Quarrel Looms As Woman Refuses For Her Roommate With Severe Anxiety And Depression To Get Emotional Support Dog

"She says that she doesn’t like dogs and never will"

Maryjane

• Published in Animal Stories
• September 9, 2023

The medical treatments for depression that are most frequently used today include antidepressants, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and psychotherapy. However, although medical therapies try to affect the brain's neurological and chemical activities and psychotherapy frequently focuses on the patient's interpersonal and internal dynamics, the benefits of having a reliable support network may be overlooked.

Because of this, many patients struggling with depression symptoms that interfere with their ability to function on a daily basis find themselves caught between numbing despair and therapy alternatives, whose slow effects can take time to manifest. Support animals provide a different kind of emotional support, with an almost immediate sense of visceral comfort.

Animals used to alleviate harmful emotional or mental health disorders are known as emotional support animals, or ESAs. Additionally, they are known as companion animals as emotional support animals have been demonstrated in studies to be beneficial in treating depression.

When confronted with an emotionally dangerous situation, having a familiar animal to turn to can help calm any mounting anxiety. The OP of today's story talks about one of the girls she shares an apartment with having severe depression and anxiety.

According to the OP, she has had to up the dosage on all of her medications and has really struggled. The roommate's doctor and her family think that getting an emotional support dog would really help her.

The problem is that one of the other roommates refused, saying she's allergic, but the OP believes she's lying.

The OP writes

One of the OP's roommates lied about being allergic just because she doesn’t want a dog around

We've gathered a bunch of the topmost comments from other Redditors for you to read through below

Can she get something a bit smaller?

One of them should get the option of moving out

An Emotional Support animal might really help the roommate with her mental health

They all entered the arrangement with the situation of being animal free

Another Redditor asking if the roommate can get another support animal

This Redditor had this to tell someone who thought the OP should seek legal advice:

She's not looking for legal advice though, she's looking for relationship advice on how to handle this situation that will potentially blow up the household.

Even if it is legal, bringing a dog into a house where everyone agreed on no dogs is a massively asshole thing to do.

A word of warning from someone who also doesn't like living with animals

Having a cat can be very helpful for their owner's mental health

The only thing that isn't guaranteed is housing and sometimes flying

Emotional Support Dogs are not covered by ADA, according to this Redditor

The security of having an ESA around can help people de-stress even more, which is good for everyone's well-being. The OP says that in order for one roommate to buy out their individual lease, it would be $7,200, so breaking a lease is not really an option for either one.

They all live in a college town that has a severe housing shortage, so drop your advice for the OP in the comments below.

Maryjane