To help mitigate this symptom, service dogs perform room searches or safety checks. Hypervigilance is a key symptom of PTSD and is characterized by an extreme sensitivity to one’s surroundings and a sense that a presumed danger is lurking around the corner. They can even turn on the lights to wake the handler and ensure they feel safe. When the dog recognizes these cues, they wake the handler by nudging, licking, or lying on the chest. A service dog recognizes the signs of a handler experiencing a night terror and interrupts it. Night terrors are one form of the intrusion symptom. A service dog is trained to provide a “cushion” between the handler and other people, which helps reduce anxiety and makes them feel safe while in public. One task includes nudging, pawing, or licking the handler until they redirect their focus on the dog instead of on their anxiety.Ī service dog can also help reduce anxiety whenever a handler is in public. There are several ways in which a service animal can mitigate anxiety. This is an important way in which service dogs can help a handler with PTSD reduce anxiety. Psychiatric service dogs are trained to recognize symptoms of anxiety and perform tasks to disrupt anxiety behaviors. ![]() Mitigate Anxiety & Disrupt Anxiety Behaviors Overall, a service animal can help a handler gain confidence and freedom. They also help reduce anxiety and other PTSD symptoms while improving a handler’s coping mechanisms. Having a dog as a companion can be therapeutic and help with feelings of loneliness and isolation. Service animals can give a person a reason to rise out of bed, get some exercise, and take on the day. Service dogs help reduce the symptoms of depression, which helps reduce suicidal thoughts and prevent suicide. ![]() In this post, we will identify six ways that a service animal can help people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and the tasks they perform to do so. A PTSD service dog is a type of psychiatric service dog trained to do work and complete tasks to help mitigate the symptoms of PTSD. Psychiatric service animals are dogs specifically trained to help people with mental health disabilities like schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Using Psychiatric service dogs (PSD) is one way to help people suffering from PTSD. The US Department of Veteran Affairs says Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) “is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault.” PTSD is characterized by symptoms grouped into four main categories: intrusion or re-experiencing, avoidance, alteration in mood and cognition, and hyperarousal.
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