Carrie Fisher, a renowned actress, had to struggle with alcohol and drug abuse. She later realized how substance abuse exacerbated her symptoms of bipolar disorder. Fisher was an active advocate of mental health awareness campaigns that inspired her fans to overcome substance abuse and recover from the harmful consequences.

During her advocacy for mental health, she appeared on TV interviews with her therapy dog named ‘Gary Fisher’. She admitted that the dog helped her curb the symptoms of bipolar disorder.

In fact, many studies have supported the strong association that exists between positive mental health and therapy dogs. Therapy dogs, as well as service dogs, have long been assisting humans in different ways. Service dogs guide blind and handicapped people while therapy dogs successfully assist patients with autism, dementia, anxiety, depression, heart failure, and so on.

How Can Therapy Dogs Assist with Recovery of Addicts?

Addicts need some distraction and continual engagement to overcome the frequent desire to take drugs. Therapy dogs provide eternal companionship and encourage an active lifestyle. Caring for the pooch positively distracts the addicts. It helps them take their attention off the struggle of defeating addiction. The love of the pooch is convincing enough for the caretaker to do different things for the furr-end to make him happy.

Dogs also open up ways for the patients to go out, socialize and get acceptance of others. The lost confidence is regained through such short-term conversations and small gatherings every now and then. They may find other people who are struggling with substance abuse, which can make their journey against drugs easier. They can share the troubles which they face during the recovery period. This also helps them overcome loneliness. Additionally, they are prevented from depression that is exacerbated by being confined to rooms and apartments.

Addiction and Pet-Effect:

Addiction alters our understanding of the self and the world. It takes away our faith in our sense of self-efficacy. The sense of self-efficacy assures us that we can handle tough situations efficiently and achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves. Addiction changes our perspectives so dramatically that we lose our faith in our self. We begin to depend on external ways to find a relief from stress. Drugs provide an escape to the addicts from the seriousness and sobriety of life.

Recovery process requires handling of life situations with a stable mindset. The decisions are made without depending on external sources. Pets are helpful in distracting addicts from addicting habits and relax their muscles without having to depend on drugs/alcohol etc. Pets (especially cats and dogs) ease their way to develop healthier habits and stick to the new routine for long-term.

However, in case, the dog is suffering from anxiety or pain, you can consider giving him Tramadol for quick pain relief. However, You can find here the limitations of using Tramadol.

Therapy dogs are trained to distract the addicts. They can alert other family members immediately when the patient is falling for the drugs again. They can make the addict self-aware so he can easily break the chain and find an alternative.

Pets can help the recovery of addicts in the following ways:

1. Increase Mindfulness: The recovery period requires the patient to learn to cope up with the world from a serious mindset. Addiction is all about detachment from the present moment and getting lost in an imaginative world. Therapy dogs are good at keeping the patients mindful of their surroundings and alert them before they can reach for any drugs or alcohol again. They are trained to provide distractions or alternatives to the patient. Therapy dogs activate the pre-frontal cortex of the addict’s brain, which actively helps a person choose a healthier action and overlook the unhealthy one.
2. Reduce Stress: Changing habits and resisting drugs comes with a lot of stress and anxiety. Moreover, tackling the situations in a more realistic manner further exacerbates the symptoms of stress. Pets help the patients calm down and relax during times of stress or anxiety. Different studies have shown that cuddling pets help reduce the production of stress hormones (Cortisol) and trigger the release of happy hormones (Endorphins) and love hormones (Oxytocin).
3. Improve Autonomic Functions of Body: The magical presence of pets improves the body health by reducing heart rate, blood pressure, muscular tension, breathing rate, and oxygen intake.
4. Improve Mental Health: Pets provide various opportunities to the addicts to interact with others during evening walks. Pets allow the patient to share their feelings with them without passing any judgmental remarks. The resulting release of endorphins enhances brain activity by triggering problem-solving skills, imaginative powers, and social skills. The unconditional love of pets restores the patient’s confidence in himself/herself and helps them overcome the fear of not getting acceptance from the society.

This ‘Pet-Effect’ makes it easier for the addicts to creatively get out of the vicious cycle of addiction. Pets help them reset their routine and establish discipline in life. Therapy dogs are specially trained to assist addicts, so get a trained pet instead of a random dog. Furthermore, make sure the addict is willing to overcome his unhealthy addictions.

Author:

Fiona Appleton is a Labrador owner. She is the manager of https://ultimatehomelife.com/ that has been developed to help people solve the troubles of pet ownership. She is an active advocate of animal protection campaigns. She wants people to understand that dog-behavior is reflective of our behavior.

Published: 2018-08-07 13:51:53