Sophie on Stress
Hi, Sophie here,
It’s been a while since my last blog. Sorry, I was on drugs for the first week after my operation. I spent my days looking at all the pretty colors and sleeping like a puppy. Now, I am 5 weeks post-surgery. In dogs years it seems like FOREVER. I have had my fill of rest and recovery. I’m ready to run, play and wrestle with my sister, Lucy.
It is stressful waiting for my leg to heal. I have to stay in my crate while my humans are at work, because I’m not so good at impulse control. This is so boring that I chewed up my bed and man-oh-man was my human mad when she saw that. I want to please every-one, especially my humans, so this stressed me out even more.
My lady human was listening to an audible book on stress, The Upside of Stress, by Kelly McGonigal. I figured I might as well listen along while I was healing. Here is what I learned:
Stress isn’t bad for you but believing stress is bad you is bad for you
Stress is a signal that you care about what you are stressing about
Stress can give you energy to rise to the challenge
Stress can help you make new friends and keep the friends you have made
This makes good sense both to and for me. I want my humans to love me, so after the bed-chewing incident, I was an extra good, loving dog. I have had to rise to the challenge of taking the time to heal. This is hard, but so are the two walks I take daily. I know I’ve got to walk even when it hurts. I also know my sister Lucy doesn’t understand all this healing stuff. I lick her ears and let her snuggle with me so she knows she is my best friend, even though I can’t play like we used to, just yet.
Thanks to the human, Kelly McGonigal for helping me understand and deal with my stress. I’m tired. Now it’s time for a nap. I’m not even gonna stress about it.