5 Proven Benefits of Emotional Support Animals
An emotional support animal, ESA, is a more than a pet animal that provides therapeutic benefits to its owner. Whether these animals provide the comfort or not is still a hot topic but actual pet owners do report some significant benefits of having a beloved companion around.
To live and travel with an ESA, the owners need to get a valid ESA letter. They can get the letter either from an online source or from their trusted mental health practitioner.
Before getting the letter from an online provider, make sure that you have checked an ESA letter sample to know how does a genuine ESA letter looks like.
Once you get the letter, get ready to enjoy the following benefits of having an ESA.
- Increased Production of Neurotransmitters
People suffering from depression rely on antidepressants to ease their condition. These antidepressants increase the level of serotonin in our bloodstream and regulates our mood.
Research shows that just looking into the eyes of your beloved furry friend, especially a dog, produces dopamine and the feelings of pleasure. Therefore, your ESA keeps you calm, happy and, overall, in a good mood.
- Reduced Stress and Anxiety
Since these lovelies encourage the production of neurotransmitters, dopamine and endorphins, it helps in reducing stress and increasing the feelings of happiness and love. The best thing is that you will have someone who will share this love and reciprocate.
Modern lifestyle is stressful and coming back home to someone who is there to offer unconditional love and companionship helps in managing this stress and staying positive and happy.
- Improved Physical and Mental Health
Having a dog or a cat means that you will have to take it for a walk also, right? These daily walks, or several weekly walk sessions, are good for both of you. This is especially true for a dog ESA, since they are more active than a cat or any other animal.
Taking your dog for a walk will keep you active also. These walks will also help you in connecting with other ESA owners and people who came to walk their pets. Many of these connections turn into meaningful relationships.
- Improved Travelling Experience
Many people and especially the ones having mental or emotional challenges could not travel easily. For them, having their ESA dog or cat with them is a blessing. They help ease their travel related anxiety and divide their attention.
A Lot of people stress because they have to travel alone; having an ESA solves this problem as they have a companion to share their travelling experience.
- Better Treatment Results
Many treatments have reported to have better results with an ESA. People suffering from depression, anxiety and stress are often on treatment. Some treatments that work best
with an ESA include cognitive improvement treatments, in certain mindfulness techniques and post trauma treatments.
Besides all the confusion and debate, having a pet or an ESA letter for housing do offer substantial benefits for you. With an emotional support dog letter, or an ESA letter for any type of pet, will help you to avail these benefits easily.
