Dear Alexandra;

I really enjoyed your post about how your pets help you with your
Manic-Depressive disorder. Your writing was also very eloquent and the
last line even brought a little tear to my eye! A friend of mine is
also Bi-polar (he prefers the term bi-polar because he says the word
"manic" makes him sound crazy, go figure!) and he's told me several
times that his dog is sometimes the only thing that gets him out of
bed and keeps him alive.

I, myself, have adult ADHD, obsessive personality disorder,
seasonal-depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. I was
just recently diagnosed with most of these and I still have yet to find
a combination of meds that work without causing horrible side effects.
I have a 2 yr old to care for, 2 carpet sharks, and a chihuahua. I'm
also in school part-time for nursing. Somedays, I know that I wouldn't
get out of bed if it weren't for my pets and my daughter. My daughter,
in fact, is the easiest to care for so if it weren't for the pets, I
would be flaked out on the couch all day most likely. She's already
potty trained and she likes to entertain herself for the most part. I
just have to get her breakfast, refill her sippy cup, heat up lunch,
and put her down for nap. My husband helps out a lot when he comes home
at 4pm. The ferrets and the dog require more work and I am constantly
cleaning the floors because they seem to think it's fun to go potty on
the floor NEXT to the CLEAN litter boxes. The dog was trained to go
potty on her pee-pee pads but the ferrets are a bad influence on her!
So now she thinks it's ok to go on the floor too. She won't go outside
because she's so small and it's too cold so oh well. LOL - my life is
all about cleaning up poopies.

Anyway, just know that you are not alone! I know for a fact that if
it weren't for my daughter and my pets that I wouldn't leave the
house except to go to school and buy food. Our pets truly are the best
medicine! Plus, they listen to our problems MUCH better than people!

Melissa

http://www.zazzle.com/china_cat84*
"Only a ferret can successfully steal your heart and keep you from
ever finding it again!" ~ Myself

[Posted in FML 6497]