How Pets Can Help Improve Our Mental Health
Mental health issues are common amongst our busy, stressful lives and often lead to regular burnouts. To evade this, we try to find healthy coping mechanisms in our lives; pets being one of them. They are essential in the healing process because of multiple reasons. Unlike other animals, these furry companions provide the necessary emotional support and comfort needed to help individuals cope with their psychological illness. Other reasons include:
Pets Help to Regulate Our Hormone Levels
Pets are more than just cute furry creatures. They can play a major role in helping you tackle your psychological illness. Playing with these emotional support animals can provide calming feelings and help the brain to release ‘happy hormones’, or in short, oxytocin. Oxytocin is scientifically known as a stress-reliever and reducer of the stress hormone called cortisol. Furthermore, stroking a pet also helps to reduce blood pressure and even calm down overzealous children.
Reduce Depression through Interactions with Animals
Pets also help in motivating their owners. A common issue found in people with depression is that they cannot seem to motivate themselves to do work. However, having another creature’s life depend on your shoulders can push you to get out of bed in the morning to take care of them. This can also help you to feel a sense of achievement for taking care of your pets. Not only will this help you distract yourself, but it will also allow you to get more physical exercise.
Dogs know how to read us. They feel when something wrong is happening and they try to confort us in their unique way. But, can you understand your dog as well? Dogs communicate mainly with their tails and ears. If your dog wags his tail to the right or left, or wags frenetically, you can tell about his mood.
Pets Are Your Platonic Wing Partner!
Mental health issues tend to make you isolate yourself and make you feel worthless. This is where your pet can come to the rescue. They can help you socialize and make new friends. For example, if you own a dog and have to take it for a walk, you may find many people willing to interact with you because of your pet. Unknowingly, they can be the platonic wing partner that you thought you did not need but deserve!
Our Pets Care about Our Well-being
In this fast-paced world around us, you as a student or a working employee need some form of ‘normalcy’ in your routine and mental health deterioration can cause you to worry instead. Pets can be an important essence to help you escape that worry-some lifestyle. These life coaches will ensure your day-to-day activities are consistent. Because of their body clock, a pet won’t be afraid to wake you up at the crack of dawn for breakfast or force you to wear your tracksuit at 7 pm because they want to play with you.
Why Fret When You Have A Pet?
Anxiety-induced people often worry about their actions around others. They need constant reminders that their actions were justified and they have nothing to panic about. Similarly, if you are someone who is dealing with anxiety, stress or PTSD, your pets can be the much-needed distraction and comfort you need. The best part? They will not judge you. They will provide you with undivided attention, support, and care.
The Cure of Unconditional Love: ADHD management
Animals are also great listeners and can help kids with ADHD. Playing around with pets in the day can reduce the eminent energy of the child and help them remain calm to get better sleep at night. Due to this, children with ADHD can cope with their illness better. This, in turn, will increase their concentration levels at school since their minds will be relaxed from the fun time they had with their pets. In addition, when parents tend to ignore the wants of their children who are suffering from ADHD, a pet continues to give them unconditional love and hence, makes a great impact on their treatment process. Due to the support of their pets, children with ADHD tend to be more self-confident and less anxious.
Autistic People Are More Calm With Pets
Animals are used to reduce the effects of Autism and sensory issues, because they make certain smells, senses of touch, and sounds more acceptable. This familiarity opens people with autism to accept any behavior that may otherwise force them to panic. Pets are trained to stop their owners from hurting themselves and help them calm down their sensory overloads to avoid life-threatening situations. Due to this, autistic people are kept safe at all times even when the guardian isn’t present and helps autistic people to live independently as well.
Pets are essential in our lives, whether we are dealing with mental stress or psychological illness. They provide us with a daily dose of comfort therapy. This can be as simple as maintaining hormone levels or as impactful as reducing self-harm cases in Autistic people. They are the friends that will make sure we adopt healthy coping mechanisms and stick to it. One thing to keep in mind is that you will need to get an Emotional Support Animal Letter or certificate from a doctor before signing up to get your own ESA pet.
