Did you know in 2016 it was estimated that around 164 million people worldwide had an alcohol or drug use disorder?
It’s no wonder that more people are looking for ways to help themselves.
If you’re struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues, a support animal could help.
Keep reading to discover 5 benefits of emotional support animals.
5 Benefits of Emotional Support Animals
Animals don’t only provide joy and companionship they also provide emotional support to people with addictions or mental health concerns. With quite a few benefits of emotional support animals let’s take a look at five main benefits.
1. Emotional Support Animals Help Produce Neurotransmitters
Dogs increase dopamine and other neurochemicals. Both of these are associated with love and bonding. There have been studies that show that dopamine production is boosted by looking into your dog’s eyes.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that’s associated with feeling pleasure. This has two benefits. It makes a person feel less depressed and it increases a persons capacity to love and care for someone else.
For those that tend to be lonely having an animal can help them feel safer and more loved.
2. Emotional Support Animals Work in Conjunction with Other Treatments
Emotional support animals can be incorporated into any treatment plan. They can be used in mindfulness techniques to help people ground themselves.
They can be used as a resource to help you bring yourself down from an emotional high. And vice versa they can be used to pick yourself up from an emotional low.
You can even find a pet friendly rehab that promotes having a pet to be there throughout your treatment. These rehabs not only allow it they encourage it because they understand the benefits of having an emotional support animal by your side.
3. They Provide Social Support
Emotional support animals can improve their owners’ health by being a social companion. Pets that are psychologically close to their owner may provide well-being benefits just like a human can. The social support, in turn, improves cardiovascular and immune functioning.
4. They Help Regulate Everyday Feelings
Petting an animal and the presence of an animal helps people reduce daily anxiety. It also helps improve a persons’ mood. Having a constant emotional support animal equals having a consistent daily presence which means stabilizing emotions.
Having a prescribed emotional support animal will allow you to have your pets constant presence no matter where you go even a flight.
5. They Provide Unconditional Love
Having an emotional support animal can help someone with a diagnosis feel a love that might be hard for them to find someone else. Those that struggle to receive unconditional love can feel that from their emotional support animal. They also experience a feeling of connectedness from their pet.
This love can truly improve a person’s emotional and mental health plus become a stepping stone to more meaningful relationships with other humans.
Enjoy Your Fur Baby
With so many benefits of emotional support animals consider talking to your care provider to see if an emotional support animal will help your situation. If you are dealing with trauma, stress, anxiety or any type of mental health or substance abuse this fur baby might be the way to go to help you.
If you want more tips on raising your happiness read some of our articles in the happiness section of our blog.