My dog arrived at the time he needed him most. Have you ever heard this phrase? In this article, we explore how it is good to stay with dogs or puppies can help us get out of depression and improve our mood.
Improving public awareness and investment in mental health is a growing need today. In this aspect, animal-assisted therapy is a tool to consider and has seen a significant increase in the last decade.
It seems that contact with a puppy provides benefits for emotional well-being and mental health.
How does a dog help a depressed person?
An excuse to go for a walk
It has been proven that exercising promotes the release of stress and produces endorphins that make us feel good. A dog will always be willing to go out with you for a walk or exercise while playing.
Emotional interactions
We are social animals. The importance of affection in our natural development is fundamental. When we look into each other’s eyes with other people we activate the production of hormones and neurotransmitters of happiness and love in our brain. Oxytocin and serotonin form this happy chemistry. Our dogs, like people, activate this chemistry when we look at them and caress them. Fact, it makes us feel good.
What is the best dog for depression?
The character of a dog is conditioned by individual experiences and learning more than by the breed or genes carried in its DNA.
The selection must be made on an individual basis taking into account his sensitivity and health, but above all his training. A well-socialized and trained dog, regardless of its breed, color or size, can become an excellent companion and therapist.
When a certain external aspect is selected, it is a consequence of a matter of perception, not capacity.
For example, some think that black dogs are more imposing than lighter-colored ones and therefore users or patients could be scared. On the other hand, some therapists and technicians use black and mixed-breed dogs in their treatments, with enormous success.
Your own dog or someone else’s?
Contribution to happiness and calm
Interaction with dogs, both your own and those of others, contributes in the same way to the secretion of serotonin and the reduction of stress in people. No differences have been observed in this aspect if the dog with which the interaction occurs is a family dog or simply a visiting dog.
Emotional contribution
On an emotional level, interacting with our dog with whom we have a bond has been more beneficial than interacting with an unknown dog. Our body is filled with love and oxytocin when the emotional exchange is with our family dog and not with a dog foreign to us.
The risks of acquiring a dog for depression
Behavior problems
Dogs do not behave the way we want them to when they come home. Their education requires effort and training on our part.
The lack of investment of time, effort, and money in the education of our dogs has resulted in behavioral problems being the first reason for animal abandonment in Spain today.
Inappropriate link
Dogs can become excellent companions, but also headaches and problems.
The relationship with your dog can be a beautiful symbiosis or a case of parasitism. The latter occurs when the dog becomes a burden for the person. This burden can be economic or emotional.
Maintaining a dog costs an average of between 800-1000 euros per year. In addition, a dog with behavioral problems can lead to greater social isolation from the person who cares for it. It will be difficult to socialize with a dog that is not sociable. Likewise, if my dog does not stay calm alone at home, it can cause added stress that we did not imagine when we decided to add a dog to the family.
What other animals are good for depression?
In addition to dogs, cats’ purring and soft fur are very beneficial for people.
Birds also bring us benefits when we take care of them.
Conclusions
Science has shown that interactions with animals actively improve mood and reduce stress levels in people.
Dogs, like cats, and even birds, are beneficial in combating depression.
It is also useful to interact with a dog can be done through:
Specific and individual programs, where the patient interacts with a properly trained and good-natured working dog.
Through a dog of our own incorporated into the family: in which case, we must consider the risks of frustrating our expectations and try to minimize them with time and training.
