Help You Get Through Tough Times In Life
This past summer in 2018 has been one of the toughest three month periods I’ve personally endured that I could recall. This is because one of my 13 year old Lhasa Apso dogs Chester had to be rushed into the vet emergency hospital back in June and he was diagnosed with a very serious heart condition. For the next three months, he was put on all sorts of heart medications to try and control his symptoms which were really awful. He was no longer able to walk very far and had trouble with stairs. It was like caring for an invalid and dealing with stress.
On August 30, Chester had to be rushed to the emergency again and he was actually stabilized for 24 hours. We were expecting to take him home on the evening of August 31 but during that afternoon, things went really bad at the hospital and Chester sadly passed away very suddenly. During this time, I was on the highway not really knowing what was going on and as a result, I didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye to my boy while he was still alive.
My vet costs totalled about $7,500 to keep Chester alive for only three months after the initial diagnosis even though we would all gladly pay to keep a family member alive. But nevertheless this was not an insignificant amount of money which also contributed to a rough time.
Needless to say, these past three months were very rough for me as well as Chester’s surviving sister Roxie, my other dog. But there is a very important personal development lesson here in my opinion.
The Crucial Personal Development Lesson
My summer months are usually my outdoor swim season when I do laps in my outdoor swimming pool three to four days per week. I also do strength training with weights twice per week and a bit of martial arts too. I also maintain a very healthy diet at home. This is all part of my health and fitness program.
Even during Chester’s illness, I did not stray from my health and fitness program. I did not indulge in junk food and I still did my workouts. The swimming was particularly important as it was my cardiovascular exercise for the summer.
Cardiovascular exercise generates endorphins in the brain which are chemicals which act like natural antidepressants. These endorphins counterbalance any negative effects from the stress I was experiencing during this tough time. I’m still depending on these endorphins since Chester’s passing is still relatively recent as I write this. Both Roxie and I are trying to live a new life without her brother.
I can honestly say from my recent personal experience that having and sticking to a good health and fitness program is absolutely crucial to helping me cope with the tough time I faced this summer. Since all of us go through tough times since it’s part of life, I would suggest that everyone get a good health and fitness program in place before tough times come if possible but it’s never too late to start one if tough times are already present.
If you have to take care of pets or other people, you will do a much better job as the caregiver if you also take care of yourself. Even if you don’t have to take care of others, you will benefit from the endorphins. After each workout, I knew I was going back to challenges associated with my particular tough time but I also felt I was ready to face them. This was the result of the endorphins circulating in my brain from the cardiovascular exercise.
So please do make the effort to take care of yourself with a good health and fitness program.
The video below summarizes the important points from above. It was a tough video to make but I think it was important to make it since I know that I’m not the only one who has to cope with hard times and this might help others.
