How Can Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) Help Improve Mental Health

American literary giant Mark Twain once said: “The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.” In this day and age, this quote is relevant more than ever. A large number of people from all age groups are coping with mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, phobias, and PSTDs. Emotional Support Animals are helping people across the country deal with these issues. Here is how an ESA can help you improve your mental health conditions and how you can obtain proper documentation to enjoy the legal rights associated with having an emotional support animals.

Benefits of emotional support animals:

ESAs are pets (mainly dogs and cats) that accompany people in their homes and outside. They can help people overcome their anxiety and depression by providing them with a sense of companionship. They add value, significance, and meaning to life. emotional support pets such as dogs have long been the companions of human beings.  Similarly, cats are also loving creatures that can provide emotional support to human beings. A person’s relationship with an animal is extremely dissimilar from a human’s relationship with another human. Being judgmental is a regrettable human instinct, and regardless of how good a person is, everyone has some measure of judgment in them. Any human being will inevitably have it. Animals, on the other hand, don’t judge at all because that’s not how they work. As a result, there won’t be any judgment when you cry, break down, panic, etc. in front of them. 

Animals are incredibly perceptive when it comes to emotion; they can tell when a human is feeling pleased or sad and respond accordingly. ESA helps people with anxiety by relieving them when stressed; they enable people with phobias to overcome their fears. ESAs are equally helpful for senior citizens. Staying at home for a long time is not good for the health of aged people and when they take out their pets for a walk, they do exercise which helps maintain their health. ESAs help people improve their social relations as owners of pets make bonds with each other. Some people have aerophobia which means they are afraid of flying and having an ESA helps them remain calm during their flight. Autism sufferers, in particular young children, may struggle to control their emotions.

Children with autism who own dogs or ESAs could experience fewer emotional outbursts. An Emotional Support Animals consistent presence and its capacity to offer a reliable source of support in the form of companionship and tactile input may make it easier for an autistic youngster to cope with difficult circumstances and chores. It is often difficult for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) to integrate back into society and overcome their traumas. ESAs (emotional support animals) help them in returning to their normal states and integrating back into society. Having emotional support around can make the body release neurotransmitters and dopamine which have a pleasant effect on the mind and body. So, if you have any of the above-mentioned medical conditions or you are suffering from any other mental health issue, having an ESA is worth giving a try. And here is the good news!

Emotional support animal letter:

America has dedicated laws for people owning ESAs. Under the Fair Housing Act, owners of emotional support animals are entitled to live with their pets in residential facilities regardless of their pet policies. A landlord cannot deny any American’s right to live with an emotional support animal. Moreover, under the FHA a landlord cannot impose restrictions on the breed or size of the pet. Most states also have dedicated laws for ESAs but they are largely similar to the federal laws. Before 2020, airlines in the USA were bound by law to allow ESAs on their flights but according to the new regulations the government has given the choice to the airlines to either allow them on board or not. Thus every airline now has a different policy for ESAs. In America, If you want to avail the rights regarding ESAs, you need to have proper documentation.

Getting an emotional support animal letter online:

For your pet to be certified as an emotional support animal, you will need an ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional. Most of the residential facilities in the USA have a no-pet policy. If you want to have a pet with you, you will need to deposit fees. An emotional support letter can help you avoid those hefty pet deposits and can save you a lot of money. The process of obtaining an ESA letter is quite simple thanks to telemedicine platforms. All you have to do is to talk to the doctor over a video call and have yourself evaluated. The doctor then issues you the letter. Once you have an emotional support animal letter from a licensed mental health professional, you can furnish it to your landlord and the landlord is bound by law to allow your pet to live with you. The ESA letter is valid for one year and needs to be renewed every year.

Bottom line:

The bottom line is that having an emotional support animals can help improve your mental health to a larger extent. If you are struggling with these conditions and you don’t own a pet, now is the time to get one. If you already have a pet and if you are sick of paying large amounts of pet deposits, getting an ESA letter is the most appropriate solution. So why not give it a shot!