Health Benefits of Animals
By: River O’Leary
For those of us who are animal lovers, there is nothing better than coming home to a pet who is happy to see you no matter what your day was like. The warmth, affection, and love pets give to us can feel soothing, and draw out our own feelings of care and mutual connection.
Emotional support animals (ESAs) are pets who provide these feelings in a way that improves mental health for their human companions who have a diagnosed mental health condition. Emotional support animals can impact our emotions by alleviating worry, providing comfort, and mitigating feelings of loneliness.
How Animals Support Mental Health
The benefits of connecting with animals are extensive and demonstrate both a wide breadth and depth of positive mental health outcomes, treating many types of mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, panic disorder, conditions where people hear voices, and suicidal ideation.
For people living alone, pets provide a source of connectedness, reassurance, and normalcy. They help people stay in the present moment and avoid ruminating about the past, which is a behavior commonly seen in people with depression and/or anxiety. Pets provide the indirect benefit of leading people into activities that benefit their mental health such as physical exercise and contact with nature.
Pets can result in improvement of acute symptoms of anxiety and panic. Pets can distract from serious mental health symptoms such as hearing voices, panic attacks, and suicidal ideation. This distraction can occur through their physical presence, sounds they make, physical touch, or the routine of having to take care of the needs of pets such as feeding, walking, brushing, or playing.
How these benefits work
Mental health benefits of spending time with animals can emerge from the following facts about pets:
Pets don’t judge you! You can tell them anything, which may help you express your feelings and clarify your thoughts. Pets will not interrupt, offer criticism or advice, or betray your confidence.
Pets love without condition, which can foster self-acceptance and a feeling of harmony with yourself. Relationships with pets are free from conflict, pets do not cross our emotional boundaries, and they provide unconditional affection.
Unconditional positive regard from pets promotes emotional regulation, stress management, and helps cope with difficult life events. These all result in an overall increase in emotional stability.
Pets can introduce humor into situations related to mental health, making these situations lighter and less burdensome.
Benefits of having a pet are strengthened when:
People feel a profound connection to their pet
People view pets as family members
People view their pets as a consistent source of comfort and affection
Pets are perceived as having a “sense” of what their human needs, and are available instantaneously without request.
An example of this “sense” is when a pet comes close to its human when it is crying and provides physical touch and affection to comfort its human.
This reduces feelings of isolation, provides physical warmth, companionship, and an opportunity for communication.
Pets and PTSD
Much of our research on the emotional support benefits of animals has been done on people with PTSD, and have particularly helpful impacts on those with PTSD. For veterans with PTSD, animals have been shown to reduce loneliness, depression, worry, and irritability. Time with animals increases feelings of calmness in veterans with PTSD. A particularly impactful element that contributes to these impacts are close physical contact and stroking their animals.
For those with generalized PTSD, pets can provide real or a sense of protection, which can help those experiencing constant vigilance. An overlapping benefit for those with PTSD and/or autism is having the consistency that pets can provide. Emotional boundaries are challenging for many with mental health conditions, and may be even more challenging for those with autism and PTSD. In relationships with pets, pets do not overstep emotional boundaries and these connections can feel more safe, consistent, and reliable relationships as a result.
Limitations
Having animals in the home can come with their downsides, whether this be practical, financial, or related to personal preferences or abilities. Some of the limitations of having a pet include the following:
Financial responsibility of pet ownership can create financial hardships for some people.
Finding housing can become more challenging, although ESAs are provided some legal protection, as outlined below.
Pets can be a barrier to aspirational goals related to positive mental health outcomes, such as travel.
Early stages of pet ownership are the most difficult, but can be a positive investment for the future.
Having an unruly pet can contribute to negative mental health outcomes.
Potential or actual loss of a pet causes major emotional distress for pet owners.
Emotional Support Animals and Psychiatric Service Animals
Emotional support animals (ESAs) are pets who have demonstrated the ability to improve mental health their human companions who have a diagnosed mental health condition. Emotional support animals can impact our emotions by alleviating worry, providing comfort, and mitigating feelings of loneliness.
One of the benefits of ESAs are that landlords must allow your ESA to live on their property. Any species of pet can be an ESA. ESAs are not legally protected to fly on airplanes or to bring to the workplace, although some workplaces may permit them.
Psychiatric Service animals, which are different than ESAs, provide a specific function to alleviate debilitating mental health problems such as panic attacks and PTSD flashbacks. These are considered service animals and are protected by law to be able to go anywhere in public with their humans.
Applying This to Your Own Life
Connections with animals are so special, and our pets can do wonders for our mental health. Next time you see your animal friend, consider the ways in which they make your life better, and give them a thank you!
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