Service Dogs for OCD: How Can They Help?
Humans and dogs share a very close and special bond that allows them to benefit from each other. Service dogs, in particular, can be helpful to our physical and mental well-being. They also help people suffering from mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, and even OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder).
Sometimes the calming effects of service dogs are more beneficial to individuals with OCD than relying their treatments solely on medication. Believe it or not, the mere presence of dogs can significantly make you feel loved and comfortable, especially during the most challenging times of your life.
What is OCD?
OCD is a mental disorder that causes a pattern of unwanted thoughts, ideas, fears, or sensations (obsessions) that lead you to do repetitive behaviors (compulsions) to achieve temporary relief from anxiety. When these obsessions and compulsions become severe enough to interfere with your daily activities, they can cause significant distress and result in a poor quality of life.
Attempting to ignore your obsessions will only exacerbate the situation and lead to more distress and anxiety. You may try to ease your stress by giving in to your urges to perform compulsive acts, but the effects will not last very long. These obsessions and compulsions will keep coming back despite your efforts to get rid of them, which leads to the vicious cycle of OCD.
OCD Signs and Symptoms
Every individual is unique and will have different responses when faced with mental health conditions. Therefore, no two people will have the same experiences, and symptoms may vary across the OCD spectrum.
Here are a few examples of obsessions signs and symptoms:
- Feeling intense stress when objects aren’t orderly or facing a certain way
- Worries about yourself or other people getting hurt
- Fear of being contaminated by people or the things they’ve touched
- Unpleasant sexual images
- Doubts about turning the cooker off or locking the door
Some of the typical compulsion signs and symptoms include:
- Need to arrange and order things a certain way
- Constantly asking for reassurance
- Constant cleaning and hand-washing
- Thinking of “neutralizing” thoughts to counter unpleasant images in your head
- Repeatedly checking if the doors are locked or if the gas is off
How Can Service Dogs Help
Experts believe that dogs have a sixth sense that allows them to determine when you’re stressed or tensed. Dogs are also emotional and are more than capable of showing care, concern, and attentiveness through body language and voice. That said, here are a few ways service dogs can help with OCD:
- Pressure and Warmth Stimulation, Tactile Stimulation, and Deep Pressure Therapy - Service dogs know how to apply deep pressure stimulation on their handler’s chest or lap. This technique can help OCD individuals feel more grounded, regulate emotions, offer a therapeutic diversion to a crisis, or simply provide comfort.
- Grounding or Anchoring - Anxiety, phobias, and other types of distress can make you feel trapped in your mind. Practicing grounding techniques can help bring your focus to your physical existence or surroundings. A service dog can help ground their handler through tactile contact, pressure treatment, interaction, or any other therapeutic means to help calm their handler.
- Medical Alert or Reminder - A service dog, particularly a psychiatric service dog, undergoes special training to detect the early stages of a health emergency, such as changes in breathing patterns, increased heart rate, or imminent muscle spasms. When a service dog senses their handler is experiencing any of these medical episodes, they will alert them to prevent further complications.
In addition, they can also remind their handlers whenever it’s time to take medications, go to bed, or perform other daily routines throughout the day.
Dogs are adorable creatures that can make anyone feel special and loved. Owning and caring for a service dog can be very therapeutic, especially for people with OCD. Service dogs don’t only offer companionship crucial for your social life, but they can also help manage your OCD and prevent your disorder from interfering with your daily activities.
If you have OCD and want to continue living independently without compromising your quality of life, consider applying to own a service dog and let them guide you on your recovery journey.
Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.
The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.
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