Last week, I wrote about how getting an Emotional Support Animal was a bad choice on my part, and while there are so many struggles attached to getting an ESA, I know that Daisy is such an important part of me and my health.

When I started college, I finally discovered a name to all the problems that I had experienced throughout school. I got to campus the first day and was loving it, taking in all the new freedoms I would soon experience. The second day, it all hit me, all the freedoms I would soon experience. I went to the nurse on campus seriously feeling as if I was dying. After a series of tests ruling out actual medical illnesses treatable with medication, we settled on this being anxiety. Finally I had a name. It would not go away over night but there was a sign of hope, I knew what I was experiencing.

Kicking and screaming, I began taking medication to help control the day to day hormone imbalances which caused the anxiety attacks but that was still not enough. There was still something missing to help reduce the day to day attacks. My counselor brought her cat to the office and I played with him. I looked forward to our meetings knowing I would get to cuddle with the fluffiest cats in existence. She was the one who suggested an Emotional Support Animal.

Once my ESA, Daisy was on campus, there was an immediate change and improvement. I was able to finally make it all the way through class. I was able to make it through meals and events on campus. Having anxiety was debilitating to me, but once I got Daisy, I was able to function as a normal human being again.

I needed Daisy, she ensured that I had something else to think about rather than the stressful life of a college student. She was a beneficial distraction that helps me to forget about my struggles and instead I think about her. When I have an anxiety attack, Daisy is the one I want to go to because she knows how to help me. She reads me like a book and when an attack strikes, she appears in my lap and either falls asleep or she has been known to begin petting my arm like I pet her as well.

Daisy has become an important part of my life and will forever be important in my life. I will always be a strong supporter of Emotional Support Animals as long as they are used properly and not just taken advantage of. There are people in my life that I recommend ESA’s for due to their own mental health, and others I feel would just take advantage of having a pet. The stigma of improper Emotional Support Animals disproves and desensitizes the need for proper ESA’s and the medical need for them.

Daisy, and many other ESA’s, have a proper use in various fields of life: medical, educational, etc. Without the ability to have ESA’s, many peoples lives would not be able to function and our ability to produce at out best ability goes down due to a decrease in our mental health.

Therefore, an Emotional Support Animal was one of my better decisions in regards to my health, but they may not be the best decision for everyone. Make the best, most educated decision for yourself and your health, but take into account the additional work that goes into having an ESA.