Stress and Pets

Studies conducted on surgery patients have shown that owning pets hastens the healing process. If the link that exists between infection and stress that some of them show is right, this should not be very surprising. That can be attributed to the positive effect on the immune system.

Pet ownership can lead to many physical benefits. Cats will never notice your personal problems, for example. They want their dinner and a massage while sitting on a comfortable lap. Focusing on the pet's desires, and not on unpleasant workplace events, can help release stress.

The sympathetic nervous system acts, in concert with other bodily systems, to create hormones and otherwise signal the "fight or flight" mechanism. The parasympathetic nerve system is activated then attention is shifted away, causing the opposite effect. In other words, we relax and calm down. The pause helps the body restore itself to its normal state--homeostasis.

Dogs are one of life's wonderful stress relievers, as long as they aren't creating more, of course. Digging holes in your yard, ruining your favorite pair of shoes or creating a mess on the carpet certainly wont help you relax. But it does help to play a short game of fetch with a tennis ball. Watching a dog play with a tennis ball reminds us of the joys of simple pleasures.

To try and imagine stress and pets in the same sentnace while thinking of dogs is difficult. Dogs have been pets to humans since the end of the last Ice Age. They participate in many common human activities, some of which are a good stress relief. Activities like fishing, hiking and other such activities can lead to stress relief. The effect is amplified by the presence of a friendly dog.

Many find watching fish in an aquarium can help relieve stress. Much careful planning and execution is required while taking care of tropical fish. Keeping one's mind off what often amounts to trivial problems can be done with focus. Observing the many interesting behaviors sea creatures exhibit can produce additional rewards.

Many pets, like tropical birds, hamsters, ferrets, etc. are found to act in ways which appear humorous to people. Laughter is enormously beneficial for reducing stress.

Stress and Pets usually mix when the pet is not taken care of or requires extra effort to keep.

While communication between animals and humans is different from that between people, some of the same therapeutic effects exist. The bond is sometimes stronger than that between friends

It makes for a sense of being supported with no catch -- at least, nothing more than stroking some fur.

Have you ever heard anyone say 'my dog drove me to drink'? I didn't think so. Stress and pets usually dont go together.