The Cure for Holiday Season Stress

by Stephanie Feldstein · 2009-12-17 09:00:00 UTC
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With Christmas only a week away, people are feeling the crunch of the holiday season and everything it brings with it, including stress and depression. Factors such as overscheduling, overindulging, and Seasonal Affective Disorder all contribute to the majority of the population feeling stressed out right about now.

Except those of us who live with animals might be doing a bit better than the average person.

When you share your home with a dog or a cat, you have one of the best known stress-relievers by your side to get you through the holiday blues. Study after study has shown that animals are the perfect antidote to all kinds of stress and health problems, and they practically specialize in the ones that crop up this time of year.

Holiday Chaos: People react to stressful situations better when their pets are around than when they're with their best friends or spouses, so who better to go home to after fighting holiday crowds? Having animals to take care of also helps keep holiday plans in check: they need you to take a break from your busy schedule to retreat back home and spend time with them. Even better, when you walk your dog you get the two-in-one stress relief of being with your companion and exercising.

Living Too Large: Studies throughout the years have shown that pets can lower your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and triglyceride levels. People with animals tend to make fewer visits to their family doctors and, when they do get sick, they recover faster. It's not just about staying healthy in the face of holiday indulgences -- all of these benefits help you save money, too. Walking your dog will also give you (and him) a head start on those getting-in-shape New Year's Resolutions.

Feeling Sad and Alone: Pets help people relate to others, and taking your dog out keeps you from spending all of your time alone indoors. Time with a dog relieved loneliness for nursing home patients even better than having people around. AIDS patients were less likely to suffer from depression when they had a companion animal in their lives.

If you don't have any pets of your own, you can reap a lot of these benefits by volunteering at your local animal shelter. Even if you do have your own companions, the homeless animals in your community could probably use a little extra love to keep away their holiday season blues! Research has shown that even short term exposure to dogs and cats makes a difference (that's why therapy dogs are so important). Or you can bring a foster animal into your home for a little more intense "therapy" for both of you.

Photo credit: SuperFantastic

Stephanie Feldstein is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.
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