Why Taking Care of a Pet also
Means Taking Care of Your Self!
Dana Backtrom, MA, LMFT, LPCC
If you’ve ever cared for a pet, you likely know the abundant joy and affection pets can bring to our lives. What you may not know is that caring for a pet also comes with some pretty powerful health benefits for you.
Pets can help you decrease anxiety and stress, limit depression, and even lower your blood pressure and your risk of heart attack or stroke.
They also provide much needed companionship for children and adults and unconditional love to the whole family.
Let’s start by taking a closer look at some physical benefits from caring for a pet…
Physical Health Benefits of Pets
So, that being said, let’s take a closer look at some of the mental health benefits of caring for a pet…
Mental Health Benefits of Pets
So, having a pet to care for can help you cope with and even overcome anxiety, stress, depression, and low self-esteem.
In addition to the above, caring for a pet also provides some special advantages for children…
Special Benefits for Children
So, caring for and interacting with pets can help people of all ages. Our pets can help us relax and provide mental stimulation, physical exercise, as well as joy, wellbeing, and unconditional love.
However, while there are, indeed, many benefits to caring for a pet, this is not to imply that pets are some sort of miracle cure for mental and physical illnesses.
Important Considerations
First and foremost, pets are helpful for those who love and appreciate them. So, if you’re just not an “animal person,” then there’s no reason to run out and get one… It’s not going to help.
Secondly, owning and caring for a pet requires commitment and responsibility. Pets require time, money, and attention to keep them happy, healthy, and loved. And this is not a short-term commitment. Most cats and dogs live 10-20 years. And, you can be sure that when your pet dies, you’re likely to feel no small amount of grief at their passing.
Of course, if you do love animals but simply don’t have the time or money pet ownership require, you can’t still experience the benefits of caring for a pet. For example, you can walk a neighbor’s dog or volunteer at an animal shelter. There are even organizations that provide specially trained therapy dogs and cats for children’s hospitals, nursing homes, hospice programs, assisted living facilities, schools, and shelters.
Pets can greatly influence how we feel about our selves and life in general. They are teachers and healers of extraordinary talent, and even short periods spent with pets can benefit both the animals and you!
Pets can help you decrease anxiety and stress, limit depression, and even lower your blood pressure and your risk of heart attack or stroke.
They also provide much needed companionship for children and adults and unconditional love to the whole family.
Let’s start by taking a closer look at some physical benefits from caring for a pet…
Physical Health Benefits of Pets
- Lower Risk of Heart Attack or Stroke – Studies conducted by both the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have shown that pet owners have lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels and blood pressure, all of which means a reduced risk of heart attack or stroke. And, if you or someone you know has already experienced a heart attack, research has indicated that pets can help you recover faster and love longer thanks to their ability to help reduce our anxiety and stress.
- Increase Your Dopamine and Serotonin Levels – Our pets tend to make us smile, which, in turn, raises the serotonin and dopamine levels in our brains. And its serotonin and dopamine that help us stay calm, relaxed, and happy.
- Promote Activity and Healthy Living – Simply put, pets help keep us active. While this is especially true of dogs, who need to be taken for walks outside and played with on a daily basis, it’s also true when it comes to feeding, grooming, and playing with other animals. What’s often overlooked is that increased physical activity and exercise doesn’t just help your immune system, it can also lessen depression and improve your sense of wellbeing and joy.
So, that being said, let’s take a closer look at some of the mental health benefits of caring for a pet…
Mental Health Benefits of Pets
- Increased Exercise and Activity – As mentioned above, the increased exercise and activity associated with pet ownership can increase your sense of joy and happiness, but adopting a healthier lifestyle is also important in lessening the symptoms of anxiety, stress, depression, PTSD, and bipolar disorder.
