I’m not sure what to think of the article below. My general guess is that events like this belittle the serious disease of clinical depression. Of course, that doesn’t help the parrot.
-DMR
Grieving Parrot Prescribed Prozac – Strange & Interesting News: The Post Chronicle: “”
It struck me how much grief is belittled and seen as a sign of weakness or sinful (like clinical depression) if one does not throw off the ‘blues’ and move according to cultural expectations…..
@SjB: I agree… I don’t know what country you’re from but I know this is especially true in the United States. As a society we are not very good at dealing with grief, whether it be our own or other people’s. It’s like: get over it as soon as you possibly can (but that’s still not fast enough), and until then you’re supposed to be “brave” and tell everyone you’re fine. So ridiculous.
Regarding the parrot, yes it’s somewhat odd… and I acknowledge the point that medicating animals risks trivializing serious clinical depression in people. Still, it’s not all that surprising that SSRIs are helpful for animals.
I know of a cat who was given Prozac. This cat was a very territorial, aggressive male who kept attacking other neighborhood cats when his owner let him out, and constantly spraying all over the house when she kept him indoors. Needless to say, the house reeked and the neighbors were not pleased to see their darling kitties come home with horrible wounds.
The Prozac made an amazing difference and the tomcat’s owner was able to keep him. He stopped the spraying and fighting completely. If it hadn’t been for Prozac, she probably would have had to leave him at a shelter where he would have been put to sleep.
I think the other thing that is important to remember is that the creation itself can have the same ills as the crown of creation, man. Sure, the animals did not have the image of God that was given to man at creation, but that does not mean that they cannot suffer from some of the same diseases and consequences of sin that people do. Animals get diabetes, cavities in their teeth, liver and heart disease, and the like. Keeping in mind that there is more going on in the depressed person apart from feelings and that there is a definite chemical reaction happening that causes disorder where there should be order, it makes sense that an animal could have depression or anxiety that is fixed in the same way that our depression and anxiety is “fixed”.
We had a cat who was also prescribed Prozac. I don’t know what kind of home she came from, but she had serious issues. It’s taken years to get her integrated into our home. I agree that animals can have the same issues as humans, and that depression is more than just feelings.