Can Animals Suffer From Mental Illness?

Can animals suffer from mental illness? We know that there are dolphins that commit suicide while in captivity. We know the case of horses that end up leading to compulsive behaviors. We also know of parrots that can pluck all their plumage when they are sad and chimp babies that stop eating when separated or watch their mothers die.

Do they, like us, suffer the impact of psychological disorders? Many will say yes, because who else and who least knows about a case or has lived through an experience of this type. For example, dogs have been shown to suffer from separation anxiety. Many of our pets show, in fact, altered behaviors when we leave them alone at home or do not pay them adequate attention.

Now, ethologists and experts in animal behavior put an important nuance on this. Animals can, indeed, suffer from some very specific psychological disorders. But they will never suffer, for example, from schizophrenia. The mental problems that animals can suffer are caused (for the most part) by people.

Can animals suffer from mental illness? What are the most common?

Why will a dog, a lion or a zebra never suffer from schizophrenia? We may have been left with the doubt. The truth is that the subject of mental health in animals has been interesting to experts for years. So much so. that we have, for example, a study published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution by doctors

Schizophrenia affects only humans for one reason: it is a disease linked to the most advanced brains, with a more complex and superior cognition. Furthermore, it has been found that the appearance of speech and language has a relationship with the genetics of schizophrenia. So does this mean that animals do not suffer from psychiatric conditions because they do not have a brain as sophisticated as ours?

The answer is no. In fact, to the question of whether animals can suffer from mental illnesses, the answer has nuances. Some suffer. Much of them, as we have pointed out previously, are direct or indirect effects of the human being. Let’s dig a little deeper to understand it.

Animals and depression

Jane Goodall was one of the first people to talk about depression in animals. Specifically in primates. Thus, in his book Through a Window  he explains to us how a small chimpanzee who had seen his mother die, stopped eating, became weak and went to the same place where his mother had been and sadly ended up dying as well.

It is not something isolated. Depression is not only common in chimpanzees, orangutans, or gorillas. A part of the animals that live in captivity, whether in zoos or water parks such as orcas and dolphins, suffer from it.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, common in military birds and dogs

The smuggling of animals leaves us with cases of post-traumatic stress on a daily basis. Each one of these exotic animals, if it manages to survive, has a hard history behind it: all have been separated from their habitat and their families. Behind those shy and scared eyes is something more than sadness: there is post-traumatic stress disorder.

This is common in parrots and many of those exotic birds that end up plucking their feathers (similar to the human condition of trichotillomania). Likewise, this situation is also common in dogs that participate in military activities, dogs that fulfill strategic functions in theaters of war.

Boredom and obsessive-compulsive disorders

Dogs, cats, hamsters and even rhinos. Sometimes we place an animal in a confined environment and without any stimulation. If there is nothing to interact with, if they have no one to be with and without the possibility of moving, they will end up showing compulsive behaviors. An example of this is doing the same movements over and over again, licking, etc.

On the other hand, the impact of boredom is also very harmful to horses. These animals are used to living in a herd, but when we keep them locked up for a long time, the impact is immense. They end up displaying strange behaviors.

Can animals suffer from mental illness? Yes, the most common condition is anxiety

Anxiety is without a doubt the most obvious manifestation that an animal is not well. Dogs that bark and destroy furniture when they are left alone at home, scary cats that urinate where they should not … And what about many of the sad tenants of those zoos.

The question of whether animals can suffer from mental illness is accompanied by an understanding of a simple aspect. We could say yes, because they obviously develop behaviors and moods that, in extreme cases, can lead to death. Now, much of these realities are orchestrated by the human hand. We are the ones who, in most cases, generate this psychological suffering.

Deforestation, animal trafficking, life in zoos and water parks or even more so having pets and not knowing how to take care of their emotional well-being, leads to situations of great impact. It is necessary to take this into account, because they, like us, also have emotions, they also suffer.