If you suffer from social anxiety disorder, an emotional support dog can provide you with significant benefits in terms of reducing stress levels, motivation and feeling loved and cared for. It can offer you non-judgmental support as you take responsibility for their care and well-being. Dogs are naturally inspiring to interact with strangers, and they provide constant companionship and support in these difficult situations.
In fact, there are many reasons why you need such a dog.
The mere presence of an emotional support dog is well soothing.
You don’t have to suffer from an anxiety disorder to realize that the presence of any dog can be incredibly relaxing. There is something about their companionship that reduces anxiety and stress. Having a dog in the house greatly reduces stress hormone levels.
Emotional support dogs can easily reduce depression.
This has been proven by scientific studies, although the exact cause has not yet been determined. Of course, it could be a combination of causes. A combination of different factors discussed below can have a significant impact on this.
The need to care for dogs provides motivation.
When a depressed person feels unmotivated to take care of himself, the needs of a dog can motivate him to get back to his life and his responsibilities. Dogs need food and companionship, too.
You won’t feel alone.
Dogs are not pieces of furniture. They are more like friends and family members. This can help someone with depression feel less lonely when they are not with other people.
Emotional support dogs love unconditionally.
Most people are constantly looking for a feeling of love with no strings attached, but very rarely find it. Dogs can offer such love. This can easily be sensed from the way they behave with humans. They don’t care what he looks like or how rich he is.
Trained dogs can sense and deal with panic attacks.
They can spot the approaching signs of a panic attack when the person begins to breathe faster and heavier. Other signs may be rapid breathing or nail biting. A trained dog can snuggle up to the person’s head and body to provide deep pressure therapy, which often helps with panic attacks.
Dogs can remind a person to take medication.
If a person needs to take medication at a certain time of day, a dog can help with that. For such tasks, you can always use, for example, a smartphone as an alarm clock that will remind you at the right time. However, it can always be ignored or even forgotten about these alerts. But the dog can be trained to disturb the person continuously until they take the necessary medication.
If you are afraid of open spaces, dogs can help.
Their proximity makes you feel less vulnerable. Also, people are more likely to notice your dog than they are to notice you. If you have a panic attack, your emotional support dog can keep friendly strangers from approaching and making you feel worse.
If you are afraid of confined spaces, your dog can help you get out.
They can be trained to find exits in buildings and stores. This is a great help if you are claustrophobic and need an open space right away. Trained dogs have a great sense of direction. They can even find your car in the parking lot, which can prevent another kind of panic attack.
They can find people who can help when you need it.
Those who suffer from anxiety often find support from loved ones in the home. But what if you’re in trouble and your spouse isn’t around? Your dog can find him when you say his name if something is wrong.
If you have a fear of flying, a dog beside you or on your lap will reduce your anxiety.
Many people experience intense terror and anxiety when they fly on an airplane. But many have found that having a small dog on their lap can greatly reduce that terror.
Dogs can help you connect with people.
They are natural conversationalists, which is why many single people take their dogs with them when they go to the park to meet new people. If you become very anxious, your dog is trained to keep other people at a distance until you calm down.
Even untrained dogs make most people feel good just by stroking their fur and belly. For people with problems such as depression and anxiety, these dogs are so helpful that they are often prescribed as an element of treatment.
Get connected with a licensed healthcare professional to obtain an ESA letter
