Hello,
Thank you for responding, it really means a lot! I am 16 years old and I have been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder with the traits of paranoid schizophrenia (including hallucinations and delusions), chronic depression, and generalized anxiety. I have had these mental illnesses since birth and living in day to day life can be difficult and exhausting for me.
I have been doing research on mental illness service dogs for almost a year now and I feel like it would be extremely beneficial for me, especially since I am leaving for college next year. I have a few actions service dogs can be trained to do in mind that I found on a service dog website.
These things include:
-coping with emotional/sensual overload (specifically by providing tactile stimulation to help break the spell of disassociation that is followed by anxiety attacks triggered by overstimulation of
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During my anxiety attacks I become extremely disoriented and I can get turned around easily, causing me to have a melt down.
-provide deep pressure for calming effect. Especially during times of my hallucinations, deep pressure could help me be grounded back to reality.
-crowd control. Due to my claustrophobic induced anxiety attacks, having a service dog who is trained to stand their ground in crowded situations to form a "personal bubble" would be good for me.
-coping with paranoia by lighting up dark rooms or doing a check around the house if I feel as if someone is inside.
-reminding to take medication. I thought this would be good to add since I have a tendency to forget to take my meds which can cause hallucinations to worsen and my paranoia to increase.
I talked to both my psychologist, Doctor Samantha Jordan, and my psychiatrist, Doctor Sandra Kovachi, and they both believe having a service dog would be helpful for my needs.
Sorry for the really long email! I wanted to make sure I could include
There are 3 different types of service dogs people can have: Emotional Support Animals, Therapy Animals, and Service Animals. Emotional Support Animals have one task and that is to provide comfort and support, emotionally, to someone who needs it and has a documented health condition. Therapy Animals are registered through an agency and their purpose is to provide therapeutic value to those who need it. Service animals are trained to perform tasks the owner simply cannot do on their own, guiding blind people, detecting seizures, helping people who have lost legs or arms.
In today’s society, service dogs are very critical for current U.S soldiers and veterans that deal with PTSD and stress disorder especially saving lives within the Military field. Service dogs are not being noticed by individuals in a world that is full of technological influence because there are so many other little things to preoccupy their time. The service of these particular dogs offer are very beneficial especially to soldier that have PSTD and also reducing stress. Carl Ringberg, a current Missouri army veteran, Luthy, Air Force veteran, and Brett Simon, a current army solider had benefited from a service dog. These particular Individuals found positive results while having a service dog by their side and this service dogs completely
Dogs have helped humans in various medical fields for a long time. There are dogs that get experimental cancer treatments to see if they would be safe for humans. There are dogs that are trained to sniff out cancer in a human and according to the article by D. Becker, “there are even service dogs who alert their owners when their blood sugar is dropping dangerously low.” (p.1). Some people think that service dogs should not be allowed in schools because they are afraid. However they are wrong because service dogs are so well trained they will not harm the students or other people in a
This article appeared in a scientifically reviewed, Psychology Central News, in 2010, making this a relatively credible source. Also this article is a fairly recent one, from 2010 and it relates to what the topic is about. Rick Nauert has a Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin in information science focused on health care informatics, health administration, health education and health policy and also has over 30 years of experience in clinical, administrative and academic healthcare. I included this article because it addresses how much psychiatric service dogs help military veterans with their PTSD symptoms and help cut down on their medications. In fact, “according to the Army Surgeon General’s special assistant for mental health,
Guide dogs for the blind help their owner walk and keep them safe. It makes them feel okay to be blind and that they have someone there with them. The deaf also have service dogs that help them with everyday activities and take away the owner’s worries. These amazing dogs also bring happiness and lower depression. They love their owners and give them a sense of purpose. People who deal with anxiety are provided with comfort from their service dogs. Also, their dogs can sense a panic attack and will help keep the owner as calm as possible. There are service dogs for people who have seizures as well. These dogs give confidence to their owner’s and reduce seizures. They also are able to tell when a seizure is going to come and provide comfort during a seizure. Autism is another disability that service dogs are trained to help with. They can help the owner relax and bring peace to the entire family. Service dogs can also help those who are handicapped by picking up objects, opening doors and helping their owner get dressed. Overall, service dogs make a positive impact on their owner’s lives by creating a better lifestyle and allowing them to be more
Dogs will protect you and they can also provide comfort and support in forms of affection and companionship for an individual suffering from various mental and emotional conditions.
