Are Your Pets Stressed Out?
by Sage Holloway
"The love for all living creatures
is the most noble attribute of humans."
-- Charles Darwin
Certainly, one of the key buzzwords has become stress. Every
individual feels it, deals with it, and is overpowered by it at at one time or
another. As the pace of our busy lives increases, so does the intensity of
stress in all of us.
Whose Stress is it?
The medical community is recognizing the deadly role that stress plays in the
cause of illness. It is a major factor in the suppression of the immune system,
creating susceptibility to disease. Frantic and demanding jobs, lifestyles and
environmental disturbance all lead to and create stress. When we allow our
emotions and mental state to be affected by the stressful factors in our worlds,
we become sick, and our animals become sick with us.
Mental stress takes the form of worry. Humans are the only creatures on Earth
who worry. Worry is a lack of emotional control and instinctive faith in the
perfection of life's unfolding process. Chronic worry is a bad habit that
severely stresses the body on all levels. Animals, who are incapable of worry,
pick up the effects of it from their human family and internalize it in their
bodies.
In treating stress-related disorders in animals that we share our lives with,
we must first look honestly at ourselves. How is the stress that we are carrying
affecting them? What is the quality of the emotional environment of our home,
that we live in and provide for others? Do we create an atmosphere of peace, joy
and well being, where all can feel safe and comfortable? Do we vent
inappropriately? Or do we hold our internal pressures like a time bomb? How much
of our animal's stress comes from us?
Animals who are closely knit with their human families experience extreme
stress when their humans do. The affects of serious illness, injury and divorce
are felt keenly not only by people, but by our animal companions as well. Often,
the disease and trauma that humans hold in their bodies manifests physically in
their animal's bodies and behavior. If we, as human caretakers of our worlds, do
not honestly face our fears and life challenges, and communicate our feelings
about them to each other, we hold them imprisoned in our bodies. There they
stay, under the lock and key of our emotions. Left unresolved, these feelings
begin to break down the physical body, from the energetic matrix of the cells
outward, until disharmony and disease ultimately manifest.
The entire process has toxic impact on our environment, particularly at home
where we relax and let down our guard. Companion animals that sleep with their
human family can be extremely susceptible to the psychic discharge during
dreamtime that is released by people with unresolved emotional issues. This
potent negative energy is as pervasive and deadly to animals as poison is to
humans. Until we face the source of stress in our lives and deal creatively with
it, it will have negative impact on us, on our worlds, our families and our
animals.
The importance of finding balance in our lives, where we are at peace with
our worlds, is paramount. We owe it to ourselves and those we love to take care
of our physical, inner and spiritual needs responsibly, so that our animals need
not take on the stress overload. Quiet time alone with our animals nourishes our
internal lives. This cultivates a quality of substance and energy that our
companions enjoy. Here they may feel comfortable and at peace.
Emotional Causes of Stress
Animals are keenly sensitive to changes in their environment. A new home, the
loss or addition of new family members (human or animal), and extreme weather
and seasonal changes are just a few factors that can upset the most calm and
happy pet. Though these influences are often short-lived, without loving support
the ensuing stress can continue. Changes such as these can trigger hidden fears
from unresolved prior issues, perhaps prompting behavior that is unusual or
inappropriate. Animals can be feeling threatened that there may not be enough
love to go around from their caregivers. Since the emotional and physical bodies
of animals are so unified, this fear can suddenly manifest as disease.
Specialized training for Seeing Eye or hearing dogs, as well as search and
rescue dogs can be very stressful for them on all levels. Obedience training can
be difficult, particularly emotionally. It is so important for animals of all
kinds to be able to play. Adequate space and chew ropes, rubber and stuffed
toys, and fun things that each species of animal enjoys can help to lift stress,
especially when in training and in service to humans.
Also, vibrational remedies can provide the loving assurance that is lacking,
to address the underlying negative emotions and traumatic memories that life
changes can bring to the surface. Aromatherapy can uplift and promote well
being. Music and sound can soothe and attune animals to the profound peace of
nature. There are many vibrational remedies that specialize in keeping a calm
and stress-free environment for all life's creatures.
