Their presence helps at all ages: they are a stimulus to go out for the elderly and turn into tireless playmates for children. Many studies have shown how much living with a pet helps in situations of psychological and physical distress. New research carried out by the University of the Basque Country has developed a program involving dogs for the prevention of suicidal behavior by young people between the ages of 14 and 17. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), suicide is the fourth leading cause of death in the age group between 15 and 29, after road accidents, tuberculosis and interpersonal violence.
I study
The sample examined was made up of 30 adolescents (11 boys and 19 girls) from northern Spain. At the end of the therapeutic path, the boys not only showed a lower tendency to take their own life and self-harm, but also a greater propensity to seek help in case of need. The emotional and psychological closure that begins in adolescence is very difficult to scratch, a strong form of discomfort that has increased dramatically during the lockdown. And where parents, relatives, friends fail, a dog can succeed. What extraordinary potential do our four-legged friends have? According to the doctor Francesca Mugnaiexpert in animal assisted interventions, head of the IAA at the Meyer University Hospital in Florence, “contact with animals awakens us emotionally”.
“Young people, especially after this long pandemic, have more difficulties in social relationships. On a personal level, the animal creates a different, immediate and unfiltered communication, operating on emotional mechanisms that are produced and developed within the relationship itself. with related psychological and neuro-endocrinological changes “, explains Dr. Mugnai, who is also scientific director of the Antropozoa Research Center.
Over the years, many researches have been carried out that have shown how the bond with the animal stimulates oxytocin, also known as the hormone of love or attachment, because it acts on the behaviors that mediate social relationships, stimulates bonds and contrasts cortisol, the stress hormone. “His (the dog’s) is a direct and empathic stimulus that encourages a relational engagement in a dimension of reciprocity through non-verbal signals such as wagging the tail, looking for a caress, attempting contact. This happens more when the animal is educated to do so. , as in the case of research, but spontaneity is also necessary. It does nothing but highlight our emotions: it awakens us emotionally when we cannot imagine a project, and we are hopeless “.
Favored bonds and trust
The research found that suicidal young people are often unable to express their emotional distress and are also reluctant to ask for help. Including animals in the treatment has led to greater adherence to the type of care, created a climate of trust and fostered bonds. The dogs that participated in the project were chosen by a team of veterinarians and prepared for their task. At the same time, all necessary measures have been taken to safeguard them.
The main role they played was to encourage socialization and provide reassurance: when a participant shared difficult-to-express emotions associated with a suicide crisis situation, the animal acted as a multisensory mediator, while transmitting at the same time a sense of calm and making physical contact felt, thus aiding emotional regulation. Dogs have also been fundamental as distractions during the most severe crises, and this has allowed young people to learn about the warning signs of suicide and implement strategies to defend themselves.
Another recent study, carried out in Canada, showed how helpful dogs can also be in visits for those in the emergency room. Their presence helps to decrease anxiety and depression. According to Dr. Mugnai, the advances that can be achieved are many: “they concern the easing of mental and emotional pain both in the most fragile subjects, and in subjects with chronic diseases such as cystic fibrosis, diabetes and other important pathologies”. Relating to an animal stimulates empathy: “it leads to the control of one’s own aggression and of one’s ruminating and repetitive thoughts, activates not only an emotional dimension, but also a cognitive and psychomotor one. The positive effects then concern the area of socialization, cognitive, emotional and also in motor rehabilitation: the animal acts as an important motivator for psychophysical recovery “.
From animal to man
Patients develop a relationship with the dog, but how does this trust go from the four-legged friend to the human reference? “Through the relationship that the animal is able to structure also thanks to the secure and co-regulated attachment with the person it is close to”, explains Francesca Mugnai. “Fundamental in this sense is the team that works with the dog and the operator with whom it creates a path of life, work, care and trust, a secure basis that acts as a relational model for those who benefit from the intervention: all assisted interventions must in fact be carried out in a structured and shared way among the various disciplines that belong to them in a project of humanization of care “. So a group of people who not only follow the pathological aspect of the disease but also the personal one of the patient, leaving the animal to create a simple relationship of trust that brings complex and lasting responses.
The end of the path
One would think that, at the end of a course of treatment, the separation from the four-legged friend could be very painful and create imbalances in an emotionally fragile personality. “The animal also helps in an emotional separation, such as that which occurs during hospital stays. As the operators of the place where the treatment was received are greeted, the animal is also greeted and thanked for having had a therapeutic function and with to whom an important relationship has been built, which also becomes a model of psychosocial learning. His memory is an example and a stimulus “.
That climate of security and self-confidence that the dog has managed to create not only drives away suicidal ideas but helps to enter the social context in a more serene way. And then, who knows, after this experience maybe someone decides to go to the kennel and adopt a new friend, who certainly will not be “perfect” like the one known in the ward, but can become a fantastic companion in life and in new adventures.