Does petting and playing with animals help with meltdowns?

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I find it so relaxing to stroke the snakes at Petsmart. I find it relaxing to play with huge birds such as macaws but most pet places don't want you doing so because they are afraid the birds will bite and they will get sued. My mum says it really seemed to help with meltdowns when I rode horses (even despite the fact that my instructor was a b***h). Even so much as brushing and stroking the horses seemed to help. I found it so soothing and relaxing to pet the sharks at our old aquarium. They had a special area where you were allowed to and the sharks were species that never grew very large such as various species of houndsharks and a Port Jackson. The only time I saw one get agressive was when a toddler reached in and pulled one out of the water and after put back in the water it went about it's day swimming. I loved to pet them and each species had a diffrent texture.

Ever since I got my bearded dragon, my panic attacks started getting less frequent. Is it comon for animals to help autistic people relax.

I find that petting my dog helps me, a lot.

It certainly helps me. And the more stressed out I am the more hyper I'll make my dog.

My service cat and her "touch" command have averted many a melt down.

I believe animals are a huge stress reliever for those who like them/are comfortable around them. There's almost always been some sort of animal living with me. I'm worried about when I go to college this fall, I'll be without a pet for the first time. I wrote a paper about animals and their effects on health, people seem to think it's good.

Yes, animals help a lot. I don't know why. I was surprised to read that you like petting snakes - and then I remembered that really neat albino corn snake in the pet store. It never crossed my mind to pet him, but I remember him the way I remember puppies & kittens that I couldn't adopt.

Hell yes!
Well it depends. If it is the loud, messy sort of situation then I don't bother with animals
I make my cats nervous at those times
If it is the silent kind then most definitely yes.

Snakes are awesome -- just don't pet them in the direction towards their head.

My gerbils always help me feel less anxious. Animals are great.

Petting animals (either real or toy) always calms me down.

I remember that, a couple of years ago, my therapist took me to a horse ranch (or something of the sort). I was dealing with depression and anxiety at the time, and petting the horses helped me relax and forget my troubles.
So, yes, I would say that petting animals does help with emotional problems, and I'm sure melt downs fall into that category (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, though)..

I love it when my FuzzMo puts his soft little
kittipaws on me.

I haven't been depressed since I got my dog two years ago. And if I get upset she knows just how to help me feel better.

Talking about snakes reminds me of my high school biology class. We had a 9 foot python that I thought was so cool. Sometimes our teacher would take it out and we'd get to hold it and let it slither over us and things. It was really the highlight of my 10th grade year. I loved that snake. He was heavy and necessarily put a lot of pressure on me physically, and since he wrapped himself around me, it felt like...mmm a hug maybe, but better. And since most people were afraid of it, just a few of us had it to ourselves most days.

Yeah animals are great! Just thinking about them has cheered me.

My cats are great help to me. I have two, and one of them is quite big and heavy so I like it when she sits in my lap.

She also likes to wake me up at 5 am for food, however...

It's improved me 10 fold. When I moved into this place 3 years ago, I went without pets for the first time. It was very tough on me, I was use to have my cats and dog to console to whenever alone or going through some depression. I remember my meltdowns getting very bad and worse...around my dad. Well to make a long story short, after having had a fresh diagnosis, I brought this up to a therapist who specializes in ASD and Autism. This was about my meltdowns and he suggested a pet.

Well adopted both my cats out of a killing animal shelter and been happy since then. Whenever I'm alone or feel frustrated or wrestless I have their little cute faces and bundles of fur to stroke and squeeze. It's even comforting for me to get out their toy stick and play with them. I get the same feeling when I'm around feral cats even though I'm unable to pet them. Just watching them play around me helps get rid of those feelings hard to describe to most people.

I do wonder if it is a form of stemming. I've had people bring it up especially my neighbor whenever I'm with them, how much I like their dog everytime I pet him. I seem to do that a lot whenever I'm invited to people's homes with pets.

When I visit someone's home with pets I seem to connect better with the cats than the humans.

Yes.

My cats are perfectly ordinary cats, but we've become friends enough that they can often help me when I'm freaking out or stuck, just like I can help them when they're confused or worried or whatever. It's symbiotic.