ContestsEvents

If You’re Having Mental Health Issues, A Pet Can Help!

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 18: A stray kitten is posed for a photograph at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home on August 18, 2009 in London, England. Battersea Dogs and Cats Home is seeing a sharp rise in the number of cats requiring a home with 143 of the 145 shelter’s pens full. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

There's actually science behind the fact that having a pet helps you with Stress, Anxiety, Depression and more!

Looking at the factors of Unconditional Love, Reducing Stress, Talking To Someone Who Listens, and the stats behind it all - find some great excuses to get yourself a furry friend by reading these wonderful reasons why!

Unconditional Love

YakobchukOlena / ThinkStock

If you've ever had a dog, you know what Unconditional Love is. Cats are not as forgiving, but when it comes to a waggly tail at the front door, an animal to greet you will bring your heart through the roof, and make you forget about your stress for a few minutes. PsychCentral shares that even M.D.'s like Karen Swartz say that nursing-home residents felt less lonely with a dog around. Having a pet to snuggle up with you and show you attention is a great feeling, especially if you live alone or have family members or partners that aren't home the same times you are. A little face that runs the place in your heart, if you will.  And you'll never have to wonder if they love you - because they're right there with you every step of the way.

There's actually science behind the fact that having a pet helps you with Stress, Anxiety, Depression and more!

Looking at the factors of Unconditional Love, Reducing Stress, Talking To Someone Who Listens, and the stats behind it all - find some great excuses to get yourself a furry friend by reading these wonderful reasons why!

Reducing Stress

vladans / ThinkStock

AnimalSmart.org shares that playing or petting an animal helps increase your levels of oxytocin and decreases cortisol. That alone can help your relaxation meter be on the winning side. The American Heart Association also shared a study from 2001, saying that patients with pets could keep their high blood pressure lower during times with pets.

There's actually science behind the fact that having a pet helps you with Stress, Anxiety, Depression and more!

Looking at the factors of Unconditional Love, Reducing Stress, Talking To Someone Who Listens, and the stats behind it all - find some great excuses to get yourself a furry friend by reading these wonderful reasons why!

Talking To Someone Who Just Listens

blanscape / ThinkStock

Sure, you may feel a little insane at times having a conversation with your animal that's completely one-sided, but The Dodo points out a good fact about doing this exercise. "A pet will never try to fix you. You can sit with your pet on the couch for hours and just rant, and she won't try to advise you or solve all your problems. There are times when you just want to talk, and you don't need anyone to say anything back. A pet will simply sit there and love you. And sometimes, that's all you need."

There's actually science behind the fact that having a pet helps you with Stress, Anxiety, Depression and more!

Looking at the factors of Unconditional Love, Reducing Stress, Talking To Someone Who Listens, and the stats behind it all - find some great excuses to get yourself a furry friend by reading these wonderful reasons why!

Therapy Animals Exists, And Their Statistics Are Great

Wavebreakmedia Ltd / ThinkStock

Some of the stats that stand out the most from PetPartners.org are the following notes:

"A walking program that matched sedentary adults with therapy animals resulted in an increase in walking over a 52 week graduated intervention with the participants stating their motivation for adherence was “the dogs need us to walk them” (Johnson, 2010) [3]."

"Pet owners have higher one-year survival rates following heart attacks (Friedmann, 1980, 1995) [8,9]."

"Pet ownership, perhaps by providing social support, lowers blood pressure response to mental stress (Allen, 2001) [7]."

"The presence of an animal can significantly increase positive social behaviors among children with autism spectrum disorder (O’Haire, 2013) [4]."

Lil Brownie is a proud Latina from Dallas, Texas who loves tacos! You can hear her every morning with Big Mama and the Wild Bunch from 6-10 a.m. She loves her life and genuinely enjoys waking up every morning to work with amazing people. You can follow her on Instagram @lilbrownieradio