Can Emotional Support Animals Help with Addiction Recovery?

Addiction is a complex and difficult problem that affects millions of people worldwide. About 6% of the U.S. population struggles with alcohol use disorder, and 10% of the U.S. population has struggled with a drug use disorder. This doesn’t include the wide range of other addictions, such as addictions to sugar, social media, or even work, things we probably all struggle with at some point. Many people who struggle to overcome their addiction without some form of support. One form of support that has been found to be that Support Animals Help with Addiction Recovery.

Reduce Anxiety & Stress

Emotional support animals can help to reduce stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety are common triggers for relapse, and emotional support animals can provide a calming presence that can help to reduce these feelings. Studies have shown that spending time with an emotional support animal can reduce stress and anxiety and can even lower blood pressure and heart rate.

Provide Comfort

Emotional support animals provide companionship and love. They can be a source of comfort and support during difficult times, and they can help to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation. This is particularly important for people who are in the early stages of recovery, when they may be feeling particularly vulnerable and alone. Emotional support animals provide a safe and non-judgmental space for people to experience love and acceptance, which can be very healing and therapeutic. Having a physical presence, unconditional source of love, and furry face to provide some joy and laughter can provide the extra boost someone in recovery needs.

Give Purpose & Routine

Emotional support animals can provide a sense of purpose and responsibility. Caring for an animal requires a commitment to their well-being, which can help to give people in recovery a sense of purpose and responsibility. This can be particularly helpful for people who are struggling to find meaning and direction in their lives after addiction. Many people in recovery struggle with the lack of structure and routine in their lives, which can make it difficult to stay on track with their recovery goals. Caring for an emotional support animal requires a daily routine of feeding, walking, and spending time with the animal, which can help to provide structure and routine to a person’s life.

Perform Basic Tasks

For some, it may be worth looking into getting a psychiatric service dog. A psychiatric service dog performs small daily tasks in order to help their owner with a mental struggle they may be having. This can include reminding them to take their medication at a certain time, interrupting self-harming behaviors, or standing on them to hit certain calming pressure points during panic attacks.

Emotional support animals are protected under the Fair Housing Act and can live with you anywhere regardless of pet policies or fees but cannot accompany you in public or travel with you. Psychiatric service dogs are protected under the American Disability Act (ADA) and can accompany you and travel with you anywhere. This may be exceptionally helpful to a person in recovery who may face many triggers in the outside world.

In conclusion, an emotional support animals help an individual struggling with addiction recovery by providing comfort, companionship, stress relief, routine and purpose, and may even be able to perform small daily tasks to assist them. In order to have either of these, you need an emotional support animal or psychiatric service dog letter of certification. Get one quickly and easily from our experts at United Support Animal.