Approximately 20% of all Americans deployed in the Middle East in the last two decades are experiencing PTSD. This is a huge problem for them individually and for the healthcare and support system in general. Additionally, their families are also in a situation where they want to help their loved ones but are often unable to do so.
Recent studies have shown that the issue is improved when veterans spend some time with service animals. Specifically, those that received service dogs reported lesser degrees of depression and anxiety.
Key Takeaways:
- For PTSD, service dogs may work in situations where talk therapy and medication fail.
- PTSD sufferers are often startled by unexpected approaches, but service dogs can provide cover.
- One downside of service dogs is they may draw undesired attention to the veteran.
“The most common tasks include helping veterans remain calm and interrupting their anxiety. The veterans said they are asking their dogs to calm or comfort them from anxiety five times per day and that their dogs independently interrupted their anxiety three times per day on average.”
