The Importance of an ESA

This is my cat George, an emotional support animal.

Greetings! It's me again. Today, I would like to talk a little bit about my cat George. To you, he may seem like an ordinary cat. To me, he makes life a little more tolerable and easier. George is an Emotional Support Animal also known as an ESA. 

According to UMass Chan Medical School, “An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is an animal that provides a therapeutic benefit (e.g., emotional support, comfort, companionship) to a person with a mental health or psychiatric disability (such as a serious mental health condition).”  My therapist prescribed me with George to help with struggles I face as someone with Bipolar 2 Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. George isn’t trained to perform any tasks, he was just a stray that I brought into my life. However, his presence is enough to make life easier. 

George may not be trained, but he goes above and beyond my expectations. He knows when I have a serious depressive episode. When I’m upset in bed, he curls up to me or “makes biscuits” and starts purring. His purrs help me find peace. Fun fact about cat purrs, studies have shown that their purrs are healing to humans! They help with stress, anxiety, heal infections, and even heal bones (Ranard)! Being able to pet George and hear him purr makes life easier when I have my depressive episodes and anxiety and makes it easier to bounce back. In general, studies have shown that pets decrease cortisol, lower blood pressure, reduce loneliness, and improve mood (News in Health). 

People tend to confuse George for a service animal. Well, he’s not. There are many difference between a service animal and an emotional support animal: 

What this means for George, he’s literally just there for support. He may have his own task to calm me down with cuddles and purrs, but he wasn’t trained to do that. Even if he were to get trained, my therapist and I have determined that my mental health isn’t so bad to have a service animal. However, I was able to get George to live with me on campus. My school is required to allow me to have George at school. With school being especially stressful, having George with me is essential. As for home, if I decided to rent a place with a no pet policy, they are still required to let me bring him. This is all thanks to the no housing act! As for traveling, the only time George goes anywhere is when he's coming home or to college with me and vet visits. As nice as it would be to bring George anywhere, it’s not logical because 1. He’s not a service animal. 2. He’s not trained for it and 3. He’s only a cat too and can get stressed out like us humans. 

I hope you learned about how important Emotional Support Animals are through my story. Feel free to comment below sharing your story with an emotional support animal or even a service animal!

Some articles I referenced in this post: 

• https://www.umassmed.edu/TransitionsACR/resources/emotional-support-animals-101/#:~:text=An%20Emotional%20Support%20Animal%20(ESA)%20is%20an%20animal%20that%20provides,a%20serious%20mental%20health%20condition). 

• https://www.akcreunite.org/catsimprovementalhealth/?srsltid=AfmBOoqTfVUtG1Mt_cXIprkzashw9EypMkyEu8xZuqp8F6BIyYRTHTG1 

• https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2018/02/power-pets