How Therapy Animals Can Help Moms

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As moms, we put a lot of energy into trying to keep our kids happy and healthy. It’s probably our number one priority in life. Most of the time, it’s a pretty straightforward process. Not necessarily easy, but at least straightforward.

It gets a lot tougher when one or more kids–or even the mom!–is diagnosed with an emotional issue like PTSD, anxiety, or depression. These are the conditions that all the love in the world can’t always help. The situation is incredibly frustrating for us when we want nothing more than for our kids to be happy, or for us to be happy enough to give them what they need.

In the last few years, we have discovered some new ways to address these conditions. While medications and therapy can still help a great deal, we are also seeing that the use of emotional support animals can do a lot for those of us who struggle with emotional issues.

The great thing about these pets is that they can often be the pet you already have. With a little research, you can find ways to make a familiar cat or dog a more valuable asset to the family by using him or her to help someone’s emotional issues. But even if you don’t have a pet yet, it’s very easy to acclimate your family to a new therapy pet and the pet to the family.

Some moms express concern that they don’t want to have their kids or themselves dependent on an emotional support animal because of the difficulty of traveling with it or taking it out in public areas where pets are banned. They worry that making those trips without the pet will exacerbate the emotional problem.

The good news is that the pet really can go! Therapy pets are allowed on planes, in hotels, and other no-pet zones if they are properly credentialed. As a result, the benefits of the ESA can go anywhere that mom and the kids go.

Some people wonder if therapy dogs really do anything more than make us happy the same way regular pets do. The answer is yes! While the emotional support and companionship are very important, therapy animals go much further. Many of them have saved lives, especially those who assist people with medical conditions.

Emotional support animals can be just as helpful. A good example is with our veterans, and that is one area where moms are more numerous than ever. Many women have returned home from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, struggling to be the best mom they can be to children they haven’t seen in months. Their PTSD is so overwhelming, though, that they can’t even be present for their own needs, much less their children’s. The resulting frustration can tear families apart, and sadly, many such moms (and dads) resort to suicide.

When PTSD is properly diagnosed and a therapy animal is brought in to help, those moms can get through. Many of them cite their animals as a source of unflagging energy and love that gives them a reason to keep going and reminds them there is still joy in life.

Many children have similar outcomes. Childhood depression and anxiety can be so destructive. These conditions can impair the child’s ability to succeed in school and to make friends, which only makes the conditions worse. For a mom watching this snowball effect, it is horrifying.

A therapy animal can do a lot to intervene. These friends provide social interaction that builds a child’s confidence and help him or her make human friends, building a support network that everybody needs.

As moms, we expect that we can fix any problem our kids have and that we can put our own needs aside to care for them. But the reality is some of the problems are so unique and complex that it takes special intervention to overcome them. Therapy pets can help us be better moms by helping ourselves and by helping our kids.

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