Reduce Your Child’s Anxiety with an Emotional Support Animal

According to many Americans who own a registered Emotional Support Animal (ESA), the animals have played a major role in controlling their child’s anxiety levels. They not only take care of various mood disorders, they also offer valuable support against other emotional disorders, including depression and anxiety by simply being there. This is why Emotional Support Animals have helped thousands of American parents enable their children to deal with their anxiety. Yet, many people are unaware of how important an ESA can be for making your child happy to fight against dejection and anxiety.

An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is an animal that alleviates the psychological or emotional symptoms, which are associated with a handler’s condition or disorder simply by its presence. Since all animals are great at sensing low feelings and the onset of a panic attack, most pets qualify to become an emotional support pet without any specific training.

These pets greatly help their handlers or owners who have children dealing with low self-esteem and anxiety concerns. By being a constant companion who accompanies your child everywhere he goes, an ESA becomes your child’s best friend and eventually help them in coping up with their daily emotional issues. Pets have helped to curtail anxiety and depression among elders and people going through difficult times. Likewise, studies have established a clear relationship between stroking and holding a pet to have calming effects on people who suffer from depression or anxiety.

For children who have anxiety, small feelings escalate into big issues in no time. Anxiety can turn a little issue into a catastrophe and it is all your child focuses on.  By providing your child an Emotional Support Animal, his focus of attention shifts away from his troubles. When a child who is dealing with anxiety, focuses on taking care of a pet, it greatly helps him to take his mind off his issues. Since pets require a lot of attention and care, children feel valued and important as they feel someone depends on them.

Providing for the basic needs of an emotional support animal gives a sense of control to children. All animals who serve as ESA’s don’t have to undergo any training like other service animals.  However, an ESA can perform some tasks which are important for reducing anxiety in children.

  • Finding A Place or Person: ESAs should be able to find their way to a nearby family member or an exit in case the child is about to have a panic attack.
  • Checking Places: If a child has anxiety about entering a new place, an ESA can search rooms for any potential danger. That is why children who are depressed or suffer from anxiety rely on their pets to accompany them wherever they go.
  • Re-Directing: Children who are prone to panic attacks or exhibit obsessive-compulsive disorders can be helped by their pets to redirect their attention. Animals can recognize compulsive behaviors and try to divert the attention of children.
  • Fetching Help: When children are about to have a panic or anxiety attack, Emotional Support Animals help them by signaling warnings to the parents or a relative.

A study conducted in 2001 discovered that pet owners showed lower heart rates and blood pressure levels. They also reacted much better to physical and emotional stress as compared to people without pets and recovered quickly from unpleasant life events.

This is why people who want to help their children should choose an ESA to reduce anxiety levels in their children. Take out some time to discuss with your psychiatrist to know how an emotional support animal can help you.