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James Middleton opened up about his mental health struggles in January of this year, just about a month before we learned that his marshmallow company, Boomf, was doing Nazi-themed marshmallows made-to-order. We’re taking the good with the bad here, and I just wanted to remind people that there no follow-ups or statements about Boomf’s Nazi marshmallows. There were follow-ups on James’ mental health issues, including his struggle with depression. He’s talked opening about going into therapy and how much his dogs have helped him. But did you know his dog Ella – daddy’s favorite, I think – also went into therapy with him?
James Middleton has revealed he ‘sometimes finds it easier to talk to dogs than humans’ in a candid interview. The 32-year-old brother to the Duchess of Cambridge also revealed he took his Spaniel Ella to therapy sessions, as he opened up about his struggle with depression.
James, who works as a host at Scottish hotel Glen Affric Lodge near Loch Ness, has nine dogs – Golden Retriever Mabel, a black Labrador, two Cocker Spaniels, and five black Spaniels called Rafa, Ella, Zulu, Inka and Luna.
Speaking to the Evening Standard, he said: ‘Fundamentally inside me I know how much the dogs helped me. I find it easier talking to the dogs than I sometimes do to humans’. Recommending more therapy dogs be put in hospitals and mental health centres, he added: ‘I know it can work — so Ella came to all my therapy sessions with me and that’s why I’m so supportive of it and I want to do more myself. All I’m trying to do is to say that talking about mental health should be part of an everyday conversation, the same way that if I said ‘I have hayfever’ it would be a normal discussion.’
[From The Daily Mail]
Therapy dogs are a real thing, and there’s a lot of data to suggest that pet ownership/cohabitation is an overwhelmingly good thing for people. So, I’m not surprised that James credits his dogs as being a big part of his treatment and healing. I bet Ella was like “when can I tell the therapist about some of my issues” though. Also: I’m a big believer in bringing therapy animals to kids’ hospitals, and I think therapy dogs should also be brought in for people in communities after a trauma. Like, after a mass shooting, bring in therapy dogs. Puppies should be going to Dayton and El Paso right now. Animals help people heal and just feel better.
The DOG watch ? ⛵️
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Photos courtesy of Instagram.
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