The number of people with emotional support animals has increased dramatically over recent years since research supporting the effectiveness of emotional support or PTSD animals for those struggling with mental illness.
There are a wide range of mental illnesses that can be positively impacted by the presence of a PTSD animals. Among those illnesses, anxiety disorders are the most prevalent impacting over 40 million adults in the United States alone.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD impacts over 7.7 million adults in the United States, which is roughly 3.5% of the total adult population. Over 26% of American adults have some kind of diagnosed mental disorder.
Research has shown that PTSD animals can effectively reduce fear, anxiety, and distress enabled people with a mental illness to function more completely within their families and the jobs. These animals provide calm and comfort in a way that other people are incapable of providing.
It isn’t that individuals cannot be comforted by other people or that people are completely incapable of providing comfort. For many, the presence of PTSD animals causes a release of serotonin in their brains that calms them down quickly.
There is no specific breed designated to be an emotional support animal. A wide range of animal types and breeds can provide the beneficial affects of emotional support. Additionally, the cost of training an animal as a PTSD animal is significantly less costly than medications designed to provide similar affects.
ESA dog training is a specific type of training that ensures the dog will remain calm in a variety of situations and shows a high degree of loyalty to their owner. ESA dogs can also be trained to lay on their owner during a moment of panic, which provides additional support in ending the panic attack. Similar to the affects of a weighted blanket, having a ESA animal lay across you during a panic attack can reduce the duration of the attack.
Support animals for PTSD sufferers have gained a great deal of support due to their ability to help those individuals reenter the workforce and obtain a higher standard of living.