- Provide Consistency and Continuity – Pets provide our lives some consistency and continuity, giving us something to look forward to and do each day. No matter how you feel when you get home from a hard day, your pet is there to greet you with unconditional love. And, no matter how much you don’t want to get up in the morning, your cat or dog will make sure you do! J
- Provide Sensory Stress Reduction – Our pets fulfill our need for physical contact… Touch, one of our five senses that we tend to overlook far too often. In fact, there have been an increasing number of studies that show how important touch is to our physical and emotional health. Holding, hugging, petting, or stroking an animal can bring peace and calm and reduce our tension and stress. And this is also true for our other senses… Think of the peace of mind many get simply from watching fish in an aquarium or birds.
- Promote Mindfulness – Our pets don’t worry about yesterday or tomorrow… They live in the moment, and just interacting with your pet in the here and now can both distract you from your preoccupations and worries while simultaneously help you focus on and enjoy the present.
- Decreasing Loneliness and Isolation – We’ve already talked about several ways pets can help people lessen the symptoms of depression. Another is that pets provide companionship to all generations. In fact, many people talk with their pets just as they would any other member of the family, even using these “conversations” to discuss and resolve their worries and concerns. Pets, especially dogs, can also be a wonderful way to meet other people. Dog owners often talk to one another while walking their pets. And pets can make a great icebreaker, whether they are with you or just used as a topic of conversation.
- Provide a Sense of Meaning and Joy – We all need to feel needed and have someone to care for… No matter what your age – though it’s likely even more applicable if you’re past retirement – caring for an animal can bring a sense of purpose and fulfillment to your life. And this can be just as true for a child as it can be for someone elderly, and especially true when we’re feeling down or depressed. Your care, and your pet’s affectionate responses, can help increase your sense of self-worth, morale, and optimism.
So, having a pet to care for can help you cope with and even overcome anxiety, stress, depression, and low self-esteem.
In addition to the above, caring for a pet also provides some special advantages for children…
Special Benefits for Children
- Improve Emotional Development – A pet’s companionship and love can help a child develop a healthy self-image, as well as help them learn responsibility, empathy, and compassion… all of which help children build better relationships with themselves and other people.
- Help Cope with Separation Anxiety and Grief and Loss – While pets can help people comfort people of all ages when they’re grieving a loss, this can be especially true for children by providing support and security when their parents are unavailable.
- Help for Kids with ADHD and Autism-Spectrum Disorders – Studies have shown pets can be hugely beneficial for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism-spectrum disorders by helping hyperactive children learn to self-soothe and helping autistic children learn to build relationships and trust with people by starting with pets first.
- Decrease Allergic Reactions – This may seem difficult to believe but, believe it or not, a number of studies have shown having one or more pets from a young age can actually help boost a child’s immune system and decrease their risk of developing allergies (including dust, grass, and pet allergies) as well as asthma.
So, caring for and interacting with pets can help people of all ages. Our pets can help us relax and provide mental stimulation, physical exercise, as well as joy, wellbeing, and unconditional love.
However, while there are, indeed, many benefits to caring for a pet, this is not to imply that pets are some sort of miracle cure for mental and physical illnesses.
Important Considerations
First and foremost, pets are helpful for those who love and appreciate them. So, if you’re just not an “animal person,” then there’s no reason to run out and get one… It’s not going to help.
Secondly, owning and caring for a pet requires commitment and responsibility. Pets require time, money, and attention to keep them happy, healthy, and loved. And this is not a short-term commitment. Most cats and dogs live 10-20 years. And, you can be sure that when your pet dies, you’re likely to feel no small amount of grief at their passing.
Of course, if you do love animals but simply don’t have the time or money pet ownership require, you can’t still experience the benefits of caring for a pet. For example, you can walk a neighbor’s dog or volunteer at an animal shelter. There are even organizations that provide specially trained therapy dogs and cats for children’s hospitals, nursing homes, hospice programs, assisted living facilities, schools, and shelters.
Pets can greatly influence how we feel about our selves and life in general. They are teachers and healers of extraordinary talent, and even short periods spent with pets can benefit both the animals and you!