Get Familiar With These Top Facts About ESAs

We all love our pets unconditionally! Sometimes I feel, these creatures are on Earth to bring joy and happiness to our lives. And in return, all they ask for is our love, care, and affection. You must have heard about emotional support animals or ESAs. But are you familiar with what emotional support animal letter (ESA letter) is? ESA doctors in NY can help you get your ESA letter if you qualify for one. But there are a lot of things that people are confused about when it comes to emotional support animals.

Well, you can clear all your confusions by learning the most common facts about emotional support animals. Even if you are familiar with the basics of ESAs, there are plenty of things that you might not be familiar with. ESAs can help you with a variety of problems including ADHD, stress, anxiety, panic attacks, and many more. So, here are the top things that you probably didn’t know about emotional support animals.

Fact 1. You Need an ESA Letter From a Licensed Therapist

Many people still are not familiar with the fact that emotional support animals are part of a licensing process. If you want to qualify, a mental health professional has to submit a letter that includes your condition. The letter should also include a diagnosis that’s defined in DSM V. There are many conditions that can qualify you to get an emotional support animal. These include depression, PTSD, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and many more.

Fact 2. You Can Choose Any Kind of Animal to be Your Emotional Support Animal

What animals come to your mind when you hear about emotional support animals? A dog, probably, or a cat maybe. While dogs and cats are the most popular choices for emotional support animals, they are not the only kind of animals that can become an ESA. But the animal should be of a reasonable size and temperament.

Some of the best choices for emotional support animals, other than dogs and cats include – birds, hamsters, rabbits, hedgehogs, pigs, and more. The only thing that you have to take care of is that your animal is of reasonable size and temperament for this job. There are certain reasonable limits when it comes to what kind of animals can become ESAs. For instance, you may find it challenging to make a scorpion or a tarantula your emotional support animal.

Fact 3. Emotional Support Animals Are Just a Part of a Treatment Plan

Emotional support animals help their owners in progressing in moving forward with their lives. But, these beautiful animals are not a cure-all. While they will surely provide you critical comfort and support when you need them, they are not a cure-all. These animals are there for therapy. And similar to medication, therapy is also part of a larger psychological treatment plan.

For many people, emotional support animals can even become more effective than medication. This is especially true for people dealing with depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues. Recovering from some complex psychological illness can be intense, and these animals can help you get through it.

Fact 4. The Fair Housing Act

If you have an emotional support animal letter, you can even live in a house that has a “no pets” policy. This is because of the Fair Housing Act that allows anyone with an ESA letter to live with their ESA. The Fair Housing Act does not allow limiting housing based on various factors. These include race, national origin, color, and disability. Thanks to that last provision, a landlord can not discriminate against anyone due to a mental disability.

Fact 5. ESAs And Service Animals Are Not The Same

This is one of the biggest confusion that people have. You must understand that ESAs are different from service animals. ESAs do not require any special training, while service animals get special training for their jobs. These animals are there for emotional comfort and support but are not classified as service animals.