Though it may come as no surprise to pet owners, animals have an incredible ability to help people navigate the complicated hurdles of mental illnesses. Studies continue to demonstrate how emotional support animals are essential for many. Between offering comfort and emotional connection, there are many ways in which emotional support animals enhance their owners’ lives.
Unlike service animals, an emotional support animal can be any pet that provides emotional support and relief from the symptoms of your mental illness. Perhaps most importantly, they offer the opportunity to enhance your life through comfort and connection. Let’s take a closer look at how emotional support animals can positively impact your life.
What Is an Emotional Support Animal?
An emotional support animal (ESA) is any domesticated animal that helps its owner manage the symptoms of their mental illness simply by providing them with a compassionate and loving presence.
Though it is easy to confuse ESAs with service animals, they’re not the same. Service animals must complete rigorous training and certifications to be considered a service animal. This training equips the animal with the skills to complete tasks for their owner, like guiding a person with hearing or vision impairments through busy streets or sensing when their owner is having a seizure.
Emotional support animals don’t require the same level of training as service animals; in fact, they don’t require training at all! So long as the animal’s presence provides you with a feeling of calm, grounding, and an alleviation of any physical symptoms, they’re doing their job.
Emotional Connection and Comfort: The Role of ESAs
Emotional support animals play an incredible role in a person’s mental well-being. Many emotional perks come with having an ESA—here’s a look at a couple.
How ESAs Provide Emotional Comfort
Mental health disorders can make you feel isolated and alone. However, emotional support animals offer a way for you to feel supported through the ups and downs of mental health. Their unwavering companionship, loyalty, and love can have a meaningful impact on their owners.
The American Psychiatric Association recently reported findings that only provided further proof of the emotional impact animals can have: 69% of respondents said their pet provided unconditional love, support, and companionship, while 63% felt their pet was a true friend.
At the end of the day, science shows that animals have a profound impact on their owners by providing steadfast emotional comfort, lending more credence to animal-assisted therapy.
Emotional Bonding and Its Impact
According to a study conducted on both pet-owning and non-pet-owning Americans, 85% agreed that animals help reduce feelings of loneliness. What’s more? 76% agree that their furry friends can also help with addressing feelings of social isolation, leading to overall feelings of grounding, peace, and satisfaction.
This study is one of many exhibiting that emotional support animals help their owners overcome feelings of isolation, loneliness, and even fear.
Because an ESA offers unconditional love and support, studies show that having an ESA can help you feel less lonely. Perhaps more interestingly, they encourage you to explore social opportunities and connect with others. Experts believe animals offer a bridge to form social connections, rendering them essential tools in fighting the feelings of loneliness and social isolation that arise from anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.
Mental Health Benefits of ESAs
From alleviating symptoms of anxiety and depression to supporting emotional stability, here’s how emotional support animals can be of benefit to your mental health.
Alleviating Anxiety and Depression
In the study conducted by the American Psychiatric Association, 69% of participants reported feeling less lonely or stressed because of their pets. When it comes to anxiety and depression, social isolation, loneliness, and hopelessness can be dominating symptoms. However, emotional support animals offer a unique way of managing these often overpowering emotions.
One of the significant benefits of emotional support animals is that they can distract from spirals of anxiety and depression through their physical presence. Another study, published in Animals, showed that most dog and cat owners felt their four-legged friends had an “extremely positive” impact on their mental health. By being an emotional support and anchor for their owners, an emotional support animal can be an essential tool for alleviating feelings of anxiety and depression.
Building Emotional Stability
Emotional support animals can’t take care of themselves, and their need for regular care also supports their owner’s mental health. By requiring daily feedings, walks, and other routines, emotional support animals encourage their owners to build routines and lay the groundwork for stability and predictability.
Researchers proved this in a study conducted on teens with type 1 diabetes. Here, the participating teenagers were given a pet fish to care for. With time, the teens developed a daily routine that included caring for their fish and themselves. This study suggests that the responsibility and daily tasks required of any pet owner provided them with emotional stability. This stability allows you to better care for those around you and feel a deeper sense of responsibility for caring for yourself.
Physical Benefits of Emotional Companionship
Emotional support animals offer benefits that go beyond your emotions—they offer some incredible physical benefits that boost your mood and overall health.
Stress Reduction
Emotional support animals are also an essential tool for managing the physical symptoms of mental illness. In a stress test conducted on pet owners, researchers found that animals can have an incredible physical impact on their owners.
