‘Having a hard day. Send puppy pics’ is a common cry on social media.
When things get tough, a cute dog, kitten, horse, or whatever your favourite creature is, can help.
Evidence shows that animals can improve our mental health in many ways. Pets provide companionship, love and feelings of joy. A study in 2019 found that students who had access to animal visits had lower levels of cortisol – the stress hormone – in the brain.
And last year, research by University of York and the University of Lincoln last year found that 90% of the 6,000 respondents said their pet helped them cope emotionally with lockdown.
Matthew Robinson, National Volunteer & Events Manager at charity Pets As Therapy, explains that they use animals in a range of settings to help people.
Founded in 1983 by Lesley Scott-Ordish, the charity started by bringing dogs into care homes. Now they visit everything from hospitals, to prisons, to daycare centres and schools.
Matthew says: ‘In terms of mental health, the reason that therapy visits work is that dogs in particular have been proven to be non-judgmental. They don’t care what you look like. They’ve got no preconceived ideas about who you are. They’re wonderful at just giving love.
‘Being in the presence of a dog has also been proven to lower stress levels. So they can have an actual calming effect on the body and lower blood pressure.’
Many pet owners feel their pet has helped pull them out of some of their darkest times.
Charlotte Banks met May the lurcher in 2019 and she instantly fell in love. After a relationship break down and struggles with anxiety and depression, she wasn’t really looking for a new pet – but a colleague spotted a post about May and told her she felt she was meant to be hers.
May had arrived at the Blue Cross rescue centre in a terrible state having been thrown from a car and left in a car park.
Together, they helped to build each other back up and Charlotte says adopting her was one of the best things she ever did for her mental health.
Charlotte explains: ‘She found it really hard just to be touched. I was starting from basics in terms of getting her to trust me.
‘I feel like she saved me at a really difficult point in my life. She gave me a purpose. She gave me something to get up for and look forward to in the morning.
‘It’s not a choice whether you take them out for a walk later, you’ve got to do it, even if you don’t feel like it. You always feel better having gone out for a walk. She gave me a real sense of routine.
‘As I built her confidence with training, she built mine too.’
Sadly, May passed away at the end of last year but Charlotte says she had a remarkable impact in the 18 months they had together.
Klara Schmidt agrees – her dog Duffy was able to help with her mental health as she built a relationship with her that wasn’t possible with people while she recovered from an eating disorder as a teenager.
She explains: ‘I had no idea how life-changing she would be for me.
‘I was in the depths of an eating disorder and it was really horrible because I didn’t know who to talk to.
‘I wasn’t socialising because I didn’t want to face eating in front of people or being asked questions.
‘Duffy was my companion and the one I could talk to throughout it all. When I was sad or crying, she would come and jump in my lap. She is a really happy dog and helped me to feel joy.
‘She became a big part of my recovery too as I wanted to get better to spend time with her.’
The relationship went on to impact Klara even as she got older. Now 25 and no longer living with her beloved pet as she moved out of her parents’ home, she got a tattoo to remind her of Duffy every day. She also now works for the animal charity The Humane League, inspired by her experiences.
While much of the research focuses on dogs, some people prefer other furry friends and say they make a huge difference too.
Josie Murrie, 23, says her cats have been a big part of dealing with the depression and anxiety she has suffered from since she was around 11.
Her family adopted their cat Tilly from Cats Protection around 11 years ago, who helped through her teenager years.
More recently, she adopted two tabbies named Jones and Ripley in June 2019 just after her dad passed away. Noopy came along in October last year after she saw a post online that he had been dumped nearby.
She explains: ‘Having three members of the family that depend on me helps me to get out of bed in the morning and want to be the best I can be.
‘If I’m upset, or having a panic attack, the cats are there and purring to try and help me calm down. I don’t think cats get enough credit for how clever and sensitive they are.
‘I recently experienced another loss in the family, and Noopy didn’t leave my side through the whole ordeal.
‘The cats inspire me every day, no matter what mood they’re in, they never take it out on me. It reminds me to do the same and above all else, they make me want to help other people experience the same.’
