My Animal, My Self

Animals can mirror the people they live with on a physical, emotional, mental and/ or spiritual level, and the dynamic can be both positive and negative. Sometimes animals take on serious illnesses or dysfunctional behaviors of their humans in an effort to help. Other times, they are so connected with their people that they can’t avoid having similar experiences. However, animals have their own lives and separate reasons for their behaviors, so not everything is about mirroring. It is important to be able to distinguish between behaviors that rest purely with the animal and those that result from mirroring. Readers will gain a complete understanding of human-animal mirroring, with case studies in each chapter to illustrate the ideas presented. This is a practical, hands-on book that offers readers tools for assessing mirroring between themselves and their companion animals, and a chapter on how to eliminate any negative mirroring that may be detected. In the final chapter, readers get insight in applying what they have learned about mirroring to a broader spectrum of interactions and life situations.