Dogs and Medication Adherence

Alrighty, this is gonna be a post where I comment on a few things briefly. They've been sitting in my Google Reader for a while because I think they're interesting, but can't write much about it.

First one: Could A Dog Benefit YOUR Mental Health?
YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!! I have a puppy (yes, he's a 7 yr old puppy, though my boyfriend argues otherwise) and I love him. Love him love him. There's something about coming home to a happy jumping being that is just awesome. Unconditional love and acceptance are irreplacable. And I'm a cuddler so he is too. It might've been Stockholm Syndrome from when he was a puppy (a real one, the kind that is a year or younger), but he asks, so I give. And give. And give.

Interjection: kind of confused right now, because my delete button has decided not to work. Anyways.

Second one: Predictors for bipolar disorder medication nonadherence identified
1. Comorbid substance abuse. (Okay, delete button is working again. I feel like I'm missing something important.)
2. "negative attitudes toward mood-stabilizing medication" and
3. difficulty managing medication routines.
Can we say "duh, duh, and duh!" ?? So I know I've discussed comorbid substance abuse and the tendency of MDs to self-medicate. If you're self-medicating, why bother with the prescription drugs? That's just stupid (insert sarcasm). Also, if you think mood-stabilizing medication is wrong or dumb or admits a weakness (ahem ex-boyfriend), why the hell would you take it? AND if you keep forgetting your medicine, and forgetting, and forgetting, you'd probably give up after a while.

Which leads me to the question: why do we do research studies and spend good money on the stupid, obvious stuff?

PS: Oh Shit. I found yet another article on brain matter, and it doesn't look good. More on that later.