Pets May Not Boost Our Mental Health As Much As We Thought, As A Recent Study Revealed Pet Owners Actually Had Slightly Higher Levels Of Anxiety And Depression

This does not mean that your precious pup or kitten is bad for your mental health, but having a pet also does not quickly solve mental health struggles. There were some positive findings from the study, though.

Dog owners were more likely to engage in regular exercise, with 40 percent reporting daily or near-daily exercise in comparison to 35 percent of non-dog owners.

For people living alone, dog and cat ownership were linked to slightly lower levels of loneliness, suggesting that pets offer some comfort for those who don’t get much social interaction every day.

Another surprising discovery was that people who adopted pets during the pandemic did not show any major improvements in their mental health compared to those who didn’t. But why didn’t getting a pet make people’s mental health significantly better?

While pets can give you a sense of purpose and companionship, they also come with extra responsibilities.

Pet care, access to a veterinarian, and financial concerns, especially during a pandemic, can add more stress to pet ownership.

Overall, it is clear that human-animal relationships are more complicated than previously believed, and we cannot assume that all pet ownership leads to positive well-being, as there are many other factors at play.

The study was published in Mental Health & Prevention.