How Animals Help Mental & Emotional Health

If you’ve ever come home from a rough day to a pet you might already have a sense of how an animal can boost your mental health. Seeing a fluffy face wagging its tail, happy that your home can instantly improve your mood. Animals have been known to improve our day to day lives from therapy dogs in children’s hospitals or other places to service dogs. 

Mental Health & Animals:

The NIH or National Institutes of Health exclaims that interacting with animals have been shown to decrease levels of cortisol, reduce loneliness, lower blood pressure, increase feelings of social support, and boost mood. 


Because of these effects between human and animal pets positively impact their owners mental health and animals are frequently used to support mental health in everyday and clinical settings. Animal therapy consists of the interaction of animals with humans to aid with mental health outcomes in conjunction with conventional therapy. Therapy animals often include animals that are gentle in nature and can range from dogs to horses or dolphins. Although cats have a more erratic temperament , therapy cats can be effective with mental health assistance. 

Furthermore, trained service animals can help with mental illnesses. Service dogs have been known to help veterans that have PTSD. Trained service dogs can also help people with mental illness such as depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. 

Emotional Support Animals:

Animals can benefit both our mental and emotional wellness. This is why emotional support animals have demonstrated promising results and continue to be utilized effectively. Emotional support animals, unlike service animals, are not expressly trained for specific jobs. However, they provide everyday support and comfort. Pets offer support by: