It’s often been shown that owning a pet can do wonders for our wellbeing but a new study has found it can also help people manage serious long-term mental illness.

The study was conducted by researcher Helen Brooks of the University of Manchester and her colleagues and involved 50 participants with long-term mental conditions who were asked about their pets and what role they played in terms of their social networks.

Around sixty percent put their pets above family, friends and hobbies when it came to the role they played in their daily life. Many of the participants claimed having their pet close to them in proximity helped them to feel calm and less anxious, bringing a sense of support. Their pets also distracted them from episodes such as voices in their heads or suicidal thoughts.

“The people we spoke to through the course of this study felt their pet played a range of positive roles, such as helping them to manage stigma associated with their mental health by providing acceptance without judgment,” stated Brooks.

“Pets were also considered particularly useful during times of crisis. Pets provided a unique form of validation through unconditional support, which [the patients] were often not receiving from other family or social relationships,” continued Brooks.

The researchers put down claims that their research isn’t important by saying that pets shouldn’t be so easily dismissed as positive and emotionally strengthening ways to overcome dark periods and support us with daily management of mental illness.

“I’ve had people ask, ‘is that serious research’? But I think pets are amazing in that in my field, health promoters spend a lot of time telling people what they should be doing and people ignore them,” stated Janette Young from the University of South Australia. Pets are, it seems to be, this amazing untapped and unrecognised resource — and you don’t have to tell people to have pets, you have them anyway. Understanding how this human-to-non-human stuff works, it’s like this little gold mine that we’re not recognising in terms of our welfare and our wellbeing.”

Details of the study were published in the journal BMC Psychiatry.