Why Keeping Pets Gives You Positive Energy
Keeping a pet is hard work. Taking care of an animal takes money, time, and patience. All pet owners will attest that their animals are worth the effort regardless of how much time they take to care for them.
Because pets, by nature, provide us with a lot of positive energy, we can’t find in any other source. It’s important for dog owners to be thankful for four ways that pets provide positive energy.
1. Supporting Your Mental Health
It doesn’t matter what you’re going through, a pet will be by your side to help you get through it. As COVID-19 spreads, the emotional support our pets provide is more important than ever. We all feel fear, anxiety, and depression as we face the unknown, experience loneliness from social isolation, and watch the confirmed cases and deaths climb. In the face of all the turmoil, our pets can serve as a real and crucial support.
Pets can help your mental health in the following ways:
Companionship
Life will often leave you feeling alone. Perhaps you’re socially distant, have recently moved to a new city, are going through a break-up, or have recently lost a family member. Pets will always be by your side, and they can provide you with stability even when things are difficult in other relationships.
Less Stress
There are hard times in life. In school, you might have piles of homework, work projects can cause stress, or deadlines can loom over you. When these things happen, it’s nice to have a pet by your side. Playing, petting, or walking with them can help you decompress after a hard, stressful day.
Something to Care for
Keeping pets happy requires constant attention. As an example, dogs need to be walked, fed, and played with constantly. Pets, even the smallest ones like geckos, require consistent care: they need food, water, regular tank cleanings, regular temperature checks, and extra caution when handling. That’s a lot to do!
By having someone to care for you feel responsible and needed and thereby improve your mental state. You can add a sense of meaning and purpose to your life if your pet relies on you for everything.”
Theyβre Cute!
Anybody would be happy to come home to an adorable little friend. A pet like a dog with floppy ears and big smiles or a gecko with big bright eyes and tiny little toes brings you joy and is the source of pride.
Pets can provide mental support, as demonstrated by Emotional Support Animals. Several mental health conditions can be helped by ESAs, including anxiety disorders, major depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. There is no shortage of ESAs for people with these conditions such as dogs, cats, birds, and even pigs, who have provided support to people.
2. Supporing your Physical Health
Pets support our mental and physical health as well, in addition to providing positive energy for us. These are some of the ways that dogs improve physical health, according to the National Center for Health Research.
Exercise and Fitness
When we think about physical health, we immediately think of exercise and fitness. Dog owners are most likely to benefit from this benefit because of their dog’s energy. As often as your dog needs to go for a walk or run, you too should do the same.
A non-dog owner may have difficulty keeping up with routine exercises. Adopting a dog, however, means establishing and maintaining a new routine for another life that depends on you.
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Allergy Immunity
According to research, kids who are raised around animals have a greater chance of developing a resistance to bacteria and allergens. It is especially true for farms with animals such as cows, chickens, dogs, cats, and horses.
Reduced Cardiovascular Risk and Lower Blood Pressure
People who own pets have fewer cardiovascular problems and lower blood pressure. It could be related to more exercise, higher emotional support during stressful times, or a combination of the two.
In a recent study, it was found that petting an animal for just ten minutes significantly reduced the production of the stress hormone cortisol. Imagine how much stress you could reduce if you always had an animal around!
Less Medical Care
People who own pets, particularly dogs, seek general medical care more rarely than those who do not own pets. It makes sense considering how mentally and physically beneficial pets are. Participants in a 1992 study reported fewer general health complaints and improved scores on the General Health Questionnaire
Easing Pain
Owners of pets have reported reduced pain from chronic ailments such as migraines and arthritis. There may be an explanation for this in the emotional support and reduced stress that pets provide. In the case of chronic pain, a less active and quiet animal may be more soothing.
As a side benefit, pets provide a sense of well-being that goes beyond physical well-being. In this way, pets can provide both physical and mental benefits to you.
3. Providing Social Support
Having pets as best friends allows us to maintain social connections. Several people feel that they can relate to their pets, and even share some of the same personalities. Many active people will adopt energetic dogs, which can often form a very strong bond between them.
As well as providing social support, pets can introduce you to new people. If you’re meeting new neighbors, classmates, or coworkers, talking about your pet can be a great icebreaker. People love to hear about your pet and see pictures, too! Having a pet in common with the person you’re sharing with can help you build a new friendship.
The active nature of dogs makes them an excellent social support. Just by taking your dog for a walk or taking it to the dog park, you can meet new people.
Having doggy play dates or getting advice about training, illnesses, or behavioral issues is a great way to get to know new friends. Cat owners, don’t worry. Some cats love being around new friends, and they can also be a valuable resource for advice and support when caring for their own cats.
Exotic pets have social benefits as well. This gives you an opportunity to connect with others who also have the same kind of pet, for example, if there aren’t many people with that kind of lizard or bird as you do. Even if you don’t know anyone who owns a specific pet, you can still connect with them online, through forums and other groups for pet owners. Despite the distance, the connections can be just as real, and just as positive!
4. They Offer Unconditional Love
You know what true love is if you have a pet. They care about you regardless of who you are or what you have done, and you will always matter to them. Your relationship with your pet is secure even if you feel insecure in your human relationships.
You can be sure that even a quieter pet like a gecko or a mouse will love you as much as an energetic dog or a furry cat. It may be shown in different ways, but that doesn’t make it any less real.
A pet is also a good example of how to love better. It would be a much happier world if we showed empathy and compassion to everyone as our pets do. We would also live in a much happier world if we loved everyone to the same degree that our pets do.
Final Thoughts
It is true that pets can be hard work and can be difficult, but that is what makes them so rewarding. As a result of our hard work, our pets are in a healthy physical, mental, and social state, and we have a loving emotional bond with them. Pets provide us with positive energy that we shouldn’t take for granted.