The study required the participants to submerge their hands in a bowl of ice water or complete a mental math problem. They did these tests twice, first without and then with their pet present. The results of the study consistently showed that whenever their pet was present, the participants showed lower cortisol levels and lower blood pressure.
What this study reveals is that your emotional support animals can help manage the uncomfortable physical symptoms of your mental illness. Whether it’s a rapid heartbeat, sweating, chills, or higher cortisol levels, the human-animal connection is strong enough to reduce the severity of these physical symptoms.
Encouraging Physical Activity
Finding the motivation to stay active can be incredibly challenging, especially if you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, or any other mental health condition. However, studies show that exercise also plays a vital role in reducing the severity of mental illnesses by boosting the oxytocin in your brain and reducing cortisol levels.
From daily walks and playtime to feeding and grooming your pet, emotional support animals get you up and moving throughout the day. Even these small bursts of energy can boost feelings of calm, stability, and ease throughout your day, improving your physical health in the long run.
Strengthening the Bond: How ESAs Foster Connection
Emotional support animals are wonderful companions that are easy to bond with, providing you with a sense of connection and security. Let’s look at how your ESA can offer you a deeper sense of emotional support.
Creating Emotional Security
Animals offer companionship without any of the judgment and stress that may accompany human relationships. Instead, you can come home at the end of every day, knowing that your ESA will be waiting to greet you! This sense of non-judgemental commitment and support can help people with mental health conditions feel accepted and safe to be themselves.
Emotional support animals have often been used to support veterans with PTSD or survivors of sex trafficking. In both situations, the presence of an ESA has been shown to help people feel less vulnerable to stress or emotional distress because their animal is there to offer unwavering emotional security.
The Long-Term Effects of Emotional Support
Your emotional support animal may help you in the present moment, but they also set you up for long-term success. By providing emotional support and consistency, ESAs can help people develop deeper emotional resilience. Studies suggest that emotional support animals can make people feel less alone, needed and purposeful, and better connected to the world around them. These traits, which benefit you in the short run as well, set you up for long-term success by making you more receptive to social and community interaction.
How to Qualify for an ESA
Emotional support animals don’t require the complex training that service animals do, making them easier to qualify for. Here’s a look at the process:
- Review the ESA qualifications. If you’re not sure whether you qualify, it’s recommended you continue with the process to get a licensed mental health professional’s opinion.
- Schedule an appointment with a licensed mental health provider. This can be in person or through a virtual service like Pettable.
- Attend your appointment to discuss your mental health. During this appointment, your licensed mental health professional (LMHP) will determine whether you meet the criteria for an ESA.
- Get your letter: If your licensed mental health professional thinks you would benefit from an ESA, they’ll write you an ESA letter.
- Get ESA accommodation. Let your landlord or bank know that you qualify for emotional support animal accommodation.
Though the process is fairly straightforward, know that there are a lot of scams out there promising to make the process even easier. Be wary of these and remember that the only legally valid form of ESA certification is a letter from a licensed mental health provider. This letter must include:
- The letterhead of your licensed mental health professional
- The signature of your LMHP and their license number
- A statement that you have a mental health condition and qualify for an emotional support animal
Finally, it’s important to check your state’s individual codes regarding emotional support animals. Some states, like California and Iowa, have added steps that will make the process take a little bit longer.
Conclusion
Emotional support animals are an incredible tool for people navigating the complexities of mental health. Their calming, loving presence offers a sense of support and connection that can reduce both the emotional and physical symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses.
Whether you or a family member are considering an ESA, connecting with a licensed mental health professional to see if you qualify is a great first step in finding an added layer of support. No matter how minor your symptoms may seem, getting an ESA may provide an additional level of comfort that only enhances your overall well-being.
FAQs
What types of mental health conditions qualify for an ESA?
Emotional support animals can assist with a range of mental health conditions. Some of the most commonly known conditions that qualify for an ESA are anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and bipolar disorder.
How does an ESA differ from a service animal?
Emotional support animals don’t require any training and can be any domesticated animal that offers you emotional support and relief from your mental illness. Emotional support animal benefits can be obtained from any pet with which you can form an emotional connection. Service animals are highly trained and must pass rigorous certifications to be considered a service animal. This type of animal is trained to complete specific tasks to assist its owner with day-to-day chores.
Can any pet be an emotional support animal?
Yes! If your animal gives you emotional support and a sense of calm, grounding, and security, it can qualify as an ESA.
How do I obtain an ESA letter?
You must meet with a licensed mental health provider who will assess your need for an emotional support animal. If they believe you will benefit from an ESA, they’ll provide you with a valid ESA letter.
