Worrying so much about animals

[AllThatTwitters]

I have always been sentimental about animals but nowadays it really occupies my mind quite a lot, and it just upsets me so much that there is SO much animal suffering worldwide, and even so many pets that are badly treated. They are vulnerable babies and it has pretty much been proven now that a dog has the same emotional range as a toddler and that other animals can also feel emotion.
I have gotten to the stage that if I wake up during a rainy night I fret about all the horses/dogs etc left out in the rain, and Jesus don't even get me started on the heatwaves....
Does anyone relate? I pour love on my own pets and I donate to charities but it doesn't assuage the worry!

@WildFlowerBees spot on
Humans are fucking awful. Well, 70‰ are

I would think that you are a 'Rescuer' type of personality.
That is, you put your own needs aside for others.

When you are stressed you start 'worrying' about animal welfare.

It's obsessive thinking. And the particular flavour you have is animal welfare.
Someone else might get up and mop the kitchen floor or get annoyed with their partner because the bin hasn't been washed out.

Just notice when the animal welfare thoughts come into your mind.
Say to yourself, I'm having a thought about animals. Then 'I'm noticing I'm having a thought about animals'.

Then ask yourself, what is you thinking about animals keeping you away from in the rest of your life? Our minds like to worry and it seems like 'activity' but actually it's a procrastination to get between us and difficult emotions.

I don’t understand why every thread objecting to animals being abused by people has to be hijacked by the “how dare you care about animals” anthropocentric brigade.

Yes, humans are also abused, exploited, and maltreated by other humans (verifying an innate ugly pattern of human nature and behavior), but there are much more extensive laws (and enforcement of laws) and human aid organizations and funding for abuse of humans vs non-human animals.

As a result of more awareness of the plight of animals, increasing numbers of people hate the terrible treatment of animals and try to improve conditions, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!

Who mistreats animals? You can live and look after animals and yet know their sensibilities aren’t the same.

I’ve always been a vegetarian but did always manage to try to contain my own worries to within my little bubble of animals in my life, to a certain extent. Then in the last few years/months it’s got so much worse and I find myself just thinking about all the animals going to be slaughtered that day etc and it just completely blowing my mind that anyone could possibly ever think it was okay. It’s like I just can’t comprehend it at all 😔 It’s horrible though because there really isn’t much you can do other than your own little bit to help the animals you can help but on a much bigger scale it’s just utterly tragic

I relate to this a lot. I'm a huge animal lover and I have to stop my mind wandering and thinking that there are animal being abused or unloved as a sit there helpless. There's nothing you can do sadly other than love and care for the pets you have or animals you come across. I hate it though. They are so helpless. People who hurt them are wired up wrong and in my opinion should just be taken off the planet!

I hate the animal cruelty posts too. It preys on my mind.
Did you see the man in the media the other day who was murdered by burglars breaking into his home to try and steal his beloved Labradoodle? Broke my heart. I relate, I'd fight with my life too if someone tried to take my dog 😔

If we don’t eat beef drink/milk then what do we do with the cows?
There’s only one answer to this which is kill them all off and don’t breed anymore because we can’t just open the doors and turn them out in the fields to live happily ever after because without massive human input they won’t. There are a few wild herds of cows who get no input from humans including no medical intervention they also by the way have have a calf once a year but it is not possible to do this with all our cows.
Personally I don’t fancy a world without cows/sheep grazing in our fields they contribute to and shape our wonderful landscape

@BumbleBee75 "I don’t understand why every thread objecting to animals being abused by people has to be hijacked by the “how dare you care about animals” anthropocentric brigade"
You must be so pleased this thread isn't saying that at all.

Your Grandad 💞 I think he's right and I pray he is.

The thing is people that claim to “love” animals generally have fuck all to do with animals. They tend to live in man made environments centred on humans.

?? There are people who claim to love kids who only live around adults and have fuck all to do with kids.

How does not living rural/remote prevent one from helping/caring about animals? You can eat vegan or vegetarian regardless where you live, or buy only high welfare items, you can avoid palm oil, you can buy ethical products that are not animal tested, you can donate to animal causes, you can adopt strays or volunteer at rescues, etc.

I understand, OP. I find images or adverts about suffering (human or animal) really difficult to cope with.

However, if you are waking up at night and thinking about it constantly, it might be worth a trip to your GP. Empathy is good, but becoming fixated on something that you can’t change can be a sign of a problem. For me, this kind of thing is one of the first signs my anxiety is getting out of control and needs addressing.

@Cowlover89 I hate to wreck your narrative but it’s also possible to be a vegan and wear fur. I have one such friend- adores her calf leather bags, adores fur, animals not so much.