Animals are also increasingly being used as part of therapy to help people speak to qualified counsellors.
Kathryn Kimbley, director of HumAnima CIC, has been working with her dog Flossie for 11 years. Now 14, Flossie is basically retired and hasn’t been working during the pandemic as animal-assisted therapy wasn’t possible, but Kathryn says she has seen so many benefits from their partnership over the years.
She says: ‘Clients often find it much, much easier to talk about the difficulties, the challenges, the problems when she is there.
‘I wouldn’t have her there during the first session, but she’d be there during subsequent sessions if they decided they wanted it there. Rather than it being a case of “Oh, I’m going to counseling” it’s more a case of “Oh, I get to see Flossie”.
‘Clients come to the session, and they might talk about their problems while stroking the dog, looking at the dog or playing with the dog.
‘She enables them to sort of process that and go through things and some clients find it easier to relate with her there.
‘There is that option for a lightness in the session too. It’s not all really heavy.’
Hannah Clarke, a psychotherapist and spokesperson for the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), runs a therapy farm and uses with a range of creatures from a pig to two feisty geese.
Working mainly with children, Hannah says the animals help them to learn to self-soothe and process emotions
She explains: ‘Animals can help with self esteem and our mental health, in learning some of the skills that sometimes it’s very hard for us as humans to learn from each other, especially if we’ve had very difficult early childhood experiences
‘Babies learn to self soothe, to calm themselves down and adults help them do that.
‘For children who grew up in abusive families, they don’t get that skill set. And it’s really missing in their ability to calm themselves. And often you’ll see, you know, big rages lots of overwhelming emotions, and inability to self soothe.
‘Because there’s a big lack of trust with humans, because it’s humans that have heard these children, animals can really take that place in forming a trusting supportive relationship with a person who is very untrusting of others.
‘One of the things that’s so lovely for children is that when they come out and meet the animals, it doesn’t feel like a therapy session. They don’t immediately think there’s something wrong with them because they’re having to go to therapy.
‘We don’t use too many words, in all honesty. It’s about noticing what the animals are doing and how that makes them feel.
‘It helps with learning some of those social skills that often these children don’t have, where they may rush into relationships and overwhelm someone. All of these skills are then transferable into, into the peer to peer realm as well within schools can be really helpful for kids who struggle with friendships.’
While animals can be incredibly beneficial for people struggling with mental health, Kathryn stresses it’s important that the animal’s needs are considered as well.
If someone is getting a pet, while it may help their mental health, it is crucial that the prospective owner ensures they are ready and able to care for it. Not being able to can lead to more heartbreak.
And when it comes to using animals in therapy, Kathryn stresses it’s important to recognise that not all animals are suitable, and there may be times they simply don’t want to help.
She says: ‘It’s absolutely critical that professionals know how to do it in an ethical, safe and moral way that doesn’t compromise on anyone’s safety, whether that’s the client, the therapist or the therapy animal.’
Hannah adds that on her farm, they ensure they listen to what the animal wants as well as the client – but this in itself can be beneficial.
She says: ‘One of the things I’m really keen on is that the animals have a choice as to whether they participate or not, we’re not forcing to do anything they don’t want to do.
‘This is fabulous learning for the people who come to me. It’s not about rushing in and smothering an animal. It’s about learning to read their body language, waiting, regulating your own desire and noticing what does that animal want. That’s incredibly great learning for us as humans, I think.’
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Metro.co.uk MHAW Takeover
This year, to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, Metro.co.uk has invited eight well-known mental health advocates to take over our site.
With a brilliant team that includes Alex Beresford, Russell Kane, Frankie Bridge, Anton Ferdinand, Sam Thompson, Scarlett Moffatt, Katie Piper and Joe Tracini, each of our guest editors have worked closely with us to share their own stories, and also educate, support and engage with our readers.
If you need help or advice for any mental health matter, here are just some of the organisations that were vital in helping us put together our MHAW Takeover:
- Mental Health Foundation
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- Samaritans
- Mind
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