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noname223

Archangel
Aug 18, 2020
6,120
Here is an interesting article.

Animals can have mental illness.
Some former military dogs got PTSD due to the war. Most dogs with PTSD get straightaway euthanized.

Birds:
Stress, overexcitement, and boredom can cause captive birds to exhibit signs of depression and anxiety. Signs of avian depression include over-preening and feather plucking, similar to the human condition of trichotillomania, or compulsive hair plucking.

Dogs can have autism.

Rats are binge eaters.

Orangutans can suffer from addiction.
House cats exhibit plenty of OCD behavior
Bored horses can easily become a danger to themselves.
Pig anorexia is called Thin Sow Syndrome.
Elephants have been known to enjoy the occasional high.

According to research conducted by Dr. Hope Ferdowsian, captive animals such as orcas and elephants commonly suffer from PTSD as a result of harsh training methods meant to "break" them of their natural habits. After what often amounts to inhumane training methods, these animals are left living in much more confined areas than what they're used to. They have far fewer companions than they would in nature, and they're unable to do any of the things their wild peers are. These extreme limits are stressful for animals. This stress and depression often manifests itself as aggression and other bad habits.

Animals can ctb.
Elephants, dolphins, and rats have all been known to commit suicide. Elephants, for example, are often trained using extremely harsh methods. There have been multiple accounts of violently subdued elephants stepping on their own trunks and refusing to move in order to suffocate themselves. As far as we know, healthy animals committing suicide only happens amongst those which are captive, but the reality of this act is far reaching. The idea that an animal can knowingly ends its own life under unbearable conditions goes a long way to suggest that these animals have the intelligence to both analyze a situation and form some sense of a future.

Mental illness in animals doesn't have to be permanent.
 
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Foresight

Foresight

Enlightened
Jun 14, 2019
1,393
I have a rat that used to be super lively and ate normally. Her sister and another cagemate died since we've had her and now she has binge eating habits. She's gained quite a bit and her behavior changed since her cagemate died. Rats have very complex personalities and quirks, much like dogs, so this doesn't surprise me.
 
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