Mental illness
The challenge of mental illnesses has developed into one of the most significant health challenges in the modern era. More people, and especially young people, continue to suffer from different types of mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. In the same way, the older generation is more susceptible to mental illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and schizophrenia. Different events and data on mass shootings are capturing the extensive aspect of mental illnesses in modern society. Psychological and psychiatric methods have been applied to ensure mental illnesses are treated. However, the lack of specific medication and diagnosis of mental illnesses leads to decades of treatment. Different long-lasting techniques have been applied to make it easier to sustain interventions and reduction of mental illness attacks. The modern techniques involve the use of AA applications on smartphones and games. However, one of the most successful methods of managing mental illness is emotional support animals (ESA). ESA should be allowed in public spaces as they offer comfort and therapy to people suffering from mental illnesses; thus should be treated like a seeing-eye dog; however, the ESA should be differentiated from a pet using an authorization letter from a psychiatric or mental expert which certified someone as mentally disabled.
Emotional support animals are critical as they offer comfort to a person suffering from mental illness and should be accepted in public spaces. According to recent research, “Pets were implicated in emotional work because they provided a consistent and proximate source of calming support and companionship. This was enhanced through a perception that animals could intuit when such support was needed and act accordingly, providing a depth of connection that was considered particularly useful in time of crisis” (Brooks et al., 15). The animals that offered emotional training are able to identify the different issues in humans. ESAs are pets with increased intuition; thus, they identify the start of a mental illness breakdown and offer effective support for the owner. The ESA is specially trained to detect mental challenge signings such as fidgeting and discomforts and to offer the right amount of emotional support and calming impact. ESAs are essential in identifying and support a patient at moments where a doctor or other forms of treatment cannot be easily accessed, such as in planes. Personalized and real-time treatment thus allows the patient to remain calm and collected through various social activities. As a result, ESAs should be allowed in public spaces to ensure that the patient can be offered support in case of mental strain. Being in crowds, especially in planes and malls, can cause an increase in anxiety and trigger other forms of mental illnesses. According to the author of a healthy child organization, “just watching or reading the news, it is reasonable for anyone to feel afraid in public spaces that previously would have felt safe” (McCarthy). Public spaces have continued to feel unsafe based on the increase in terrorism and mass shooting events. Moreover, the presence of so many people can create a concept of fear. Different factors in the public spaces cause fear and withdrawal from the rest of the world hence causing agoraphobia and social anxiety disorders. The presence of an ESA allows a patient to interact with people in the public spaces more hence improving mental health. As a result, providing an ESA for support is critical for the safety of the sick person as well as the healthy people.
Similarly, ESAs should be allowed in public as they offer therapy for mental disorders. Therapy is essential for people suffering from mental illnesses. As a group of scientists explains, “CAP may also confer additional benefits via secondary factors that improve therapeutic processes and quality, such as attendance and retention, positive socialization, and feelings of connection” (Jones et al. 16). The research aimed at understanding the mental benefits of a canine aided psychotherapy and found a positive correlation between the use of trained dogs and therapy admission. The canines used in the experiment offered an increased aspect of mental stability to the patients. The form of therapy offered by dogs is based on attention, attendance, and socialization. The pets trained as ESAs offer a constant form of appreciation, listening, and attention to a patient of mental illness. The form of interaction and sustained attention thus offers mental relief to the patient. As a result, the acceptance of the animals in public spaces is critical for real-time treatment of people suffering from mental illnesses. The advancement of the treatment and training of ESA has allowed more specialized treatment through a better relationship between the patient and pet. Therefore, allowing animals with beneficial effects into the public space is critical in reducing anxiety and social disorders that cause discomfort to the mental illness patient in public spaces.
ESAs are similar to seeing dogs as they offer companionship and help; however, their roles are different. ESAs are mentioned above are trained to offer attention, retention, socialization, and connection to mention nut a few. On the other hand, seeing guide dogs are specialized to offer guidance and seeing effect for people with sight disabilities. In a worldwide study conducted in 2019, “the guide dog usually holds a positive surprise for the future guide dog owner. The relationship between the guide dog and the owner seems to play a role in the perception of the positive effects of the dog” (Glenk, et al. 432). Guide dogs allow the perception of a visually impaired person to be improved drastically as they get a constant guide. Increased trust and training for seeing guide dogs allow the relationship with the owner to improve equally. Despite the slight difference, guide dogs are similar to ESAs as they both offer companionship. The ESAs are trained to offer help and comfort for a person suffering from mental illnesses. The role allows the owners of ESAs to have a friend that comforts them in all situations and causes a calm effect. In the same way, a seeing dog protects and helps the owner get around the neighborhoods at all times. The special connections allow owners of guide dogs and ESAs to have constant companionship.
Nonetheless, acceptance of the ESAs in public spaces should be validated by a letter from a mental health expert. The ESAs are emotionally trained pets, thus have no physical differentiating features from other pets. According to the therapy pet association, “An ESA is an animal prescribed by a licensed therapist or psychiatrist. The main purpose of the animal is to provide comfort and relief to the owner.” The ESAs used in the treatment of mental illnesses are specially trained by health experts. As a result of the training, the pets can identify the different moments when the support is needed and administered to the patients. Similarly, the ESAs are offered to people with various mental disabilities that require constant help from the dogs. “Disabled people with emotional support animals are protected” from different forms of restrictions such as housing and flying that apply to common pets (Reichel). The support animals are allowed to public spaces as they are essential for the comfort and wellbeing of the patients. However, the license to carry an ESA should be provided to different security personnel to be exempted from the rules of common pets. Without a detailed license by a certified psychiatrist, the ESAs are categorized as pets thus should not be allowed into public spaces as they can cause discomfort to others.
The ESAs are essential in the real-time treatment and comforting of a mental illness patient as they offer attention and retention that results in a positive mood for mental illness patients. Similar to ESAs, guide dogs allow the movements and life of a person with a physical disability to be made better. As a result, the guide dogs should also be allowed in public spaces. However, a clear letter or permit from a licensed mental health expert should be provided by owners of ESAs. The lack thereof causes the ESAs to e categorized as pets and cannot be allowed in different public spaces. The advancement in mental illness treatment to curb the rise of the mental challenges has been witnessed in modern society. Different mental health experts are looking into nutrition, mobile phone applications, and social support strategies that will positively reduce mental health challenges. The use of pets is a great invention that will impact the patients of mental health to improve and manage the challenges effectively. Overall, pets offer a sense of comfort and support to members of the society. Having a pet creates a positive mood and attitude in different homes. Therefore, having a pet with advanced cognition and support in the families can be effective in creating the human feeling and improved mental health for owners.