Pets are great allies for mental health. Oscar Wilde said: “If you spend time with animals, you run the risk of becoming a better person.” When we talk about pets, dogs usually come to mind, which are usually the most welcomed animals in homes.
The truth is that pets provide many benefits to people’s mental health because:
Benefits of pets in depression
Animals are great donors of unconditional love to human beings, which makes them an ally in overcoming depression. It doesn’t mean that it will go away as if by magic, but it does mean that living with and living with a calm, domestic animal can help you with the disease.
A pet makes you feel loved and useful.. The people around you probably make you feel this way too. What happens is that when a person has depression they don’t feel like surrounding themselves with people; sometimes, not even animals, but they have the incredible power to make you feel like the most wonderful person in the world just by having them around for 10 minutes.
Everything will depend on the type of pets you choose, but if you choose a dog, it will help you a lot with your illness because you will have the obligation to take it out and play with it. This way you will avoid negative thoughts for a while.
The simple act of doing something helps a person a lot.. Furthermore, when you see that you are capable of achieving this and of taking care of a living being and that you are good at it, you will begin to feel better and your self-esteem will rise. Playing with your pet produces oxytocin, which is the happiness hormone, and reduces cortisol, which is the stress hormone.
Studies have shown that pets have many benefits for overall health. Likewise, it has been proven that children with Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) improved when they read to a stuffed animal; Just like therapy dogs, they help reduce the anxiety of parents of children who have to receive cancer treatment.
Pets and the bond with children
The arrival of an animal into the family nucleus generally comes to improve the quality of life since it provides a series of benefits such as balancing physical and mental health, reducing stress and depression. But in the case of children, it goes further because they are in the phase of personal and educational development and pets help them become better people.
Children learn to assume responsibilities because a pet is not a toy, they learn values such as respect, increase their self-esteem and improve integration in the family.. Having a pet is considered an important element in the development of a child’s first life cycle that helps them have a correct emotional balance.
In this sense, the child who has grown up with a pet in the home is more likely to develop values such as empathy or compassion. Living with a pet means improving mental health because it lives with joy, eliminates sadness and reduces the typical fears of childhood. The data speaks and reflects that for 46% of children the pet is the main emotional support within the home, after the parents. The child finds in hugging his pet (dog or cat) unconditional support in situations of sadness or fear..
Emotions in children are the engine of personal development. It is important to recognize them in order to learn to manage them, so it is crucial to lay the emotional foundations well in childhood as it will help them develop self-esteem and self-concept throughout their lives. And pets are a great support for mental health in those first years of life in which they will develop values forever.