The primary need in any animal's life is love. Thus is the key to health and
well being for every living thing. This is the greatest gift we can give them.
This is their true nourishment. Nothing can substitute for it.
Physical Causes of Stress
There are several physical causes of stress in animals in today's world.
Though the primary focus of vibrational medicines is on the energetic bodies,
without the essential physical needs being appropriately addressed, the energy
systems will be compromised.
All animals, particularly those kept in houses, apartments and small yards,
need regular exercise. This is the primary way they burn off tension and
energetic imbalance. Even a brisk short walk once a day will help to keep you
and your animal more relaxed.
Almost all processed pet foods on the market today are grown with toxic
pesticides and fertilizers. Processing techniques and chemical additives can
further compromise animal's immune systems and organs. Healthier foods are
becoming more available for them, as well as an increasing number of excellent
books on nutrition and food preparation. Tap water also has its own hazards, and
is becoming more and more unsafe to drink. One of the most unsafe chemicals
present in tap water is chlorine, and many animals, especially those who are
chemical sensitive, have an allergy to it. Filtered water is the best
alternative.
Medical and surgical procedures can cause upset to animals in every way. The
procedures themselves often violate the body's physical integrity and cause
emotional pain. Medications, and their invasive administration, especially taken
long-term, can weaken the body's systems and create imbalance.
Environmental toxins, both indoors and out, can pose serious long and
short-term health hazards. Dangerous chemicals in yards, gardens, orchards and
agricultural fields can be deadly for domestic and livestock animals. These
toxic chemicals can enter the body through the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin
as well as the feet. Chemicals used indoors, particularly in new carpets and
paint, can severely suppress the immune system. For animals that are inside and
have little or no fresh air, it can be much worse. Plant and insect sprays, as
well as harsh cleaning products, should not be used around animals, and always
with extreme caution and ample ventilation. Natural cleaning supplies and
furnishings are increasingly available, and are an excellent alternative to
traditional, harmful products. Many of them are also easy and inexpensive to
make at home.
Energetic Causes of Stress
The Earth holds stress in her body just as people and animals do. Her energy
fields can become imbalanced, particularly from traumatic events such as sites
of war and loss of life, natural disasters from fire, floods and hurricanes, and
toxic overload from waste and underground pollution. Hydrogen and nuclear bomb
testing has taken its toll. Animals can feel this Earth-stress, and are easily
influenced by it. There is a growing awareness in people that the Earth is a
living Being, who carries toxins and imbalances, primarily because of human
ignorance and greed. With this awareness comes the understanding that we humans
can assist in the Earth's rebalancing and healing. Healing modalities for our
planet are surfacing. Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese art of placement, works in
concert with energy flow and the proper placement of objects, elements, plants
and minerals. There are also dowsers, Earth acupuncturists and energy workers
who charge and re-balance the energy fields and ley lines of the planet. Using
special tools and techniques, they seek to realign energy flows and grid lines.
After a move to a new home, even after everyone has had time to settle into
the new environment, animals (and people) can seem jumpy and out of sorts.
Earth-stress may be the reason. Vibrational healing modalities can help all
concerned, but sometimes a professional may need to be consulted.
Lastly, animals who are closely attuned with us may find it stressful to
continue to support us when we are growing and spiritually accelerating faster
than they can track. The rhythm of personal evolution is not always easy or
graceful, and vibrational remedies are excellent ways of keeping the entire
family in sync and unified.
 This
article is excerpted from:
Animal Healing and Vibrational Medicine
by Sage Holloway.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Blue
Dolphin Publishing. ©2001. http://www.bluedolphinpublishing.com
Info/Order
this book.
About the Author
Sage Holloway has researched and practiced in alternative fields of medicine,
using sound frequency, energy healing and vibrational remedies. She lives in the
Rocky Mountains of Colorado, where she worked for Pegasus Products (producer of
vibrational remedies), as well as making her own special tinctures. She has had
her own practice in the energetic treatment of people and animals since the
early nineties. Sage welcomes any feedback on treatment of animals with
vibrational healing modalities.
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