2024-03-02 03:30:00
Living with a dog or cat helps improve the emotional health of young people. This is stated by the Affinity Foundation which, on the occasion of World Adolescent Mental Wellbeing Day, which is celebrated this March 2, wants to highlight the importance of the bond with pets when consolidating them as a source of inexhaustible social support. for the people. And according to the Youth Barometer 2023. Health and Wellbeing of the Mutua Madrileña Foundation and Fad Juventud, almost 60% of Spaniards between 15 and 29 years old claim to have experienced mental health problems in the last year.
With the aim of raising awareness regarding the benefits of animals on the emotional health of adolescents and specifically, regarding the role of dogs and cats as a source of social support, the Affinity Foundation wanted to publicize the stories of Noa and María, two young people for whom coexistence and the bond created with their animals has been a fundamental part of recovering from the difficult problems they faced during their adolescence.
Noa is currently 17 years old and suffered bullying at the beginning of her adolescence, which led to a spiral of self-harm that culminated in two suicide attempts. Her relationship with her dogs Gaspar and Valder was vital when it came to overcoming this very complicated moment in her life: «Gaspar was like a diary for me; I felt like I was telling him what was happening to me, as if I were writing, and that he wasn’t judging me. Valder, from the beginning he made me feel very special, he brightens my day and makes me wake up in a good mood. The two have been key to getting out of that loop of discomfort and now I look much better,” she explains. Noa also highlights the role of her mother and Maribel Vila, from the Affinity Foundation, who is training her as a Technician in Animal Assisted Therapies since Noa, in the future, would like to work with adolescents and help them overcome their problems.
For her part, María Crivillé, 18, also suffered bullying, which led her to suffer from an eating disorder from the age of 11. For her, “animals are family, they are friends and they are home. For me, my dogs were another type of medication throughout the entire process. When I cry they sit next to me and shake me, and they don’t leave until I say enough is enough. I think that, if they have been a very good therapy for me, they can also be for others,” she says. Currently, María also has a degree in Animal Intervention Technician and an intermediate degree in Care for people with disabilities.
Benefits of interacting with dogs and cats
The positive effects that contact with animals can have on the emotional health of adolescents have been scientifically proven. «The ability of companion animals to help and provide unconditional support becomes especially important when, for various reasons, the person’s network of contacts is reduced or compromised, something that is common in this digital age dominated by screens» , says Jaume Fatjó, director of the Affinity Animals and Health Foundation Chair at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. And he adds: «For these young people, contact with animals not only provides them with instant support, due to the fact that it is someone who does not judge them and is always available, but it also promotes interaction with other people, which makes May your social network be enriched.
Dogs and cats, therefore, represent a secure attachment figure for adolescents that positively influences feelings of anxiety and depression and the perception of loneliness, which strengthens them when facing situations that may be difficult for them. difficult. «In addition, at a time when it sometimes seems that we are more focused on ourselves than on others, the fact of living with an animal, which demands your care and has its needs, reveals the human capacity to help and receiving help from others, which makes adolescents feel useful, strengthens their self-esteem and self-acceptance, has more desire to relate to other people and, consequently, improves their emotional health,” declares Jaume Fatjó.
The studies carried out to date indicate that the effects of living with animals depend, however, on the particularities of each adolescent and the environment in which they live. “So, although interaction with dogs and cats has very clear benefits, we should not consider it as a sole solution for the emotional and mental health problems of young people,” explains Jaume Fatjó.
Social support
The Affinity Foundation wants to focus its activity on disseminating the figure of companion animals as a source of social support for people. The concept “social support” includes the set of interactions, relationships and resources that a person receives from their social environment, including their family, friends, co-workers, and the community in general. This support can be emotional, instrumental or merely informational, and is intended to help you in times of need, stress or difficulty. Social support can be articulated in a variety of ways, from offering advice, providing practical help, showing empathy and understanding, or simply listening and being present during difficult times.
A good source of social support is one that is always available, is close from an emotional point of view, and offers the possibility of physical contact. Pets satisfy these demands almost perfectly and, for this reason, they are so valued by people as members of their family and social environment. But they not only complete this social support network but also promote it and act as social catalysts for the person to create and strengthen social relationships with other people.
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