How Caring for Pets and Plants Impacts Your Health and Happiness

Thrive • Feb 20, 2022

From dogs and cats to window boxes of succulents and gardens full of green beans, caring for both pets and plants has the power to uplift your mental and emotional health. Below, we explore the ways caring for pets and plants can benefit your well-being.

ENVIRONMENT

Your environment affects your mood. By enhancing air quality and adding aesthetically pleasing elements to your environment, plants can make any space feel more welcoming and alive. Scientists continue to compile evidence that supports that exposure to nature can lower stress, increase focus, raise spirits, increase empathy, and even reduce the risk of psychiatric disorders. Whether you’re bringing the outdoors indoors or getting your hands into the earth in a backyard garden, you’re inviting nature to nurture you.

Additionally, having a friendly furball by your side or loving pet underfoot can welcome positive energy to your entire home.

COMFORT AND COMPANIONSHIP

“Pets and plants can elevate a person’s mood by decreasing cortisol levels, serving as a source of comfort, and increasing feelings of support,” said Thrive Reno’s Eating Disorder Program Clinical Lead and Therapist Mollie Pierce, MA, LCPC, NCC.

The love between pets, plants, and their caretakers is uncomplex and unconditional. This kind of companionship, most notably between pets and their owners, can help individuals cope with feelings of stress, anxiety , loneliness, and depression .

PURPOSE

Both pets and plants offer their caretakers a sense of purpose. Knowing your cat is waiting for you to pour kibble into its dish gives you a daily reason to rise and shine every morning. As for plants, watering them regularly and tending to their soil offers a similar sense of caregiving. Guarding your garden from critters and winterizing your roses can make you feel essential to their protection.

“By providing you with an added sense of meaning, pets and plants can keep you from feeling listless, increase your energy levels, and boost your overall productivity. Additionally, taking care of your pets and plants can be a reminder to care for yourself ,” Pierce explained.

MINDFULNESS

Practicing mindfulness can help reduce stress, improve focus, and regulate your emotions , among other benefits. Mindful moments spent with plants and pets encourage you to practice awareness and allow you to collect your thoughts. Breathing in the scent of lavender or eucalyptus, noticing the tilt of your elephant ear plant’s leaves, or taking your dog on a stroll around the park can allow you to arrive in and embrace the present moment.

SOCIAL

Upon becoming a plant or pet owner, you’ll be more likely to meet new people on dog walks and make new friends at plant exchanges. By connecting with other plant enthusiasts and pet lovers, you can foster a community that can broaden your sense of belonging, support, and purpose .

SYMBOLISM

Caring for your plants can inspire you to trim off elements of your life that aren’t serving you, like pulling the weeds of negative self-talk and planting seeds of positivity in their place. Gardening can also encourage you to pay attention to your own surroundings and adjust your environment as needed for continued growth. As for pets, afternoon cat naps can remind you that it’s okay to relax, playful pups can persuade you to indulge your inner-child, and all cuddly pets can encourage you to keep your heart open.

A PLACE TO GROW

At Thrive, we’re all for the flourishing nature of plants, growing where you’re planted, and thriving instead of settling for just surviving. We also love furry friends and the way their distinct personalities can give us joy. Healing and maintaining your mental and emotional health involves more than just caring for plants and pets, however.

If you’re seeking to cultivate a greater sense of happiness in your life, our therapists can help. We believe thriving means nurturing your mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Reach out to learn more about our therapeutic services .

The post How Caring for Pets and Plants Impacts Your Health and Happiness first appeared on Thrive Wellness.