Often, anxiety disorders, depression, agoraphobia, and other emotional impairments are treated with medication and extensive counseling. Those suffering physical, mental, sensory, and intellectual disabilities commonly are treated with service animals. Individuals with a psychiatric disability, by the ADA, do not qualify for service dogs, even if they come with several benefits. I believe that anybody suffering any kind of disability, provided they are diagnosed with a severe case, should qualify for a service animal. They encourage getting out of the house, could potentially decrease the number of number of suicides, and defeat the long-term effects of antidepressants.
Pets have long been known to have beneficial health effects on people, both physically and mentally. However, for someone with severe mental illnesses like major depression and anxiety, a psychiatric service dog can be a life-saver. With time, these dogs become more attuned to the needs of their handler/human, and can often recognize signs that even other people cannot. These non-judgmental, loyal, and trained animals can provide the right kind of care to mental health patients and set them on the path to
Service dogs are a type of dogs that are specially trained to do specific responsibilities to help people who have disabilities, such as people with visual impairment. The dog’s role in this case is to guide them around the obstacles, stop at step ladders, and help them cross the street. Also, service dogs trained to help people with hearing impairment. They trained in a way to alert their partners to sounds and lead them to the source of it. On the other hand, service dogs help people with mental illnesses to take their pills at certain times of the day and carry medical supplies for them.
Some people have been known to have a fake “service dog” or “therapy dog” due to the idea that some people believe “oh my dog would be a perfect therapy dog he loves people” but they never do the training or the testing required to do this work. Many times the people want to do the work and not the dogs. This idea of “oh my dog would be perfect” can lead to a lot of problem from severity of bites to the lowness of stress and anxiety. A true therapy dog has to be a special balance of stability, lovability, tolerance, able to handle stress, and prepared to cope with the feeling that dogs and people can feel in these facilities ("Ethical Considerations in Animal”). While this problem is not an uncommon one it can be a very serious one, and can be remediated by proper education of the facilities and have stronger
For people with disabilities, performing daily tasks prove to be a challenge. People with severe disabilities are given medication and regular therapy to help them improve their daily lives. For some, however, this is not enough. Service dogs, animals specifically trained to aid their disabled owners in their everyday lives, may be a solution to these people. Service dogs are a common type of professional working dog and have several branches/classifications. Each classification is trained to perform specific tasks and are given different privileges/rights when it comes to public access. A service animal, such as an assistance dog, performs specific tasks or provides aid in another form to their disabled owner while other professional working
Animal Assisted Therapy dates back to the early 18th century. It was used to help the mentally ill patients at the York Retreat in England. They would allow animals to wander the grounds with the patients and it was believed that is was helpful in increasing the socialization of the patients. The first documented use of an animal therapy was when Dr. Boris Levinson accidentally left his dog and a difficult child alone and when he came back the child was calm and talking with the dog. Today animals are being used in many different environments to help assist patients with their daily activities. Over the years, studies have shown that some animal assisted therapy has been more affective on people than the use of a medication.
Dogs can help us humans with mental health. Many service dogs are used to help people who are deaf or people that are blind. How about people with mental issues? Dogs not only help us with physical problems but also with mental problems like depression. In the article “Therapy pets and humans with mental health issues” the author “ dog time” starts to state in the 3 paragraph “Trained animals [iii] are used to benefit patients suffering with emotional and behavioral disorders, depression, autism, substance abuse, and dementia.” (2010) This can show how animals can help us with mental issues because animals can understand many struggles us humans have, because after their trained they can not only understand us but also
Resident therapy dogs have been implemented at the library of the Harvard School of Medicine, and these dogs may be checked out just like you would with a book. According to research, interaction with dogs decreases a person’s level of cortisol and increases endorphin levels (Adamle).
Emotional support animals can take on a multitude of jobs that “may include reminding the handler to take medicine, providing safety checks or room searches, or turning on lights for persons with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, interrupting self-mutilation by persons with dissociative identity disorders, and keeping disoriented individuals from danger,” (Brennan). These animals are often considered pets but are actually so much more than that, emotional support animals have a very important role in protecting the mental health of their owners and keep them safe. Not only do these animals protect people’s mental health but they also give people a purpose. Taking care of one of these dogs or other animals gives people something to take care of and focus on. Knowing that there is another living thing that relies on them can be very grounding and keep people connected to something outside of themselves.