How pets help college students cope with stress and anxiety Assignment

How pets help college students cope with stress and anxiety - Assignment Example It has been observed that music therapy, art therapy and pet therapy have been able to decrease the mortality rate and increase the chances of living. According to a study conducted in 1977, pet therapy has been found to be the most efficient form of treatment for patients suffering from psychological distress (Moorhouse, 2009). In the year 1990, Dr. William Thomas used pets in a long-term care facility and the significance of animal usage was clearly visible. Animals helped people to recover fast because they were amused with the presence of animals. The anxiety, tensions and frustrations automatically reduced with the presence of animals. This shows that animals have tremendous effect in coping with psychological distress of patients. An experiment was conducted in the United States by involving fourteen adults with clinical depression in a farm animal-assisted intervention. The patients were allowed to work in the farm fields with animals as well as they were allowed to stay in contact with dairy cattle. Each patient was video-recorded twice during the sessions. After a 12 week session, reports were absolutely in favour of pet therapy. The patients showed improvements tremendously. Their depression and anxiety decreased and self-efficiency increased. Pet therapy has also been found to be effective during the treatment of cancer and chronic illnesses (Pederson, Martinsen & Berget, 2011). This shows that pet therapy is very important form of treatment for a variety of illnesses including depression and anxiety. Pets allow patients to reduce their stress and feel hopeful and happy. This factor helps in the treatment of patients who suffer from depression and they recover fast. Dogs have been used for therapeutic purposes in medical settings. It has been observed that the activities by dogs entertain people, which amuse them. Dogs play a very important role in the