When depression strikes, we can find comfort in the people around us — from licensed therapists to friends and family members. But what if you’ve exhausted all those support systems and you’re still struggling? Emotional support animals might just provide the therapeutic company you need.
Pets are therapeutic in their own right, and emotional support animals (ESAs) can provide companionship and love unconditionally. But what’s the best emotional support animal for depression? Let’s explore some of the most popular ESA options to see which one might be right for you. ESAs can also help people living with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and we cover those below too.
What’s an Emotional Support Animal (ESA)?
You’ve probably heard of service animals — for instance, seeing-eye dogs that help those with vision impairments. Emotional support animals are different in that they don’t have to perform any specific tasks for their owners — they’re simply there to provide companionship and emotional support. Service animals, on the other hand, are trained to do things like open doors and guide owners around obstacles.
That said, ESA companionship can be invaluable for those struggling with depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions. A licensed mental health professional can recommend an ESA as part of your treatment.
Emotional Support, Therapy and Service Animals
As animals can be so wonderful at helping you manage your mental health and disabilities, many people have animals in a support capacity. There are three main categories of support animals. Here, we’ll explain the differences between a service dog, an emotional support dog, a therapy dog and other animals.
Emotional Support Animal (ESA)
If you struggle with mental health problems like loneliness, depression, anxiety or phobias, an emotional support animal could help you manage better. These aren’t officially trained animals to help you with daily tasks but rather help keep you calm and relaxed and reduce stress in certain situations. They also don’t have to be dogs — many people have emotional support rabbits, alpacas and even pigs! They’re not officially recognized as trained animals to help with disabilities, so they’re only able to go where pets are allowed.
Therapy Animal
In particularly stressful times, people can rely on the friendly and easygoing temperament of a therapy animal. These animals are trained in helping people feel safe, confident and relaxed in settings that may make them stressed out. They visit rehabilitation clinics, psychiatric wards, retirement communities and hospitals. People are encouraged to pet and interact with the therapy animal.
Service Animal
Service animals are specially trained to help people with disabilities by carrying out specific tasks. For example, a service dog could help a blind person interact with the outside world and keep them safe. They’re officially recognized by law and may be allowed in your workplace and on airplanes, among other places. Service animals are often dogs but can include other animals too.
Can Any Animal Be an ESA?
Some of the more obvious choices for an emotional support animal include dogs, cats and rabbits. But did you know that even animals like snakes, pigs and miniature horses can serve as ESAs?
What’s the Best Emotional Support Animal for Depression?
While any domesticated animal can technically be an ESA, some are better suited to the task than others. If you’re struggling with depression, here are a few of the best emotional support animals to provide companionship and love:
Dogs
Dogs are one of the most popular ESAs for a reason: They make great companions and can be trained to do all sorts of things. But did you know that they can also help relieve depression symptoms?
Research shows that dog ownership is linked with lower levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness. Dogs also provide much-needed structure and routine for those struggling with mental health conditions. If you’re considering a dog as your emotional support animal, be sure to do your research to find the right breed for you.
Cats
Cats might not be as popular as dogs when it comes to emotional support animals, but they can still make great companions. They’re low-maintenance (compared to dogs, at least), and their independent nature can be a soothing presence for those struggling with depression.
But while cats might not need as much attention as dogs, they still need plenty of love and care. Be sure you’re prepared to provide a good home for a cat before bringing one into your life.
Rabbits
Rabbits are another low-maintenance emotional support animal, and their gentle nature can be calming for those dealing with depression. They’re also relatively silent, so they won’t disrupt your home life if you need peace and quiet.
Like cats, rabbits require a good amount of care. They need plenty of exercise, a healthy diet and a clean environment.
Keep in mind that the most important criteria for choosing an emotional support animal is that it brings you joy. If you have your heart set on a specific animal but are unsure if it’s the best fit for your needs, be sure to consult with your therapist or doctor.
Emotional Support Animals for Anxiety
A significant benefit of emotional support dogs for anxiety is the calming effect they have on their human companions. People with anxiety may have unexpected attacks in public places and crowds. Having an emotional support animal can reduce the likelihood of an anxiety attack starting, lessen its severity and help the person recover faster. Often the mere presence of an ESA for anxiety is enough to reduce or prevent the attack.
Emotional Support Animals for PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex disorder that can have many symptoms. Some PTSD symptoms may be reduced in severity with the right companion animal. In most instances, a dog is the chosen animal to be an ESA because of the physical, mental and emotional benefits of having a dog and the ability to take it safely out in public. While cats, caged pets and other animals can provide emotional support, these pets may not be as effective for those struggling with avoidance behaviors, troubling mood symptoms or reactivity. Since dogs are one of the most commonly selected animals for PTSD treatment, we’ll focus on canines to explain how these companion animals can help.
Why are dogs helpful for people with PTSD? Dogs are highly aware of body language and can often tell when their human family isn’t feeling well physically or emotionally. It’s common for dogs to cuddle or offer other gestures of support when their human companions are feeling stressed or overwhelmed. Dogs might recommend a play break, which is a positive way for their owners to do something different and have fun, instead of feeling depressed. Dogs also need regular exercise which makes their owners go outside, become more active and feel less lonely. Dogs improve their owners’ physical and mental health.
