Looking for ways to get an emotional support animal? An emotional support animal makes your life better in a number of ways. People who have anxiety, depression, or PTSD find comfort in their ESA. Your furry friend will be your companion in difficult times. Since emotional support animals are not trained to perform specific tasks, they can’t replace service animals.
These animals are different from pets and other animals as they are here with the purpose of making lives better and more livable. Other than ESAs, there are several other kinds of support animals that help us in a number of ways.
What is an Emotional Support Animal?
Emotional support animals are special companions who provide unconditional love and companionship to its owner. To keep an emotional support animal, training is not required. You just have to make sure that the animal is disciplined.
ESAs are not like your regular pets, as the owner is emotionally dependent on this animal. In addition, emotional support animals are prescribed by a licensed mental health professional. After discussing with a therapist, you can get a signed ESA letter with the sign of that therapist on it.
An emotional support animal is a special therapist as it is certified by medical mental health professionals and has a greater purpose than a usual pet. Animals have proven to be helpful in reducing stress and anxiety. With the ongoing troubles in our lives, everyone is going through some sort of stress.
Who needs an Emotional Support Animal?
Emotional support animals are for those individuals who suffer from a mental illness or emotional disability. These animals help them cope with their condition in a better way and be a part of mainstream society. This way, the pet owners get a chance to interact with each other and overcome their anxieties and fears.
Furthermore, animals including dogs, cats, horses, mice, and reptiles of any age can serve as ESAs. Similarly, they also don’t need any special training to perform their owner’s tasks. They are only responsible for providing comfort and support to individuals with their presence.
The best animals to be kept as ESA are:
- Dogs
- Cats
- Rabbits
- Miniature Horses
- Guinea Pig
“Can I get an emotional support dog for anxiety?”
Yes, you can get an emotional support dog for anxiety after getting a valid ESA letter from your therapist.
Emotional Support Animal Requirements
There are some prerequisites for an emotional support animal. The rising number of fake emotional support animal letters has made the policies more strict. Only a person suffering from a mental disorder or mental illness can have an emotional support animal.
“What conditions qualify you for an emotional support animal?”
These mental disorders include anxiety, depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and epilepsy. In order to keep an emotional support animal, you must have a valid ESA letter on the letterhead of an LMHP. The therapist must sign the letter as well. You can then show this letter to your landlord or when you are traveling.
However, it is at the airlines’ own discretion whether they would allow your animal or not.
The emotional disability is certified only by a mental health practitioner. Although these disabilities are invisible, you can’t leave them unattended or they become worse. A person with a disabling illness needs such emotional support to keep them motivated.
Benefits of Having an Emotional Support Animal
Ever wondered why we see more animals and emotional support animals in public and the workplace now? A quick and informal survey of classrooms, places of work, hospitals, convalescent facilities, roommates, and family members will show you the percentage of people with disabilities, who seem to function at a higher level when they’re in the company of their pets.
That’s just one reason why we see more and more dogs and cats in public, right alongside their doting owners.
While dogs and cats are typically the most popular emotional support animals (they’re the most common household pets, after all), a wide range of animals can be designated as ESAs, including rabbits, birds, miniature horses, pigs, and reptiles.
- Reduce Stress
A key indicator of the effectiveness of the presence of an Emotional Support Animal in the lives of its owners is the obvious reduction in behavioral stress.
People who find themselves tensing up or becoming fearful in public situations often have those feelings mitigated in the presence of their dog or cat (as well as the other animal types mentioned earlier).
When someone has had an inordinately stressful day on the job, returning home to the companionship of a loving pet can provide much-needed peace and psychological reassurance. They further improve the self-confidence of a disabled person by boosting their mood and energy levels.
- Positive Social Effects
Those who are burdened by the effects of shyness or who suffer from a sense of social isolation, benefit from the presence of their Emotional Support Animal as well. When you’re accompanied by your pet, it’s often easier to meet people and enjoy the company of others.
Pets are a well-known “social lubricant,” and can greatly help to establish personal relationships and social connections.
Shyness, isolation, anxiety, tension, and fear of social awkwardness can all be erased by the presence of an Emotional Support Animal.
- Provide a Sense of Personal Security
We know that crime is a nationwide problem. It doesn’t matter if you live in a small town or a big city; we are all vulnerable to those who would seek to victimize us.
An Emotional Support Animal has the ability to both deter criminal threats and to give us a sense of security about our homes and our daily activities outside the home.
Nothing is more stressful than being threatened and afraid. Having your Emotional Support Animal—regardless of size or species—goes a long way towards providing the much-needed sense of personal security.
Emotional support dogs are also loyal creatures that will not think twice to protect you even after putting themselves in danger. Moreover, they are also likely to be alert after unusual disturbances that raise an alarm for others as well.
Check if You Qualify for an ESA
You qualify for an emotional support animal if you have mental disorders like chronic depression, severe anxiety, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress, and other mental disabilities and emotional illnesses. To see if you meet the requirements, just fill out our online questionnaire and one of our experts will consult you on it. If you do qualify, you can move to the next step but if you don’t then also you enjoy the company of a great pet.
