If You Have a Dog, You’re Already Practicing Self-Care

In the day-to-day life of an average adult, free time is a rare experience. We work long days. We have a lot of chores to keep up with. We’re lucky if we can even find time to relax, much less focus on what we can do for ourselves. Our well-being is often not our priority, but if you think about it for a minute,you’re actually putting in more effort than you thought you were.

Imagine you’ve just made it home after a terrible workday. You turn your keys, and as you open the door you hear it: a loud, dramatic cry of pure joy and 4 sleepy paws darting through the house to greet you.

It’s your dog.

You feel your bad day melt away as you’re pummeled by 40lbs of overwhelming affection. You welcome it with open arms and settle in for the nice, relaxing evening that now awaits you. This is self-care.

That might sound more like dog-care, but technically, self-care is any conscious action that elevates your mental, emotional, or physical health. You made a conscious decision to bring a dog into your home. You make conscious decisions every day that have developed the absolute perfect pup for you. That pup lifts your bad moods, gets you out of the house, and makes you feel loved. That, my friends, is self-care.

Benefit #1: Your dog loves the absolute crap out of you, and that makes your heart happy

Did you know our bonds with our dogs are shockingly similar to our bonds with our children? They go straight to our hearts, and mutual love like this works wonders for your well-being.

Emotions born from belly rubs, games of fetch and nighttime cuddles trigger hormones and endorphins that will guide your heavy spirit and lift your mood to wonderful places. When your brain is happy, your heart is happy. You’ll notice the superficial things bringing you down melting away, and your heart will feel full all the time.

Dogs do things every day guaranteed to contribute to this:

Impressing strangers with trick performances

Jumping and tail wagging excitedly when you say “hello”

Chasing squirrels up trees when they can’t climb

Looking at you with sad puppy dog eyes when they want your snack

If you aren’t a believer in the heart-healing qualities of our canine friends, try to convince me that dogs don’t at least make you smile. Scratch that, convince yourself. Go hang out with a dog. Take in all the innocent, utter joy that’s somehow pouring out of them all the time. You will smile, and smiling is a surefire way to trick your brain into making you feel happier. A solid prank to pull on yourself.

Benefit #2: Your dog gets you off the couch and out of the house. You need that.

Your dog loves to be outside and they want you to go with them. You will go with them because you love your dog and you want them to be happy. Exercise for them is less negotiable than it is for us. I mean this in the context that if they don’t exercise, they’ll likely spend the day super grumpy. They might chew on something they shouldn’t. I, a human, think casual exercise is a nightmare, but I make it through the day just fine without breaking anything.

If you’re like me, you probably come up with a lot of excuses for not exercising. Why go for a walk if you have nowhere to go? Isn’t it easier to save yourself the out-of-shape embarrassment of jogging in public? What’s the point of going to the gym if your life doesn’t require any heavy-lifting? Now, go look your dog in their sad, adorable eyes and let them give you that motivational push (or aggressive tug) you’ve been waiting for.

I try to take my dog on walks that last about an hour every day. Throughout our time together, I’ve noticed that she has the best time when we go out into the trails so I try to take her there as much as I can. It’s great for me as well. Like other humans, nature does some beautiful things for my mental health.

Even light exercise like walking can release the endorphins you need to have a better day, and this is not dependent on the woods. You can reap these benefits anywhere, even in the city. All you need is a few deep breaths of that fresh, clean air. If you’re feeling ambitious, kick up your heart health too and go for a run together. It’s easier and exponentially more fun with a partner.

Being in the woods and hanging out by the water gives me the space I need to unwind, untangle my thoughts, and get some much needed fresh air into my system. Not only that, but my pup is a very curious creature. Giving in to her leash pulls every once in a while has allowed me to find new paths and areas that I never would have known existed otherwise. She is a walking adventure and I am here for it.

Benefit #3: Your dog structures your life in ways you probably don’t realize with their daily routines

After having a dog for a while, your day will start to revolve around their needs. Maybe they’re on a feeding schedule, or always have to go out for a pee at 6:30 in the morning. Eventually, a routine will form.

Having a routine is tremendously helpful for feeling productive, safe, secure, and prepared for the day ahead. They take away a need to plan. They create structure and help to instill good habits. All these things alleviate stress and provide enormous advantages to confidence and self-esteem.

Personally, I find the feeling of productivity takes away a lot of my daily anxiety. Someone’s asking me what I’ve been up to? I can definitely answer that, with excruciating detail. I am an organized adult woman with lots of things to do. Most of what I tell you may be dog related, but I have no shame in that. I’m being social, and that makes me confident.

Even if you can’t make a habit stick, or you feel like no other part of your life is organized, you can say with certainty that at 8 am and 7 pm you will be filling a food bowl. At 11 am you’ll be going for an adventurous hike through the wilderness behind your house. At 9 pm you’ll be running around the block for a quick bathroom break before bedtime. It’s weird, but it’s comforting. After a while, without even trying, you’ll practice other parts of your life into a routine as well. You’ll be living a more structured, lower stress day. Your mental health will thank you.

Benefit #4: Your dog is a living thing. Taking care of them gives you an extraordinary sense of purpose

Going for daily walks, feeding, and grooming your dog are all huge responsibilities. They both structure your life and work to build upon your innate sense of purpose. Having one of these is monumental for your mental health and has even been linked to decreased mortality. Caring for your dog can literally help you live longer.

Since we brought my dog home I no longer sleep in until lunchtime on my days off because I have a reason to get up now. I wake up every morning for her, and after our walk and some fresh air, I’m super ready to take on my day and do things for myself. These are feelings I tend to be missing on the off days that I skip our morning walk, and without my dog, I’d be going for morning walks never.

Building a sense of purpose takes a little more than getting dinner on the table or going to work every day. According to Psychology Today, the 3 ingredients you need are to feel like you’re progressing, achieving, or completing something. Every day with your dog you are growing as a dog owner. You’re reaching new levels in your bond, and you do things that you may not have done otherwise. You’re progressing. Achieving. Completing.

Your Dog is Self-Care

You might be thinking that this is not helpful to any deeper issues that I should be confronting, that my dog is just a distraction. Maybe you’re right, self-care should be about facing your deepest insecurities and working to overcome them. While this may not quite hit that level, it does help. Self-care is not a one-thing-cures-all concept.

My dog has illuminated my life and caused a crazy productive chain reaction. I get out of bed earlier for her, I get out of the house and get some light activity in. That activity releases endorphins that perk up my mood and motivate me to do more when we get home. I put more time into hobbies and more effort into exercise. I work harder to keep my house clean because I feel better about myself, and I want to live in a space that shows that.

When you do things that lift your moods, make your days less dreadful, or benefit your physical health, you are practicing self-care. You may see your walks, routines, or poop-scooping as things you only do for your dog but you are also doing them for yourself. They’re an investment in your long-term happiness, even if you may not realize it.

Your dog is self-care.

This article was originally published on Medium