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Ways That Pets Can Improve Your Mental Health

Pets can benefit you in so many ways:

* Mentally
* Emotionally
* Physically
* Socially

While these are all important ways a pet can benefit you, improving mental health is high on the list. There are several individuals who benefit mentally from owning a pet. Of these, the elderly are worth a special mention. For many elders, living alone and feeling isolated are just a part of what they are experiencing during this stage of their lives.

Depression, Anxiety, and Panic

We all know that feeling isolated can lead to many other ailments. Of course, deterioration of the physical body is one of the downfalls of not getting out and socializing. However, mental deterioration in the form of panic, anxiety attacks, and depression can set in for an elder who is isolated. Those feelings are alleviated with the company of a pet.

Having a pet can improve the mental status of an elder in many ways.

A Feeling of Vitality

An elder who owns a pet is more likely to have feelings of wellbeing, peace, and a sense of vitality. A feeling that there is someone who needs caring for and tended to can make a huge difference, especially one who may have just recently lost a spouse they were caring for at home.

When an elder loses a spouse, sometimes they lose their sense of purpose along with them. Owning a pet is a wonderful way to get that sense of purpose back into their lives.

Socialization

Feeling isolated is one of the worst things an elder can experience; however, owning a pet can alleviate that sense of isolation. There are still some groomers who come to the home to groom pets and this gives the opportunity for the elder to have someone to share socialization.

Walking a dog also offers the opportunity to get out and about for an elder who is capable of doing so. Sometimes hiring a young teen in the area to come, walk the dog, and visit with the elder is a win/win situation all the way around. The teen may pick up some community service work and a few dollars as well.

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Top Five Ways a Pet Can Improve Your Health

If you have ever owned a domesticated animal and sadly experienced the loss of that pet, you can relate to how close a domesticated animal can become to you. When someone says that a domesticated animal is part of his or her family, this is true.

A domesticated animal brings so much to our lives and the lives of our family, yet we can sometimes overlook just how much.

While a domesticated animal brings unconditional love to us, there are many other real and tangible benefits along the way as well.

There are many ways a pet can improve your health

There are mental benefits, physical benefits, social benefits, and emotional benefits.

1. Improve Mental Health

Studies are proving more and more that domesticated animals improve our mental health status. Many years ago, pets were brought into the psychiatric wards to help calm patients, as well as encourage patients to cooperate. Today, we know that pets can improve our moods drastically.

Have you ever felt down and out and had your pet bring you his ball to play? This is a perfect example of how a domesticated animal can cause an automatic shift in your mood and get you out of a slump. Unconditional love offered by a domesticated animal can also cause positive chemicals to release to the brain, thereby averting negative stressor chemicals (such as cortisol) found in the flight or fight syndrome. When positive occurrences are experienced, mental health improves greatly.

2. Improve Emotional Status

Pets greatly improve the emotional status of their owners. Have you ever owned a domesticated animal, let’s say a dog for example, and the dog automatically came over to you when you were crying and licked away your tears? Studies show that dogs are innately responsive to the emotions of their owners and are therefore readily available to respond to them. Pet-owners are shown to be happier in studies than individuals who do not own pets.

3. Assist with Physical Health

Research is showing that pet-owners are healthier than non-pet owners. Pet-owners have a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Pets, especially dogs, are also able to assist and alert owners that have certain medical conditions such as diabetes or seizure disorder.

4. Help with Socialization and Fitness

A domesticated animal can aid in the defense of depression, anxiety, and panic. Having an animal to socialize with is an excellent way to get out and about for many individuals. Socialization for your domesticated animal is vital to its wellbeing and that means that you have to go along for the ride. Walking, jogging, running, hiking, are all excellent ways to keep in shape just as swimming and bicycling is. There are many pet owners who socialize with their pets in this way, enabling the pet owners to stay fit and trim along with their furry friends.

5. Spiritual Benefits

There is no better way to become more spiritual than when you reach out to help another. Reaching out to help another does not necessarily mean just to your human counterparts. Reaching out to your pet and playing, bathing, walking, caring, and just cuddling with them is an excellent way to become more spiritual. When you take care of a pet that is helpless and unable to help themselves, what more spiritual act is there than that?

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