It has become essential for people to understand the importance of having an Emotional Support Animal (ESA). Many mental health practitioners advise their patients to have an ESA as a companion on their healing journey. Even famous psychoanalysts like Sigmund Freud applied this method of therapy as he brought his pet Chow to therapy sessions to help his patients. Now that approximately 20% of the population is suffering from mental and emotional issues, people are starting to lean towards therapy that involves animals. Any pet owner can tell you that animals, by nature, will lift up your mood, make you laugh, and reduce stress and anxiety levels, which can be truly beneficial for people suffering from emotional turbulence.

Here is why you should consider getting an Emotional Support Animal.

ESA Therapy Works with Other Treatments

Your therapist might have you stick to a strict form of therapy that you cannot deviate from, but actually, you will find that if you suggest to your therapist that having a pet to help stimulate your treatment will benefit you, your therapist will agree as well. You can even get a free screening test here to see your eligibility for an ESA.  This form of therapy does not hinder the success of your treatment and can complement it. Due to the nature of ESA therapy, it will make you happier, more hopeful, and more receptive to the treatment that you are prescribed.

It Can Help with Anxiety

Anxiety, especially chronic anxiety, can make your life difficult. Experiencing constant turbulent emotions and battling stress and anxiety inside your mind in every situation without anyone realizing what you are going through is very hard. It is a terrible state of mind because these emotions plaguing you will feel uncontrollable. Luckily, having an ESA at this time can be a great support to your battered emotions. An ESA will want to give and receive love, they can take your mind off things, and they can pull you out from behind the walls of your mind and to the present moment. ESAs could be a tether to reality and a sanctuary, especially when anxiety is heavily weighing down on you.

Keep Suicidal Thoughts at Bay

Suicidal thoughts are a serious matter. The need to self-harm can develop and yield terrible consequences to any person. However, during the times when someone is feeling helpless and just wants to end it all, a pet might just be the only thing that can pull them back from this dark tunnel. Your pet will give unconditional love and it will be a reminder that there is something good, kind, and loving that cares for you as a person and needs your love in return. Animals can make you feel cared for, needed, and can make life worth living after everything else has proven otherwise. They will help you battle depression as they will also try to cheer you up. Animals can be very smart when it comes to their owners’ feelings.

Produce Neurotransmitters

It is true. Spending time with animals can increase the production of neurotransmitters in your body in a similar way to antidepressants, which increases serotonin. When you play with your pet friend, your dopamine levels will increase significantly. Dopamine is a transmitter associated with feelings of happiness. It will also decrease feelings of depression and anxiety and will increase positive feelings like capacity for your love and care, which makes having an ESA around a person who suffers from a mental health issue the perfect therapy. If your animal helps your body produce dopamine, then your life is more likely to be bright and pleasurable with it around you.

Regulate Emotions

If your feelings are prone to becoming highly destabilized and causing you to feel nervous or agitated, an ESA could be a great deflective shield against such states. An animal’s steady support, love, and dependability could serve as an anchorage to a person whose emotions are not particularly organized. In fact, your pet can help you understand your feelings and realize why you are feeling that way. It will help you sort your emotions to deal with them more efficiently. It is something that could be hard to achieve, but animals actually make people focus on them instead of the internal conflicts that could be causing them great disturbances.

It is important to understand how much the role of an ESA can affect your life. Mental health benefits could be garnered from this type of therapy and help you overcome obstacles unlike other methods which may have not agreed with you, so consider having an ESA to brighten your life and serve as a true companion even in the darkest times.