The healing power of pets isn’t something you understand in theory, it’s something you feel, especially in early sobriety. When emotions are loud and your nervous system is raw, the link between pets and mental health becomes deeply personal.
In those fragile early days, animals as emotional healers don’t fix you or judge you; they just stay. And sometimes, that kind of steady presence is exactly what sobriety needs to survive.
KEY POINTS
- Early sobriety has many challenges.
- In those early days, there is a need for stability and non-judgment.
- Caring for a pet during this time is a great way to build some new, positive habits.
- Pets can be great healers.
When I first got sober, I learned you can’t do it alone. I was reminded of this with every recovery meeting I attended, with every conversation I had with a sober friend, and with all the check-ins with my sober online communities.
Also with therapists. With a supportive husband. With God.
And another soul was well-invested in me during those early days of recovery. It was my cat, Steve.
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The Healing Power of Pets
Steve was a delightful creature. He was a girthy, orange-and-white mass of muscle and love. When Steve jumped off the bed upstairs, you could hear him downstairs. And he was soft and fluffy and loved to be held.
In fact, there were numerous instances of my boys loosely bundling up and lugging Steve’s furry form around upside down. Steve didn’t mind. He was here for all of it.
And that meant he was here for all the chaos in my early days of getting sober.
Early recovery is tough. I had physical symptoms of withdrawal that lasted well over two weeks: shakiness, brain fog, achiness, and fatigue so physically consuming that I could barely function.
But beyond the physical symptoms lurked much more tenacious and long-lasting effects of not pouring wine onto all my problems.
It felt like every emotion I had ignored for the past 20 years decided to show up, irritated that they’d been swept under the alcoholic rug for so long, ready to cause havoc.
I cried nonstop. Once, my husband asked me if I would pass the salt, and I was enraged. Because my brain was barely functioning, I just assumed he was insulting my cooking, and I shouted “No!” at him and left the dining room, sobbing.
I was a mess.
Guess who didn’t care? Steve.
First of all, Steve loved naps, and he found my prone body buried in the bed as an opportunity to hone his sleeping skills. He would loll about, stretching his full form along the length of my back, and purr.
He seemed really thankful I was there, and I went with that. He was a comfort.
But also, Steve got me out of bed. In the early morning, in a quiet house, Steve would want his breakfast.
He would insistently paw at my face, with a “feed me now” meow that could not be ignored, and I would rise, hold him close, and stumble down the hall.
And then the miracle would find me. In my sleepy Steve huddle, I was suddenly so thankful I didn’t mess it all up by drinking the night before that I would almost cry with relief.
And thus, Steve and I would start our day together, me all teary and weird, and Steve all furry and nonjudgmental.
It created a rhythm for my days, and rhythm and pattern are important in early sobriety. I like to say they help keep the healthy grooves grooving.
Steve has passed on. I miss him every day.
Related: Why We Drink: The Truth About Our Alcohol Obsession
I have three cats now, Lucy, Milk, and Ferris, and they each help me in my sober walk, mostly by reminding me to stay in the moment and maintain a sense of humor amongst all the fur in our house. (We also have two large dogs. Heaven help us.)
There’s a lot of research about the healing power of pets. I’m pretty sure Steve would not have been up on all the analysis, but back then, I didn’t care.
In those early days, he provided stability, no judgment, and a daily habit to build upon. He stayed with me, one day at a time, and I am forever (OK, furrever) grateful.
Written by Dana Bowman
Originally Appeared on Psychology Today
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