ESA

Emotional Support Animals (ESA) have become very popular in the past few years. Just to clarify, an ESA's is a designated animal that a medical professional has determined provides benefit for an individual with a disability. They can be used by people that suffer from a physical, psychiatric, or intellectual disability. Americans that suffer from emotional or mental disability can qualify for an Emotional Support Animal (ESA). To get the qualification, the individual involved must have an emotional or mental disability that is certified by a mental health professional such as a psychiatrist, or any other mental health expert. Notice how it says you must have a disability that is certified and recognized by a MENTAL health professional. So, you can't just go to your family doctor and say "I'm sad" and have him write a letter (which is part of the process of getting an ESA) and magically your pet is allowed in every building, on every airplane, and is unable to be denied in housing facilities. These things aren't exactly true. Only trained service dogs are allowed to go anywhere with a disabled own. Your dog doesn't need to go into the supermarket with you if it is not truly a certified service dog.

A lot of people are abusing the right to have an emotional support animal. There are copies of ESA tags you can buy off Amazon, this doesn't make your animal an ESA. I've seen someone go to such lengths as to fake a mental illness to get the proper documentation and never return to their psychiatrist. These people are making it more and more difficult for people who actually need ESA's to get them. They are taking advantage of the system and abusing it. Not to mention breaking a federal law. 

This goes with the way people claim to be depressed. Having a bad day and being depressed are very different. Depression effects your entire life for a long time, but people automatically assume that they need help when their just upset. I know people say "that's depressing" and "wow I'm so depressed right now," saying this doesn't necessarily mean you need to see a shrink. Someone who actually suffers from depression will be distant, they won't show many feelings, they can be pessimistic or sometimes they'll be the happiest person you know. Depression drains you, makes you feel tired all the time; you get sick easier and the sickness lasts longer. To cope, some people inflict self harm, some people work out, some people use humor in hopes to cover up how bad they actually feel, and they often degrade themselves. An ESA for depression isn't something to cheat the system. They are to help people that actually need them.