Mental Health Benefits Of Owning A Pet

The mental health benefits of owning a pet, or just even being around animals, has long been noted by mental health professionals. In fact, pets are often so helpful, that many animals are even used as therapy dogs to help people who have recently been exposed to some sort of trauma.

Many pet owners claim that their pet helps them more than they help their pet. An astounding sixty two percent of households in the United States own a pet, a telling statistic about how much people believe a pet is a crucial part of their lives.

Some people get so attached to their animals that they even leave a portion of their will to their beloved pets. The health benefits of owning a pet seem to be especially notable in these three areas.

Eases Stress

When a pet-owner has had a particularly stressful day at work or things aren’t going well in their personal lives, being around their pet has proven to relieve stress, lower blood-pressure, and give the owner a relief from their stress by enjoying animal companionship.

Self Esteem

Pet owners have the responsibility of taking care of their pet’s physical and psychological needs.  Oftentimes, people who don’t have children refer to their pets as their children. The responsibility of having to take care of another life, gives the pet owner self esteem.

When a person feels like they are fulfilling their duties they feel an increase in self-esteem for taking care of their pet in a loving manner. Also, pets give their owners a sense of belonging. When the pet-owner feels excluded or under-appreciated in other aspects of their lives, they feel a sense of belonging with their pet.

Meaningful Existence

The bottom line is that pets provide love and companionship. They also provide it in a non-judgemental manner. They give their owner a meaningful relationship in their lives, and by extension a meaningful existence by sharing their life with another creature. There are other positive byproducts of this, like the owner feeling less depression and less loneliness.

Mental And Physical

Besides the mental health benefits, they also seem to trickle over to providing physical health benefits also. Pet owners also report lower blood pressure due to the lower amounts of stress, regular exercise, even more chance of surviving a heart attack. The benefits are truly astounding and seem to go on and on.

For people who do have children, pets usually provide wonderful playmates for children, and help bond the family together. So it appears for anyone struggling with loneliness, depression, or high-blood pressure, getting a pet seems like a great solution to ease these problems.

And due to the massive amount of animals stuck in shelters, by adopting a pet you are also saving a life.  There are many animals who need a home, and what pet ownership creates is a mutually beneficial relationship. Animals can teach humans many lessons about their own behaviors and how to relate better to others, both humans and animals a like.

Kellie Swaim is a pet expert from her time spent working Quik Shade Pets, makers of pet shade and pet kennels.