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Clean House, Healthy Mind: Spring Cleaning Benefits for Mental Health

By Sage Tippie • 23 Apr, 2024

Spring Cleaning Benefits for Mental Health Spring is a time of new beginnings, change, and transitions, including in our homes. With the warmer weather kicking motivation into high gear, Spring can be a prime time to do a deep clean. Not only is a clean space aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but it can also help to improve your mental health. Learn about how tidying up your space can also tidy up your thoughts below along with tips for cleaning when you’re struggling with your mental health. 4 Reasons Why Cleaning is Beneficial to Mental health 1.Decreased Stress Not only does an uncluttered space provide a sense of calm, but the physical act of cleaning can release feel-good endorphins, reducing feelings of stress and anxiety. As you cross tasks off your checklist, your body also releases Dopamine. Also known as the “happy hormone”, Dopamine provides a sense of accomplishment and pride that can promote motivation in other areas of our lives. 2. Improved Focus Studies have shown that an uncluttered space can also lead to an uncluttered mind. Your focus can be drawn away from important tasks by a chaotic, messy space. Research has also shown a connection between procrastination and clutter, as an unwillingness to tackle larger chores like cleaning can translate over into various areas of our lives. By keeping your space tidy, it can inspire you to stay on top of other major tasks like work and school assignments. 3. Regulated Emotions According to this 2015 study , cleaning can function as a practice in mindfulness, providing an increased sense of calm and inspiration. Slowing down while cleaning gives you room to relax and free your mind of burdens, stressors, and irritants that can affect your mental health. Cleaning can even be considered a practice of self-care as the action helps you to connect with yourself and the outcome allows you to better enjoy your own space. 4. Sense of Order and Control When experiencing mental health struggles, people may feel a lack of control over their lives and emotions. Cleaning even small areas of the home can provide an increased sense of order and control as you cross tasks off your to-do list. Through realizing your own power by simply completing minor tasks like cleaning, it can reaffirm your ability to do more. 10 Tips for Cleaning When Struggling with Mental Health Mental health struggles and disorders commonly create barriers to one’s ability to clean and properly practice personal hygiene. Although these behaviors are normal side effects of mental health disorders, we want to work to aid our clients in cleaning to the best of their ability even in difficult times. Below, Thrive Wellness occupational therapist Meadow Deason shares some helpful tips she gives to clients when they struggle with cleaning due to mental health conditions: 1.Ask For Help Having support to clean can make a huge difference. Do the cleaning with the person helping you and have them hold you accountable. 2. Don't Wait for Motivation Motivation might not come before action, but it can build as you begin to see the results of your efforts. 3. Start Small Start with one area or one task and go from there. For example, concentrate on your bedroom first and then move on to the living room and bathroom. 4. Do Something Daily Even if you do only one small cleaning task a day, doing that one task creates momentum and prevents small tasks from building up and becoming overwhelming. 5. Use Sensory Modulation Change your environment by playing music, adjusting the lighting, or using aromatherapy. This can help to put you in a new headspace for cleaning. 6. Start with "High Impact" Tasks Start with more intensive or all-over cleaning tasks such as picking up clutter or doing the dishes. The visual "noise" of some tasks makes a large impact on the entire space, building motivation to continue cleaning. 7. Make a To-Do List Write a detailed to-do list of tasks and cross them off as you go. Physically marking down what you’ve accomplished can promote increased motivation. 8. Reward Yourself Set up a reward system where you reward yourself with a favorite activity or item when you complete a task as an incentive to clean. 9. Use the Rocket Method Don't think about it, just choose a task, countdown from five or ten and then start. This can help you to avoid potential anxiety and dread that can prevent you from cleaning. 10. Gamify Tasks Make up a game for your tasks or time yourself to promote increased engagement in cleaning. Your ability to complete tasks can be affected by a multitude of different factors and conditions including OCD , anxiety, depression , ADHD , and more. If you are struggling with motivation due to your mental health, help is here at Thrive Wellness.

child getting bandaid from doctor while mother smiles

The Importance of Whole Family Primary Care: A Q&A with Dr. Stephanie Wright

26 Mar, 2024

By serving the whole family, physicians are able to have a better understanding of family dynamics, family health care goals, and history of disease in the family.