribe to lay down next to me!

[JackRabbit]

I have a 19 year-old son who obviously doesn’t need to be taken care of like a child anymore.  He lives at home but is in college and pretty much does his own thing.  Having three bunnies has helped me with the transition from being constantly involved in my son’s sports, theatre, band, school stuff to being the mother of a semi-invisible on-the-go has-a-girlfriend son.  The bunnies help fill my need to mother someone and the best part is that they’ve never given me any sass, they don’t ask for money, I don’t have to worry about them driving my car, they don’t leave dirty socks in the family room, they never leave the toilet seat up, and they let me hug them whenever and for however long I want!  There’s just nothing like a warm fuzzy bunny hug and nothing like watching a bunny binky to brighten up any day!

[Deleted User]

Your post was so cool JackRabbit (and I had a chuckle too). Good for you! Cheers.

[LongEaredLions]

I don’t know why my bunnies help me so much. They just….. understand? Either it is that or the fact that they completely don’t understand. :/
Binkies have magical human-calming powers.

[BinkyBunnyForever]

My dad always told me that my bun would act differently around me than other people.  He said that he was more relaxed and calm around me and would play more.  That always made me feel special.  He would play his own version of hide-and-seek which I quickly picked up!  It was most inconvenient when I was trying to take him to his pen for a potty break!  He would run into the very center of his MazeHaven and then run out the back and circle around to the other side!  Then he would poke his nose out at me and as soon as I would try to touch him, he would run back in!  Silly bunny!  He had such joy in his eyes when he did that though and he wouldn’t do it around anyone else but me   It’s a bunny thing; they know exactly what you need when you need it.  I think that’s why humans are so drawn to them along with other animals.  Animals just understand.  They can tell if you have a good heart by the vibrations that come off your body which makes them more comfortable with you quicker than most people.  They can sense your emotions.  Which is advantage for them when they try (and succeed) ruining your perfectly bad day! 

All I can say is… it’s a bunny thing

[Ellis's Mom]

We brought Ellis home to help us (mostly me) begin to cope with impending empty-nesting. My husband was working nights and my daughter had night classes and the big empty house was starting to creep me out a bit. Having Ellis there roaming around helped a lot.

I have stress-related depression/anxiety and SAD (seasonal depression), with mild hypertension. “Worshiping” Ellis (you pet him when *he* tells you to, not when you feel like it) definitely lowers my blood pressure and reduces the stress. Learning how to bond with a prey animal is teaching me more patience that I’ve ever needed, and how to be humble (I’m in a management position, so most of my life I have to be the one “in control”).

And no matter what the weather is doing, when he tears around the house and binks, the sun is shining, the grass is green and the birds are singing. Watching/seeing him bink gives me a joy I rarely experience. It tickles me on the inside and makes me smile.

“They” say that one negative event/experience can wipe out the impact of 4-5 positive experiences. Ellis helps get my life back into balance.

[sleepy538]

Posted By Ellis’s Mom on 02/17/2014 11:24 AM

“They” say that one negative event/experience can wipe out the impact of 4-5 positive experiences. Ellis helps get my life back into balance.

^ love this

[Tessie]

My bunnies are definitely therapeutic! I guess all pets probably are.

I have obsessive compulsive tendencies, as well as some control issues, which leads me to get very stressed over small things.

My issue involves my space, and when you have bunnies in your space, things can never stay the way you want them! I still struggle to stop hoovering, but the bunnies have helped me to accept a certain level of disorder that I don’t think I could have previously.
They also help me understand that I can’t control everything, haha!

When I’m stressed or unhappy, talking to them and smelling their necks (weird?) makes me feel calm.

[Author]

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