Page 819 - Total War on PTSD

meeting mine with companionship, responsibility and things like that. Harley is up there in age and set in his ways and is low energy now because of his age,
With Gaea, she was extremely high energy, she still is. The reason I got her was that Harley was getting up in age and I knew it was only a matter of time before I would have to limit his physical exercise, etc. I'm also wanted someone to keep him company. Harley has the ability to know when I am in distress. He finds a way to draw my attention. He will nibble on my toes. He draws my attention until I stop whatever it is that disturbed me and start petting him. He also won't calm down until I am actually calm. If I just pet him a little and don't calm down, he doesn't buy it at all. I am working towards getting Gaea trained as my Service Dog. Because she is such a high energy dog, I find that with her everyday demeanor, she's more in tune with me when it comes to everyday activities, and I feel that she would be a really good fit. I have done training for Gaea in basic obedience already. A friend of mine was a canine handler in the military and I am will be reaching out to him to assist with advanced training for Gaea when the time is right.
I think that the key for me was awareness. I became aware that I was struggling with something that the average person around me was not dealing with. Once I became aware, trying to formulate a solution wasn't that difficult. So, understanding that I suffered from anxiety and depression, once I became aware that these were the things that I was dealing with, then going to the gym made sense, meditation made sense, going to floatation therapy made sense, getting a dog made sense. It's because these were all healthy outlets that I could utilize that would lessen my stress and anxiety. I wouldn't be drowning in alcohol or participating in other risky behaviors
819 of 1042