How Pets Can Help Combat Depression and Anxiety

It is no more a lesser known fact that companionship of a pet is a great way to reduce anxiety and stress and also combat depression and if you have a pet, you might be at a much lesser risk of falling prey to depression. For all you know, a kitten's purr or a dog's wagging tail could be a great antidote.

Pets are also conversation initiators, helping to alleviate social isolation. Further, pets require daily responsibility to meet their basic needs such as food and water and they bring structure to a person’s daily activities.

Studies reveal pet owners have significantly lower blood pressure and heart rate both before and while performing stressful mental tasks.

Pets help us get a new outlook and look at things in a new light. Pets promote physical touch, which is shown to be effective in reducing stress and depression. Mental health experts are of the opinion that hugging floods our bodies with oxytocin, a hormone that reduces stress, and lowers blood pressure and heart rates, which explains why coming home to a pet that plops down on your lap and showers you with kisses and cuddles drives away all the stress and anxiety.

Pet therapy, or animal-assisted therapy, is recognized by the National Institute of Mental Health as a legitimate way to treat depression, and other mood disorders.

The Human-Animal Bond Research Initiative says dogs are particularly great pets for depression because they force a person to get out and about for walks with the dogs

Research has found that owning a pet, especially a dog can:

# bring down blood pressure

# reduce stress hormones

#boost levels of feel-good chemicals in the brain

A study showed that dog owners exercised more often, slept better, reported better fitness levels and fewer sick days, and saw their doctors less often than people without dogs.

This is how pets help medically:

• Playing with a dog or cat can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine, which calm and relax.

• Pet owners have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels (indicators of heart disease) than those without pets.

• Heart attack patients with pets survive longer than those without.

• Pet owners over age 65 make 30 percent fewer visits to their doctors than those without pets.