Psst! Brains! I'm over here! Over to your right! Drag your screen! Over to the right! I'm over here! Is this cool or what? Okay, that's the last time I'll make you do this, but feel free to explore the video as we go because the whole thing is in 360! Okay, back to the episode! Last September, Edward and I went down to Costa Rica to visit a free roam, no kill dog sanctuary called Territorio de Zaguates or "Land of the Strays" where you can hike with over 900 dogs! We even got to meet the brain behind it. That's right, I said brain. This is Lya Battle and she has ADHD. You can see the full video we shot for Essential Phones about the Territorio de Zaguates here, also in 360. But I thought, since we have all this cool footage, why not make an episode just for you guys? So here it is! 5 ways dogs help ADHD brains, featuring dogs and cats in 360! If you're here just for the cats, feel free to skip ahead. They're at the end of the video. Full disclaimer, dogs are not doctors, they do not treat ADHD. But they can boost mood and improve quality of life for those of us who have it. Okay, let's do this! 5 ways dogs help with ADHD brains, starting with One: they get you moving. Not only is this a great way to burn off excess hyperactive energy, one of the best things for the ADHD brain is exercise. I talk more about that in this video. And according to research, people who have dogs get more of it. We also get outside more, which is a good thing. Many mental health professionals prescribe green time to help reduce ADHD symptoms. Two: Dogs help build routines. When you have to walk/feed/play with your dog everyday, it gives you a natural structure to build around. Which is great for those of us who both benefit from, and tend to resist keeping, a regular schedule. Unlike your trash bag, your dog will remind you if you forget to take her out. For many of us with ADHD, caring for a dog can lead to a sense of stability, responsibility, and pride, for sticking to something for more than five minutes. I've had my dog for fourteen years, and she wakes me up and gets me to walk her every day. Whether I want to or not. Three: dogs help us socialize. Dogs can help tame social anxiety, and people are also more likely to stop and talk with you if you're out walking a dog. And according to a recent study, dogs can even help us cope with the pain of social rejection, which those of us with ADHD can be particularly.... ...yeah. It happens. The cool thing? It doesn't even have to be your dog! This one'll work! Or this one! How 'bout this one? Researchers found that after experiencing rejection, people felt better when they looked at pictures of dogs and gave them names. The key mechanism behind this seems to be something called anthropomorphism, which means imbuing a dog, or other non-human entity, with human-like qualities. Which makes sense, right? When you think of your dog more like your friend, you feel less lonely. Four: dogs calm us down. Brushing, petting, and playing with dogs can increase serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain, and even lower blood pressure. Study after study has demonstrated dogs' amazing ability to reduce stress and anxiety. Those of us with ADHD tend to deal with stress and overwhelm fairly frequently, as well as emotional dysregulation, which I talk about in this video. Petting your dog can be a great way to self-soothe. Five: Dogs act as a body double. A body double is a term that ADHD experts use to mean somebody who sits quietly with you while you work. Their presence can remind you what you're supposed to be doing, and help you stay focused. Dogs are naturally great for this, because they couldn't talk even if they wanted to! And they've got plenty of time to hang out. Some kids have an easier time doing homework, or even going to sleep, with a dog in the room. Therapy dogs are even brought in to schools specifically to help kids who are struggling to learn how to read. What? How do dogs help kids learn to read? It's easier to practice reading to a dog than a human, because you know you won't be judged. Fun fact: Brandy is in the room every time I shoot. Brandy! Come here baby! Sleeps through the whole thing. Bonus: they give you unconditional love. Which, for those of us who live in a world that doesn't really understand us, can be a really healing thing. Brandy is, for me, what's called an Emotional Support Animal. According to the U.S. Fair Housing Act, anyone who needs an Emotional Support Animal for a condition recognized as an emotional or psychological disability, including ADHD, anxiety, or depression, can have one. They're even allowed to live with you in apartment buildings that wouldn't otherwise allow pets. And they can't charge you pet rent, either. Although, you'll totally have to pay for anything they destroy. (crashing sound)
I got it... And being an Emotional Support animal isn't just limited to dogs. You can have an Emotional Support bird, an Emotional Support rabbit, an Emotional Support llama... ...probably not an emotional support llama. (Llama) Mreeeeeh You can have an Emotional Support cat! We now interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you a 360 degree cat video. (music playing) (meowing) Just remember: there's a huge difference between an emotional support animal like Brandy, and a service dog. Service dogs are highly trained to perform a specific task for somebody with a disability in a variety of different situations. Because of this extensive training, and the tasks their handler counts on them to perform, service dogs have access rights. Which means they can go into public, no-pet places, like grocery stores and restaurants. As tempting as it might be to buy your Emotional Support animal an official-looking service dog vest so you can take them everywhere with you, remember: that hurts people whose lives depend on being able to take their service dog with them at all times. And you're probably gonna get a lot of funny looks if you put it on your cat. Or your llama.
(Llama) Mreeeeeh Especially your llama. That's it for this week. I've linked to a ton more information on emotional support animals in the description below. Please check out these links, because if you just type "Emotional Support Animal" into Google, you're going to run into a lot of scams offering to put your animal on registries that are not actually necessary. And if you enjoyed this episode, and wanna help me make more, consider donating to my Patreon page, like these Brains did. Thank you to all my Patreon Brains for making it so that we have time to start catching up on videos we totally meant to release like, last year, and now have time to work on. See you next week. Bye Brains! I'm not going home. I'm not going home. (outro music)
