How are Dogs Helping with Anxiety and Depression During COVID-19?
At the beginning of the pandemic, everyone was trying to figure out how to beat the quarantine blues - baking supplies flew off the shelves, toilet paper was nowhere to be found and virtual get-togethers became an instant normal. Some people were facing longer hours than usual, some were learning how to transition to the work-from-home environment with virtual education and others were looking at unemployment. While we are all trying to connect socially through technology to keep our minds and spirits positive, we forget that the one thing that can keep our mental health stable has been the one thing that has always been in the house - our pets!
While we figure out the ‘new normal,’ our pets are indulging in their new found love of having humans around them all. the. time. While they may be reaping the benefits, our mental health is actually the real winner during this quarantine thanks to our furry companions.
So are pets the answer to our quarantine blues?
In a sense, yes. Let’s look at some facts about mental health in the US and animals:
According to the National Institute of Mental Health data, before COVID-19 struck the US, an estimated 17.3 million adults were already suffering from major depression. A 2018 study also found that three out of four Americans experienced moderate to high levels of loneliness.
A TD Ameritrade survey found 33% of Americans have considered fostering or adopting a pet now that social distancing is the norm and 89% of the respondents from the survey said their dogs and cats helped them feel less lonely during this time of uncertainty.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that there is little evidence that pets can spread the coronavirus or that they can become sick from the coronavirus; so it looks as though our furry friends have become the secret weapon to overcoming anxiety and depression during the socially distanced pandemic.
Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Anxiety is your body’s natural response to stress with a feeling of fear or apprehension about what’s to come. So let’s look at the coronavirus: this pandemic came in hot, made everyone isolate from each other, made us sad about missing out on events we had planned, threw us a new loop with our everyday routines and gave us more apprehension about what else will happen and how long will it be until things get back to normal.
Yes, the pandemic has taken a toll on most of the population's emotions. Yes, the pandemic has left uncertainty. And yes, the pandemic has taken away some of our freedoms of everyday life. BUT we have an unsung hero in our midsts - our pets! Pets already have been known to be a great coping mechanism for people with depression, anxiety and stress and they have been one of the reasons some of us have made it this long through quarantine.
Pets are paw-some motivators for their owners, especially those experiencing more than usual symptoms related to depression and anxiety. Dogs, especially, have been (unknowingly) helping their owners get exercise, which gets them out of the house and thinking about fresh air and away from thoughts of being stuck inside. Your pet has also been giving you a sense of purpose and achievement while navigating your new situation at home, making those with declining mental health feel valuable and needed.
Quarantine may have dragged us towards some dark places, but let’s explore how our canine companions helped us see the light at the end of the tunnel and climb towards a positive status with our mental health during the coronavirus.
They were there when we needed someone to talk to - no judgement given. Many pets can pick up on your emotions, sensing when their owner is stressed, sad, happy, etc. Because they have no judgements...or at least ones that they can say out loud... our pets became our best listeners while quarantined. Sometimes when you’re feeling down, depressed or anxious about something, it feels so much better to just get it off your chest and out into the open; enter your pet. They can’t exactly talk back to you or judge you for what you say, so being able to talk your fears aloud with them has helped so many people get some weight off their shoulders while being locked down.
Can’t hug a real person? There is something even better next to you - your dog! While the decrease in human contact kept depleting during COVID, there was never a decrease in snuggling with your dog (as long as you are healthy). Hugging your pet can make you feel better, reduce depression and it can release feel-good hormones while relaxing and easing tension out of you. Yes, there is a certain healing to touch and there’s nothing like a furry hug from your best canine companion to help clear the dark skies.
Need a laugh? Just watch your pet for a couple minutes and you’re guaranteed a free comedy show! Pets are funny and often they’re funny without putting any effort into it - which makes their comedic relief just that much sweeter. Whether it’s chasing their own tail, chasing each other, hiding their toys or doing a back rub against the carpet in a sunny spot on a random afternoon, our pets are good for at least a chuckle and after all, laughter is said to sometimes be the best medicine to relieve stress.
This might be a hard one to wrap your head around, but dogs are great at helping to alter our behaviors. Crazy, right? It might not be. With dogs, we tend to see ourselves slow down. One example is coming home from a hectic day at the office - you may be completely agitated over something but as soon as Fido runs to you and wants some attention, all of that just melts away and you forget why you were agitated in the first place! If quarantine has taught us anything, it’s to slow down and appreciate what we have in front of us. Slowing ourselves down to scratch Fido’s belly, throw a toy or even just to give a pat on the head makes us slow down, take a breath and let our minds be stress free for a couple of minutes. So yeah, dogs can definitely alter our behaviors for the better.
Need a sense of purpose during these uncertain times? Look at your canine companion and there is your purpose. Dogs give us unconditional love and acceptance while allowing us to feel a sense of purpose and feeling needed consistently. While we can’t visit with friends or family members (which makes people feel needed and wanted), we can give more attention to our pets that have always needed us since the day we brought them home. They give us a sense of responsibility, which promotes mental health because we help to build our self esteem by taking ownership of tasks or things (in this case, your pet!). When we succeed with that responsibility, we reinforce ourselves with a mental high-five for being able to have the capacity of caring for another creature as well as ourselves. Our pets bring us that accomplishment of seeing them alive, healthy and happy day after day, which is a huge boost to our mental health when we see how capable we are of doing such a big task.
So while we continue to try to navigate these new waters in (still) uncertain times, we all need to remember that one of the most important things to keep in mind is our mental health and how our canine companions have been helping us this whole time. Quarantine gets lonely, monotonous and just plain sucks, but having your furry sidekick by your side can help you beat depression, anxiety and stress and they are a pretty good free tool to use to keep you positive.
We understand the importance of your pet but we also understand how much time is needed to keep Fido happy and content instead of running around like an energizer bunny all day. We at Going Mutts Pet Services would love to help you and Fido out with daily walks and playtime! We are here for your walking and playtime needs during the day. We closely follow our guidelines when inside your house to keep everyone healthy and safe while providing a fun and enjoyable experience for Fido to release some energy. Contact us TODAY for a free Meet ‘n Greet to get started!
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