I want you to imagine something for me. I want you to picture your furry animal that you love so dearly. Picture them doing something that makes you laugh or gives you immense comfort. Visualize their generous eyes and how you feel when you are in their presence. Do you feel soothed? Calm? Happy? Possibly a little confused on how or why an animal can bring such feelings to you?
There is an abundance of individuals who report having a healthier and happier life with a furry animal by their side. Pets are highly associated with physiological, psychological, and social benefits for humans (Ryan & Ziebland, 2015). For these reasons and more, our furry animals have become a close companion and often a part of the family we hold so close to our hearts. Despite knowing these animals are a part of our well-being, we often lack the knowledge of how they are important to our well-being.
What if I told you that pets hold a therapeutic function? Would you be surprised? I personally was not surprised by this statement but floored by the benefits of such a function. According to Hawkins et al. (2021), benefits of pets can include an increased ability to feel pleasure in life’s wonders, improved incentive and behavioral activation, improved coping skills, and increased social connections. In addition, there is a large reduction in anxiety symptoms and loneliness. In combination with the above benefits, this can snowball to a reduction in self-harm, panic attacks, and suicide attempts (Hawkins et al., 2021).
How can this be? How can a dog, a cat, a bunny, etc., do that for a human? The answer lies within an animal’s innate abilities to respond to their owners intuitively, especially in periods of crisis (Brooks et al., 2018). Through the combination of direct (physical touch) and indirect (playfulness, humor, etc.) mechanisms, your furry animal conveys unconditional love for you (Hawkins et al., 2021).
So, the next time you feel in need of that extra companionship or unconditional love. Seek out your fur-baby or possibly visit a pet shelter to donate some love in gaining some well-being!
Resources
Brooks, H. L., Rushton, K., Lovell, K., Bee, P., Walker, L., Grant, L., & Rogers, A. (2018). The power of support from companion animals for people living with mental health problems: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the evidence. BMC psychiatry, 18(1), 1-12.
Hawkins, R. D., Hawkins, E. L., & Tip, L. (2021). “I Can’t Give Up When I Have Them to Care for”: People’s Experiences of Pets and Their Mental Health. Anthrozoös, 1-20.
Ryan, S., & Ziebland, S. (2015). On interviewing people with pets: reflections from qualitative research on people with long‐term conditions. Sociology of health & illness, 37(1), 67-80.
Root, Jordan (2021) Baxter[Photograph].
I want you to imagine something for me. I want you to picture your furry animal that you love so dearly. Picture them doing something that makes you laugh or gives you immense comfort. Visualize their generous eyes and how you feel when you are in their presence. Do you feel soothed? Calm? Happy? Possibly a little confused on how or why an animal can bring such feelings to you?
There is an abundance of individuals who report having a healthier and happier life with a furry animal by their side. Pets are highly associated with physiological, psychological, and social benefits for humans (Ryan & Ziebland, 2015). For these reasons and more, our furry animals have become a close companion and often a part of the family we hold so close to our hearts. Despite knowing these animals are a part of our well-being, we often lack the knowledge of how they are important to our well-being.
What if I told you that pets hold a therapeutic function? Would you be surprised? I personally was not surprised by this statement but floored by the benefits of such a function. According to Hawkins et al. (2021), benefits of pets can include an increased ability to feel pleasure in life’s wonders, improved incentive and behavioral activation, improved coping skills, and increased social connections. In addition, there is a large reduction in anxiety symptoms and loneliness. In combination with the above benefits, this can snowball to a reduction in self-harm, panic attacks, and suicide attempts (Hawkins et al., 2021).
How can this be? How can a dog, a cat, a bunny, etc., do that for a human? The answer lies within an animal’s innate abilities to respond to their owners intuitively, especially in periods of crisis (Brooks et al., 2018). Through the combination of direct (physical touch) and indirect (playfulness, humor, etc.) mechanisms, your furry animal conveys unconditional love for you (Hawkins et al., 2021).
So, the next time you feel in need of that extra companionship or unconditional love. Seek out your fur-baby or possibly visit a pet shelter to donate some love in gaining some well-being!
Resources
Brooks, H. L., Rushton, K., Lovell, K., Bee, P., Walker, L., Grant, L., & Rogers, A. (2018). The power of support from companion animals for people living with mental health problems: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the evidence. BMC psychiatry, 18(1), 1-12.
Hawkins, R. D., Hawkins, E. L., & Tip, L. (2021). “I Can’t Give Up When I Have Them to Care for”: People’s Experiences of Pets and Their Mental Health. Anthrozoös, 1-20.
Ryan, S., & Ziebland, S. (2015). On interviewing people with pets: reflections from qualitative research on people with long‐term conditions. Sociology of health & illness, 37(1), 67-80.
Root, Jordan (2021) Baxter[Photograph].