19 yr old recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. i’m meeting with my psychiatrist at 9am tomorrow this is only my second time talking with her and last time she suggested i start meds. i’m meeting with her tomorrow to tell her i wanna start but I’ve also been looking at the benefits of having an ESA for people with bipolar disorder and anxiety.

i emailed her may 25th asking if she recommended an ESA for my condition and briefly described the benefits. Here is what the email said….

“ Good Morning Dr. C, 

My name is Sydney, we met about a week ago, for our initial meeting. During our meeting you diagnosed me with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Bipolar Disorder.

Since our meeting I’ve been doing research about my conditions and things that can aid in my treatment. While I do plan to schedule another appointment soon to discuss the medication aspect of my treatment plan. I have also been reading about the benefits of my demographic (anxious, bipolar, and/or college students) having an Emotional Support Animal.

I truly believe I would benefit from having an Emotional Support Animal especially upon my return to college in the Fall. I have always struggled during the highs and lows while being undiagnosed and now I’m grateful I no longer have to blame myself. While I look forward to starting therapy and medication to treat my conditions, I really think having an ESA could support the areas of my life I am trying to improve upon. I also believe I would benefit from the companionship an ESA would be able to provide and overall emotional support, given how isolating the nature of my condition can be at times, especially during periods of depression.  

Given your experience, do you believe an emotional support animal would be beneficial to my treatment?

Thank you in advance for your guidance and any additional information you are able to provide! 

Sincerely,
Sydney” 

she never responded to the email and i don’t know if this is bad or not. i don’t want to come off as an annoying patient that keeps asking for a dog. And I don’t want to bring it up again tomorrow if that would be inappropriate. 

is it too soon to be asking about an ESA? is there anything i should say or present to her to show i would benefit from an ESA?