In the United States, almost 1 in every 5 people suffers from some sort of mental health disorder.
While many of these issues can be overcome with proper medication and care, for the 4% suffering from severe or debilitating mental health issues. every day can be a battle.
Anxiety and panic attacks can strike without warning, leaving a person feeling terrified and confused. “People experiencing a panic attack may believe they are having a heart attack or they are dying or going crazy. The fear and terror that a person experiences during a panic attack are not in proportion to the true situation and may be unrelated to what is happening around them,” WebMD explains.
When it comes to panic attacks, the experience isn’t just mental.
During an episode, one often experiences a racing heart, dizziness, chest pains, sweats and/or chills, and breathing difficulties. What the person is feeling is a complete loss of control. Generally, a person who has one panic attack is more likely to have another. Once this pattern begins, it makes people with the disorder feel even more anxious and fearful because they’re never sure when the next attack will strike.
As time goes on, an increasing amount of people are using psychiatric service dogs and emotional support animals to help deal with anxiety and panic attacks.
Service dogs are dogs that are specifically trained to help a person accomplish necessary tasks and help protect them from harm. These tasks could be anything from bringing medication or a phone during an attack, to providing tactile stimulation in the form of kisses and cuddles. An emotional support animal is different from a service dog in that they are not specially trained. For the most part, emotional support animals help comfort their owners simply by means of their presence.
Most recently, the world fell in love with a support dog named Oakley after seeing a video of the sweet canine comforting his owner before one of her panic attacks.
Oakley is a 5-year-old support dog that lives with his owner Amber Oliver in Massachusetts. Amber is a certified dog trainer who has a history of anxiety, and after working extensively with Oakley, she taught him to pick up on the signs of a panic attack.
Oakley detects changes in Amber’s body temperature and heart rate that signify she may be on the verge of an attack— and then he helps comfort her and prevent it.
In footage filmed at the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky International Airport, you see Oakley cueing into Amber’s anxiety and rushing over to comfort her by rubbing up on her legs and getting her attention. According to the video’s description, Amber said:
“Oakley helps me every single day. Oakley is always watching and paying attention to me, making sure to help me whenever needed. “
Since being uploaded to YouTube a few weeks ago, Amber’s video has garnered over 100,000 views.
People love the way Oakley helps and comforts her, writing comments such as:
“So beautiful”
“I will never understand people who hate dogs. They’re amazing creatures.”
“What a beautiful dog and what an amazing deed it performs !”
Watch the incredible video below.
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