You’re invited to your friend’s house for a get-together, knowing it will be full of people you don’t know. You’re standing outside their door, paralyzed from ringing the bell. Your chest is tight, palms clammy, and you’re wondering if it’s too late to turn around. 

What if you can’t think of anything to say? What if they all see just how uncomfortable you feel? What if you can’t talk to anyone and you’re left staring at your phone awkwardly all night? 

If you’ve experienced these kinds of thoughts and feelings consistently and they’re interfering with your life, you might have Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). While we all experience some social anxiety from time to time, SAD is different. It’s a persistent fear of judgment or embarrassment in social settings that affects your ability to make and maintain friendships, get jobs, or just feel free to do more things. 

Talk therapy is the most common treatment and can make a significant difference. Medication also works for some, but it's not necessarily for everyone or for the long term. 

For any animal lover looking for extra daily support, an Emotional Support Animal might help. Read on to learn exactly how an ESA can offer ways to ease anxiety and bring comfort in social settings (and beyond).

How ESAs Tackle Social Anxiety

ESAs serve a very specific role in social anxiety (and anxiety in general). They’re more than just pets and are considered therapeutic when they help you feel more emotionally stable and reduce mental health symptoms. 

An ESA for social anxiety might help by their comforting presence when out in stressful environments (usually a dog in this case), or even ease stress before social situations. Their constant unconditional support might also help reduce baseline anxiety, making stressful situations feel more manageable.

The Power of ESAs for Emotional Stability

ESAs can do plenty for your mental health. Here’s a quick look at how they reduce anxiety and promote overall emotional stability:

• Constant companionship: Since they’re always by your side, you get a sense of stability and comfort that can help with general loneliness. 

• Grounding in hard moments: In moments of panic or overwhelm, an ESA can give you a calming presence and tactile touch that keeps you present in the moment.

• Physical touch and affection: Cuddling, petting, or just being close to your ESA can lower stress hormones. 

• Routine, structure, and accountability: Having to adapt to your ESA's needs helps give you a routine through their daily needs, like feeding and play time. With a stronger sense of routine and structure, overall mental health can improve. 

• Sense of purpose and responsibility: The daily care you give your ESA offers something we all need to reduce anxiety and depression — a sense of purpose and accomplishment. 

Why ESAs Make Socializing Easier

ESAs give you a little something extra — they’re like a buffer, ice-breaker, and confidence-booster all in one. For example, they can:

• Be a source of exposure therapy: Dogs, for instance, can force you to have quick moments of outdoor activity and chit-chat in a safe and controlled way. 

• Offer a sense of familiarity in new situations: Whether you're at a party or walking in the park, your ESA can give you some comfort and consistency, making it easier to adapt to unfamiliar environments.

• Shift the focus from you to them: With an ESA by your side, you’re more likely to talk about them off the bat (“Omg your dog is so cute!! Can I pet them??”). This helps with some of the self-consciousness we feel when stressed.

• Get you out of the house regularly: Dogs in particular are going to make you get out of the house more regularly and try activities with strangers, like dog training.

How Your ESA Helps You Stay on Track with Daily Tasks

Having to care for another soul is a great responsibility. It often forces us to do things we wouldn’t otherwise do, like going for a daily walk or waking up early. You can use your ESA's needs to your advantage, helping to shape your day into one full of helpful structure and activity, such as:

• Starting the day with purpose (and affection): Your ESA needs food, love, attention, and activity (and maybe some cuddles in bed first). 

• Regular breaks and physical activity: You need breaks from work, doomscrolling, and a stretch between episodes of your latest Netflix binge. An ESA needs daily activity, with cats needing at least 30 minutes of play time and dogs anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours of walk time. This can be spread out throughout your day and keep you moving, like playing or walking in the morning, at lunch, afternoon break, and before bed. 

• Consistent routine and structure: It’s not just kids that need structure — we all do, even animals. Shifting your day around their needs forces you to have structured work and play time, potentially leading to a more consistent routine. 

Pets, ESAs, and Service Dogs for Social Anxiety: What’s The Difference?

A social anxiety emotional support animal isn’t the same as having a pet or a service dog. For example, not every pet will help you feel more confident in social settings. For example, you might love your pet and feel safe with them at home, but when you go out, it’s a whole other story. 

An ESA specifically offers enough grounding emotional support that you feel better able to handle anxiety. Whether it’s through routine and stability, more physical touch, or a constant presence by your side, they make the stress of social situations feel more manageable. 

How Service Dogs Help Social Anxiety

A social anxiety service dog is unique. They have specialized training and perform very specific tasks. For example, they can be trained to create a buffer in social situations or even interrupt a panic attack coming on. 

Psychiatric service dogs are usually a good fit if the social anxiety is so severe that you feel like you don’t want to leave your house, and the anxiety impacts your ability to carry out daily tasks or meet people. If you get regular panic attacks when out, or at home, these are the types of dogs that are usually doctor-recommended. 

Other Ways to Boost Your Social Anxiety Treatment

ESAs can make a huge difference in your life, but they usually help most when they’re combined with alternative social anxiety treatments. The most common one is talk therapy (also called psychotherapy). Many models of therapy are effective for social anxiety, like:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Helps you challenge and reframe negative thoughts around your anxiety, with your ESA offering comfort during the hard times.

• Problem-Solving Therapy (PST): A goal-oriented approach that focuses on practical solutions, including exposure therapy.

• Exposure Therapy (ET): Gradually exposes you to small but manageable anxiety-inducing situations (while your ESA accompanies you and helps calm stress hormones).

• Mindfulness practices: Teaches you stress-management techniques, like becoming the observer of your thoughts to gain some distance and reduce anxiety, along with breathing or grounding exercises. An ESA can stay by your side in these exercises, keeping you grounded in the present with tactile touch and physical comfort. 

• Pharmacology: Some medications might help manage symptoms, but don’t offer coping skills. ESAs can help you develop more behavioral coping skills through structure, routine, and a stable presence.

Is an ESA the Missing Piece in Your Social Anxiety Treatment?

ESAs offer so much more than just companionship. They can help give your day more meaning and structure while offering affection and routine to reduce stress. They can make a difference in countless mental health struggles, everything from anxiety and panic attacks to depression, ADHD, PTSD, OCD, and more. 

An emotional support animal for social anxiety, in particular, can allow you to expose yourself to social situations in a safer way (like when dog walking). It’s a bit of exposure therapy, along with fewer eyes on you since everyone is focused on just how cute your ESA is. 

Wondering if an ESA could be a good fit for you? Take the quiz to see if you qualify for an ESA and talk with one of our licensed mental health professionals to get a better idea.