“This is the best part of my week,” a University of South Carolina student stated while petting my lab mix puppy McDuffie on campus. Another student smiled wide as she cuddled with my Siberian Husky Sasha. The students ran over to my dogs as I was taking pictures of them for this blog. Though the interaction was brief, it confirmed to me how valuable emotional support animals can be.
As a therapist at Future Psych Solutions, I often hear about the beneficial impact that pets can have on the patients I treat. I am grateful to be a part of a place that allows people to bring their emotional support animals to sessions.
This inspired me to write a blog series on emotional support animals while incorporating a personal touch with the therapeutic benefits I get from my own dogs.
Whether we are having a bad day or just an anxious moment, interacting with an emotional support animal can help with our anxiety. Petting animals can help decrease our heart rate and lower the stress hormone of cortisol. It can also help us get out of our anxious thoughts and turn it into something more positive. Personally, when I am overwhelmed with things beyond my control, playing with my dogs can help me think more positively by focusing on things I can control.
The interaction I had with the USC students would have never happened without my dogs. The other day, I was walking McDuffie downtown. McDuffie is a social butterfly and loves people. We were able to talk to approximately 10 people that day. What was so rewarding to me was that I was able to talk to a diverse population of people, from the homeless man on the street to the female lawyer who was on her lunch break. All of these encounters had a common theme that resulted in smiles and positive interactions. I know if I would have taken a walk alone that day, I would have kept to myself and not interacted with nearly as many people.
I am going to start this out with a disclaimer: I do talk to my dogs. My husky actually loves to talk back to me as well. Talking to the dogs at times makes me feel listened to. Also, their footsteps when I am alone in the house help me feel safe. The dogs near presence can wipe away any lonely feelings I may have.
Overall, emotional support animals can enhance our general state of wellbeing. Please stay tuned to my blogs as I talk more about the therapeutic benefits of emotional support animals and McDuffie’s journey to becoming a certified therapy dog.
Request an appointment here: https://futurepsychsolutions.com or call Future Psych Solutions at (803) 335-5232 for an appointment in our Columbia office.
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