Are we the only species that can become mentally ill?

[Ruined by the Rain]

Question inspired by a certain post in the tranny thread

I have never heard of other animals becoming mentally ill. Is it because mental illnesses are unique to humans or do other animals also suffer from them but can't tell us they're going through it?

Imagine being born a monkey and suffering from mental illness. I feel like that would be a whole new avenue of suffering.

 

[Tablet County]

I remember seeung a tiger with downs syndrome.

 

[xXEddie.DurellXx]

No, I will not explain further.

 

[Lemmingwiser]

Has your toaster ever had a bug in its operating system? No. But your smartwatch might have.

It probably depends. The smarter the animal, the more ways how a small hickup can cause exponentially bad results.
Some rudimentary maps seem to agree.

World IQ map:



Percentage of population with mental health disorders:


One of the most obvious examples of mental health issues for an animal is if you take one that we're socialised closely with, like dogs or horses, and take a very commonly recognizable disorder with an obvious cause, like shellshock. World war 1 had pretty significant data about horses getting shellshocked. I remember there being a story (with videos) about a dog getting shellshocked in the ukraine/russia war.

There's studies about anxiety disorders in dogs as well: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787816300569

 

[Yugica]

Yes, animals can be mentally ill too. Especially primates, but you have a myriad of experiments to choose from to see mentally ill animals. Typically animals are not mentally ill in their natural environment, but that is also in part because more mentally ill animals don't have as high of a likelihood of surviving. Here's one particular case of an animal experiment leading to mental illness:

You also have some incidents of monstrous, wild animals who have some vendetta towards humans and go on large killing sprees. This is in some cases is likely from some form of mental deviation, but not necessarily mental illness. Here's a great documentary covering an odd pair of man eating lions:

 

[The Wise Shaman]

Non-human animals in captivity can develop psychosis.

There are also studies on non-human animals focusing on eating disorders, OCD, depression, addictions, et cetera. They definitely can develop mental illnesses, but not ones like autism or BPD.

 

[fat_rat_on_the_grass]

I believe that there is scientifically a more physical reason to many mental disorders
so I believe that everything can be "sick in the mind" I suppose youd call it, as long as it has a mind.
I believe when we see an animal who is "not right" that might be what youd call a mentally ill creature.
Anyone who thinks we are the only ones has not studied biology and deficiencies and hormones enough to get that this is a long standing issue that is prevalent through the tree of life in anything with a smigem of sentience and expression. I hope that helps.
There are some amazing replies in this thread about animals developing issues due to human meddling, very fascinating to read and quite sad

 

[2mm and 99 others]

I remember seeung a tiger with downs syndrome.

Cats in general don't have a chromosome pair analogous to the human 21st, so they can't have Down syndrome, even tho they have disorders that result in weird face and retardation

 

[AmbassadorAutismo]

Has your toaster ever had a bug in its operating system?

It probably depends. The smarter the animal, the more ways how a small hickup can cause exponentially bad results.
Some rudimentary maps seem to agree.

World IQ map:

View attachment 7715024

Percentage of population with mental health disorders:
View attachment 7715025

This wrongly assumes that Africans who can barely read would both recognize and accurately diagnose mental illness. Also by your own logic Brazil and Iran shouldn't be blood red on this map then.

 

[IrishGuy088]

Other creatures can absolutely have or develop mental illnesses. You'll most commonly see them in the form of cats and dogs that are pets. Out in the wild they usually don't survive very long.

 

[Levi]

I have a pet that might have autism, and even the others of his species have noticed something is wrong with his behavior and reactions. All the same he is healthy and happy, but he wouldn't survive a second as a wild animal.

 

[McMitch]

I remember seeung a tiger with downs syndrome.

Down’s is a genetic disorder, rather than a mental illness. And most people with Down’s are happier than those of us with only 23 chromosomes.

 

[A-Stump]

Dogs can become so extremely mentally fucked up through neglect/isolation/bad breeding that they become basically unable to function in any normal sense and need to be put down. I don't know if it's classified as a mental illness or what. Sad though

 

[Tablet County]

Cats in general don't have a chromosome pair analogous to the human 21st, so they can't have Down syndrome, even tho they have disorders that result in weird face and retardation

Down’s is a genetic disorder, rather than a mental illness. And most people with Down’s are happier than those of us with only 23 chromosomes.

I don't caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare

 

[Squawking Macaw]

Other species can develop mental illnesses, especially when kept in a poor environment.

You know how some people tend to pick at their wounds and worsen them? Stressed parrots may pluck their own feathers, sometimes to the point of becoming unable to fly, and once they start plucking it's extremely hard to get them to stop. You can tell it's behavioral and not a disease because the head feathers won't be affected, the parrot can't reach them.

 

[Overwritten Tapes]

have never heard of other animals becoming mentally ill

Rabies?

 

[Ruined by the Rain]

Non-human animals in captivity can develop psychosis.

Being a schizophrenic and a dog would really sucks.

Dogs can become so extremely mentally fucked up through neglect/isolation/bad breeding that they become basically unable to function in any normal sense and need to be put down. I don't know if it's classified as a mental illness or what. Sad though

I just put down a dog that bit people. No one is brave enough to do it so it fell to me. It try to bite everyone that pass by, bit a couple, and is a danger. The neighbour said it was abandoned by it's owner and it's protective of its home.

I guess if one function badly enough to get removed from life, one can be considered mentally ill. Even if one is an animal

 

[Lovely Kin]

No, not really. I heard of cats getting dementia.

 

[The Secret Sauce]

Nah, niggers can be crazy as well.

 

[Lemmingwiser]

This wrongly assumes that Africans who can barely read would both recognize and accurately diagnose mental illness. Also by your own logic Brazil and Iran shouldn't be blood red on this map then.

These type of maps are more indications than exact truth, as you rightly point out some flaws. Surely there's more going on than just high iq = high rate of mental illness. The link is there. Why is the link there? I offered one possible theory. You offer another (ability of the population to accurately diagnose mental illness). Though inaccuracy to diagnose mental illness correctly should only mean an inaccurate result. It could be wrong in either direction (inaccurately showing more or inaccurately showing less than the reality).