People who have PTSD might want control over their interactions with strangers. A dog often creates extra space in public places while offering a low stress way to interact. An emotional support dog is not a substitute for clinical care for PTSD, but an emotional support dog for PTSD can be a welcome addition to the tools needed to manage everyday stress. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs notes that more studies to determine the efficacy of ESAs are needed but finds that dogs provide emotional benefits to everyone, including those with PTSD.
How Can an ESA Help You?
Most people seem to understand the joy and love of owning a pet. Over two-thirds of U.S. households have an animal as part of the family, and for good reason. There are a number of studies proving the mental health benefits of having an animal in your life.
Animal lovers benefit from lower blood pressure and reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol just by interacting with them. People who live on their own or struggle to see friends and family are less lonely if they have a pet.
Dogs and cats are popular pets, but fish, reptiles and birds are fantastic pets for your mental health as well. Home aquariums can help you feel more relaxed, and birds may help keep older minds sharp.
All pet owners have felt the naturally therapeutic effects of spending time with their animals. In terms of serious mental health conditions, though — like depression — what can an emotional support animal really do?
In 2021, the first peer-reviewed study into ESAs was published, with promising results. Participants had significantly decreased signs of anxiety, depression and loneliness after just one year of adopting their ESA.
Even the very first studies into human-pet interaction hinted at an outcome like this. In 1983, one study found that adults petting dogs experienced decreased blood pressure — aka, improved relaxation.
ESA Letters, Housing and Public Access
An ESA is an animal that provides therapeutic benefits to the owner. ESAs are not protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act but do have protections under Fair Housing Act (FHA). For example, your landlord can’t force you to remove your ESA or charge extra fees. However, you can be asked to leave a place of business or denied access to locations where pets aren’t allowed.
Emotional support animals don’t need to provide any specific type of assistance to their owners, which means these animals do not require special training or licensing. Some organizations offer training programs to improve your pet’s access to public and private spaces, but the training doesn’t guarantee access. The Canine Good Citizen (CGC) program through the American Kennel Club (AKC) is a recognized training program. While dogs that have CGC certification aren’t allowed in all areas where service dogs might be allowed, CGC trained dogs are ready to interact with the public in a nonthreatening manner.
There are no licensing requirements for an animal to be an ESA. However, the owner does need a letter from a licensed mental health provider stating that the owner has a mental disability and that the emotional support animal helps to alleviate the symptoms. The letter should contain the professional’s license number, the date and place where the license was issued, and the letter should be signed and dated on the mental health professional’s letterhead.
Service animals are different. Although there are service animal training programs that can help you train your pet to assist you, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) doesn’t require you to provide any kind of certification as proof of your service animal’s abilities. You simply have to be able to answer two questions:
- Do you need your service animal due to a disability?
- What tasks does your animal help you achieve?
Are ESAs a Good Fit for You?
As with any prescribed mental health treatment, you should always consider the option from all angles before making a decision. You might think, “What could be difficult about an emotional support animal?”
But like anything else in life, there are some potential downsides. Pets require time and effort to care for — and this can be difficult when you’re struggling with depression. The last thing you want is to neglect both your own needs and your animal’s.
It’s also worth noting that not everyone will respond positively to an emotional support animal. In fact, some people might feel uncomfortable or even threatened by them, depending on their own personal experiences.
If you’re considering getting an ESA, make sure to speak with your doctor or mental health professional first. They’ll be able to help you weigh the pros and cons and decide whether it’s the right decision for you. If you’re an animal person at heart, though, it’s definitely worth considering!
If You’re Considering a Dog
If you want a puppy and plan to train it, remember that the first six months require a significant time commitment. Puppies need potty breaks as often as 30 minutes. If you don’t have the time to house train a puppy that doesn’t mean you can’t get an ESA, but it indicates you should consider adopting older dogs who are house trained.
Dogs require several walks every day. They need exercise time and frequent outdoor trips to go to the bathroom. If you don’t have access to a fenced yard, you’ll spend a lot of time outside. Are you at a point in your treatment where this is a reasonable expectation and time commitment?
Are you financially ready to own a dog? Dogs have food, grooming, veterinary and other miscellaneous expenses. Additionally, larger dogs eat more food and cost more to be groomed, so size is one factor in the overall cost of having a dog. Discuss the options and what benefit you hope to see from an ESA with your mental healthcare provider before moving forward.
If You Need More Help
Remember that an emotional support animal isn’t a cure-all. Like medication, it’s a source of support to make things a little easier while you work on your mental health journey. With time and effort, you’ll get there — and your ESA will be by your side every step of the way.
If you require more support alongside your emotional support animal (ESA), you’re not alone. There are plenty of resources to use and people to talk to. Here at Restore Mental Health in Deerfield Beach, we offer a range of accredited treatments for depression, anxiety, PTSD and other conditions. Call (877) 810-2074 or contact us to learn more about how we can help you.
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