Did you know that pets make us healthier and happier? According to Psychology Today, pets provide the much-needed love, comfort and social support we need to thrive and that the support we receive through our pets is meaningful and without judgment. The benefits of owning a pet are great and include: boosting owners’ self-esteem, increasing owners’ physical fitness, decreased loneliness, increased conscientiousness, increased social activity and “outgoing-ness” and decreased general fear and anxiety. Pets also offer just as much or more “meaningful” support than friends and family members do. Most pet owners report feeling closer and more in-tune with their pets than with their human family members. This can do with the judgments human support is riddled with and the fact that, in general, human support is poor. Pet owners also feel a better sense of fulfillment, more connection to the meaning of their existence, experience less depression, and less stress.
The studies conducted and published in Psychology Today concluded that persons who own pets are healthier and happier than individuals who do not own pets and that their connection to their pets is indeed what increases their health and happiness! Pets are not a replacement for medical care or for practicing healthy habits, but pets are definitely a wonderful prescription for remedying stress and loneliness and for increasing pure joy! Pets are the best friends with the most amazing benefits. I hope you have a beloved pet and that your day will be filled with the love they give to you and the love you give to them. If you do not have a pet, perhaps this is the perfect season to adopt one.
