Research shows that grieving the death of a pet can be just as profound and long-lasting as mourning a family member, confirming what many people already know about the deep bonds we share with our animals.
A survey published in the academic journal PLOS One found that people who lose a pet can experience prolonged grief disorder (PGD), a mental health condition typically associated with the death of a loved one.
PGD can last for months—or even years—and often involves intense longing and despair, difficulty socializing or handling daily tasks, and a feeling that a part of oneself has died, The Guardian reported.
Currently, only the loss of a human can lead to a PGD diagnosis, but the study’s lead author recommends updating diagnostic guidelines to include pets.
The survey, which included 975 adults in the UK, found that 7.5% of people who had lost a pet met the criteria for PGD—roughly the same percentage as those who had lost a close friend. This is only slightly lower than rates for people grieving a grandparent (8.3%), sibling (8.9%), or partner (9.1%).
Higher rates were seen only in those who had lost a parent or child, at 11.2% and 21.3%, respectively.
Interestingly, about one in five people who had lost both a pet and a human reported that the pet’s death had hit them harder.
The study estimates that one in twelve PGD cases in the UK is triggered by the death of a pet, reflecting the fact that roughly half of adults have pets and that pets generally have much shorter lifespans than humans.
Philip Hyland, a psychology professor at Maynooth University in Ireland and the study’s lead author, said the research also showed that the symptoms of intense grief for a pet mirror those for human loss, with no difference in how people experience these losses.
He concluded that the study provides “strong and compelling evidence” that grief for a pet is just as legitimate as grief for a person and called for PGD diagnostic guidelines to be updated accordingly.