A Pet Dog Is Therapeutic

People with borderline personality disorder often feel empty inside. This is usually the result of broken childhood experiences. How can pets play a role in this? Read on to find out how a dog as a pet is therapeutic for people with borderline personality disorder.

When these people tell you their life story, you notice that many themes recur. They talk about absent parents, emotional neglect and a lack of physical affection, among other things.

The environment is not the only factor in the development of Borderline Personality Disorder. Genetics also play a significant role. Patients with borderline personality disorder feel lost and broken. They feel as if they are drowning in their despair.

Their fear that they may be abandoned is so strong that they tend to self-destruct. This ultimately leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Fearing that people will leave them, they push away the people who love them.

It is important to bear in mind that patients with borderline personality disorder are extremely sensitive. They feel a deep emotional pain when someone contradicts or frustrates them.

On the other hand, dogs or other pets never judge or abandon people. This causes patients with BPD to bond with their pet. It’s a way to get love without the risk of getting hurt.

Why is a dog as a pet therapeutic?

Emotional Affirmation

Contrary to what can happen in relationships between people, animals are incapable of making someone feel that their emotions are not important.

Most often, people with borderline personality disorder have this problem with their family and close friends. These are some of the important examples. People then say things like “You can’t be thirsty because you just had a drink,” or “I don’t understand why you always cry when you have everything you need.”

Dogs never do this. That is why dogs make patients with BPD feel like they are fully accepted and recognized.

Dogs don’t judge

A dog does not judge its owner. They don’t have the language to express those kinds of feelings. Moreover, they do not possess the cultural and social beliefs that people have. These beliefs, stereotypes and prejudices are often responsible for the way we form judgments about other people.

Patients with borderline personality disorder experience excruciating emotional pain when someone judges them. That makes it extremely difficult for them to maintain relationships.

Dogs and other pets make these people feel calm and peaceful. This non-judgmental relationship can make them feel like they belong.

A dog as a pet means companionship

For patients with borderline personality disorder, a dog as a pet is great company. It doesn’t matter what you’re going through or how much you cry or how unstable you feel. Dogs will stay by your side.

This kind of companionship is exactly what people with personality disorders sometimes need to find balance. In a way, dogs help their owners direct their emotions.

Unconditional love

Dogs love you without expecting anything in return. Many patients with borderline personality disorder have low self-esteem. Having a dog as a pet can therefore give them more confidence and self-confidence.

Much of their problematic behavior has to do with the need for affection, love and understanding. The problem, however, is that their behavior usually has the opposite effect. In this context, a dog can give the unconditional love they need, even when they are struggling.

The Disadvantages of Having a Dog as a Pet for People with Borderline Personality Disorder

It is clear that patients with BPD develop special and healthy bonds with dogs. However, these relationships also have some shortcomings. Sometimes a dog becomes a kind of buffer for their emotions. Their pet then acts as an emotional band-aid.

The reason is that relationships with dogs cover the flawed and painful emotions. This is good in the beginning. It helps patients with borderline personality disorder to manage their emotions. They also feel more stable emotionally.

The problem, however, is that the patient becomes too dependent on his dog. That makes it easier for them to avoid dealing with interpersonal situations. They can even isolate themselves from other people. They then rely on their pet to fulfill their emotional needs.

Extend the benefits

So it is important to find a balance. This is necessary to ensure that a pet is therapeutic and does not make the situation worse. The idea is to extend the benefits of having a dog as a pet without becoming too emotionally dependent on the dog.

Patients with a borderline personality disorder must therefore also make efforts to develop relationships with the people around them. They must be willing to feel frustrated at times. In addition, they also have to accept the fact that they will be criticized at some point. They have to learn to deal with that.

The fact that people with BPD become attached to their dogs has another drawback. Dogs normally die much younger than humans. This can therefore cause a serious crisis and lead to:

• self-mutilation
• Impulsivity
• Aggressiveness
• Intense restlessness

In conclusion, as with most things, a pet dog works in moderation with patients with borderline personality disorder. So these patients can indeed benefit from the company of an animal.

Still, special care is needed to ensure that the relationship does not become toxic. After all, it should not become a meager substitute for correct emotional control.