The 8 benefits of treating addictions with pets

In addition to being our most faithful companions and providing us with great doses of joy and happiness, the Pets or companion animals can help us overcome a wide variety of physical or psychological.

The therapeutic benefits of these beloved animals have been known for centuries and both psychology and medicine have made use of them to treat multiple pathologies.

The interaction or coexistence with a companion animal, especially with dogs and other animals that are easy to tame due to their natural tendency to prosocial behavior and to provide unconditional affection and love, has been shown to have a very remarkable healing and therapeutic effect in people who may present cases of addiction, whether chemical or behavioral

Below we will briefly present the main benefits that pets bring to the treatment of addictions in humans.

• Related article: "What is an addiction? Characteristics and symptoms of this pathology"

How can pet therapy help you overcome an addiction?

The main therapeutic effects of interacting with a pet are as follows.

1. increased self esteem

Dealing with a pet, especially a dog, gives anyone with addictions a reason to push through the detox and rehab process. seeing that you are not totally disconnected from the rest of the world in the face of the animal's displays of affection, and this is a motivating element to improve every day. In other words, pets help a person believe in their ability to improve and be loved.

This improvement in self-esteem is of great importance in people with addictions, since at any time when levels of self-esteem drop, there may be a relapse towards consumption in the middle of a treatment process of the addictions.

2. Reduction of associated psychological alterations

In addition to increasing self-esteem, a companion animal is an excellent ally to help us reduce our levels of anxiety, depression, stress, nervousness or any other symptom associated with a psychological disorder.

The constant affection and joy that a companion animal can bring us, especially dogs, as has indicated, it is an emotional support just as important as that which a friend or family member could give us nearby.

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3. Improved autonomy

One of the main objectives of psychological therapy in people with addictions is to make the person once again have full autonomy in their day-to-day lives and be able to function both personally and socially with total normal.

This means that the person is capable of acquiring responsibilities and carrying them out successfully, to carry out simple or complex activities effectively and even to know how to take care of another living being, such as a companion animal.

The progressive learning of the care that a domestic animal needs results from training to face the challenges that the person will encounter in the real world once they are cured.

4. Key in the acquisition of responsibilities

As indicated, it is essential that the person get used to acquiring responsibilities that will allow them to successfully integrate back into life in society, once the treatment for detox.

The acquisition of new responsibilities also contributes positively to increasing self-esteem and motivation of the person, as well as improve your general well-being and mood.

5. Improvement of communication and social skills

Being in contact with a pet and living with it on a daily basis also has a therapeutic effect in improving the person's communication and social skills.

With a pet we can learn a lot about relationships and even if it is not a relationship between human beings, people with addictions they can later put into practice many of the things learned with their pet.

The main values ​​that can be learned by living with a pet are those of unconditional affection, care and the establishment of significant emotional bonds.

• Related article: "The 12 basic communication skills"

6. Key in the acquisition of organizational skills

This new organization acquired, related to the care of our animal, is key for the person to acquire organizational skills that they can put into practice in the future and that They will be very useful in your integration back into society.

Things as daily as daily walks, lunch and dinner times, cleaning tasks for the pet and visits to the veterinarian are of great importance and are a very important learning and psychological training important.

7. Establishment of a positive bond

The emotional and affective bond that is established with the pet is one of the main therapeutic assets that exist in the treatment with companion animals.

Animal lovers know that the bond established with them can be just as strong as with a human being, allowing the addicted person to train all kinds of relationship skills and strategies with their animal, which they will later apply in daily life with others people.

8. Improvement of personal well-being

Mental health professionals have been able to verify how living with an animal intervenes in increased release of happiness-related neurotransmitters in the brain, among which dopamine, oxytocin or serotonin stand out.

This change in the functioning of the brain contributes to an improvement in the general well-being of the person, to a greater mood and higher levels of self-esteem, motivation and happiness.

Do you want to start a treatment process for addictions?

In APPOINTMENT CLINICS we specialize in offering treatment to people who have developed addictive disorders with or without substance use.

In our fully equipped residential module you will find both medical personnel and psychotherapy professionals, as well as intervention programs such as equine therapy.