Overcoming Addiction with Pet Therapy

If you are someone with an addiction then you likely know how difficult your addictive behaviors can make your life. However, instead of feeling guilty or ashamed try to feel more hope for the future. There are many ways that you can overcome an addiction. Some of the many ways that you can do this are used on a regular basis and others are not heard of as often. There are various holistic and natural ways of overcoming an addiction and one of the most interesting ones may be the use of pet therapy. What does pet therapy really mean when it relates to overcoming addictions?

Improve Your Mood

There are many ways of overcoming an addiction. The holistic ways aren’t talked about as much as they maybe should be. One of the benefits of using pet therapy to overcome your addiction is that it can improve your mood. Spending time with a pet (dog, cat, bunny, etc.) can allow you to have that special bond, have someone (something) that is not going to judge you and more. This can allow you to have a better mood and having a better mood can help you to see that you can have a more positive future than you had during your addictive lifestyle.

Lower Your Levels of Stress

Another great benefit of using pet therapy to overcome an addiction is that it can lower your levels of stress. The majority of addicts either drink and/or abuse drugs because they are stressed or they continue to do so because their life is very stressful (possibly due to the addiction itself). However, you can help to overcome your addiction by getting a pet. Pets are cuddly and lovable and they can make you smile. Being around your pet and just petting them when you feel stressed can help to lower your stress levels. Lowering your stress levels can reduce the urge to drink and/or do drugs.

Lessen the Amount of Anxiety in Your Life

The majority of addicts have a lot of anxiety in their lives. This anxiety can really tear things apart. It can make you feel like there are problems that aren’t even real and it can make you have physical health problems as well. If you have an addiction this anxiety can really make triggers that much worse. If you get a pet then you can talk to your pet, spend time with them and just have them around for when you need to relieve your anxiety. You can even take them on a walk out in nature with you so that you can calm down. Pets are known for being great friends and that is often what someone with anxiety needs.

Create a Bonded Relationship

One of the things that many addicts feel like they need, in order to overcome their addiction, is to connect with others. Many addicts have had broken relationships with family and friends for as long as they can remember. Connecting with a pet can give you that bonded connection that you have been searching for. Pet therapy can help you to get that unconditional love that you have been seeking for as well. This type of bonded relationship can help you to feel better about yourself and feel better too. If one of your underlying issues of your addiction is that you just want to feel wanted then getting a pet can really help you out with that.

Pet therapy has been shown to help so many people overcome various different health problems. Pets are used in children’s hospitals and they have been shown to help the children improve their mood. Pets have been used in senior citizen’s homes and they have helped them to overcome depression and other health problems too. Pet therapy has not been used as often in addiction recovery rehabs as it probably should be. However, it is becoming a more widely known about treatment for overcoming an addiction and that is an excellent thing. If you have an addiction and you would like to live a better and more fulfilling life then it might just be the right time for you to get some pet therapy of your own.

- Cara

References:

http://www.addiction.com/4308/animal-therapy-in-recovery/