When Stress Hits Hard

Photo Resource: Pixmac.com

Life tends to go by very fast these days. Many of those days are stressful. Owning a pet can be stressful for some. Many of us will ignore the stress until something drastic happens. That happened to me recently. As many of you know, I attend school part-time and work as a dog walker while I've been looking for that ideal career job. Luckily, I have a lead and hope it will get me started in the right direction.

This week, I'm in the middle of finals. I went in for a long, overdue haircut and came across the realization that my hair was physically affected by the stress. It's not like it happened on its own. However, I'd been in such a get up and go mode for many days, I kept pulling my hair back in clips and rubberbands. After awhile, my hair became weakened because of all the pulling.

Any time you repeat certain physical actions, it's usually as a result of reacting to stress. Nothing brings on stress like uncertainty.A little bit of stress is good. It keeps you on your toes, helps your productivity and challenges you. However, when stress goes into overload mode, it takes its toll.

We're living in difficult times. Unemployment has remained high since 2009. There have been record foreclosures. As rewarding as it is to own a dog, it's frustrating as not being able to bring them in for a checkup because a person can't afford it. Worse yet, many owners have had to give up their family friend for the same reason. Even though I'm not working permanently, I'm able to provide for my pets with the support of my family behind me.

What The Wake Up Call Told Me

After this happened, I decided to find more of a balance. Here are some things I've done to keep the stress at bay.

1. Exercise more. Exercise has a way of taking away the stress impact. While I love walking my dogs, other types of exercise like strength building are just as important
2. Have more of a routine. When you have an irregular schedule, it can take its toll. Consistency is very important.
3. Relax. We schedule things to do all the time but never schedule time to relax.
4. Spring cleaning. It's a great release of stress and combats it head on.
5. Breathe. It may be a cliche but then again, cliches are usually true.
6. The video below shows dogs just enjoying life because they're riding a car. It was shot by Keith Hopkin and it's one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. It reminds up that dogs can find happiness in the simplest things and maybe we should take a page from that book

Let's Discuss!

Life has a funny way of making us slow down when we least expect it. I'm looking forward to this. How about you? What are some things you do to combat stress? How does your pet help?

It's All Related

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Elsa's Lullaby

Elsa's Lullaby is a new video by the music artist NEeMA. A singer from Canada, of Eygyptian and Lebanese origin, she is an up and coming musician who took Elsa in as a stray off the streets. This lullaby shows the quiet and endearing moments between owner and dog and is a great song to listen to when you're feeling wistful.

Elsa's Lullaby is a new video by the music artist NEeMA. She is an up and coming musician who took Elsa in as a stray off the streets of Canada. This lullaby shows the quiet and endearing moments between owner and dog and is a great song to listen to when you're feeling wistful.

You’re watching Elsa’s Lullaby. See the Web's top videos on AOL Video

If you would like to learn more about NeEma, please visit her

href="http://www.neema.ca/">website or Facebook page.

Let's Discuss!

Are you familiar with NEema's music? How do you like this video?

Related

White Knuckles

White Knuckles

It All About The Dogs

These days it's a rarity to catch a video on MTV or VH1 anymore. That's why when there'a an ingenious video that comes out, I get excited. I've always been a fan of the bank Ok Go. I was enthralled by the absolute creativity of their Here We Go Again video and was completely blown away by This Too Shall Pass video. All of the videos that I've seen by this band have such a unique style and indcredible origniality. It's also a huge bonus that this band originates from Chicago.

So, imagine my surprise when I visited one of my favorite websites, Draw The Dog, who happened to have a special cartoon for the band's newest video White Knuckles. They use twelve dogs in the coolest ways. This video debuted on the Ellen Show on September 20th. The idea was conceived over five years ago. Working with trainers Lauren Henry and Roland Sonnenburg, their idea came alive in the video below. In less than two weeks, their video has been viewed over 5,300,000 times.

More Than Just Making Bucks

Ok Go has generously decided to give the net proceeds of the video's sales to the ASPCA, which is specifically earmarked to support rural, volunteer-run animal shelters in America. If you would like to learn more about this, please visit their video webpage at okgo.net.

Let's Discuss!

Have you seen this video? What's your favorite dog-friendly music video?

Read More About It!

Ok Go Website
Behind The Scenes Of The Video From The Ellen TV Show Website
The Inspiration Room

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