Pets, Stress and Us - International Summit

On Saturday 20th July I was privileged to tune into a virtual summit from international speakers on how stress impacts our pets and us. It was specifically targeted at the impact of Covid on our own stress and how we feel and behave follows through to our animals and what we can do to support both species.

It was fascinating, and mentally engaging.

 I engaged in sessions by Ian Billinghurst (the father of whole model raw feeding) and Dr Judy Morgan a wholistic nutritionist - Nutrition and Stress.

Behavioural Health - Isla Fishburn (Kachina Wellness -animals as energetic beings) and Malena di Martini(Separation Issues) .

Herbs and adaptogens for stress -Sue Armstrong and Jean Hofve

Shamanic Wisdom Ceromony - Isla Fishburn.

The overall message is that we have a degree of control over the stress we take on and how we deal with it, both mindfully, as well as with a range of supportive approaches, and these approaches apply to our support for the animals we share our lives with.

When considering nurtrition and stress there wasa an agreement that the quality of an overal diet is very important. That it should be fresh, for animals preferably whole and raw, this was recognised as being difficult for many pet guardians and so over time , the best that can be managed was advocated.
An interesting view bearing in mind was the impact behaviourally, emotionally and physically of uneccessary carbs in the diet, particularly rice and potatoes. These (and gluten based foods) increase inflammations in the whole body and can contribute not only to skin and gastric allergies, but also behaviourally through the gut brain axis. This up and coming science was a continuing theme throughout. Healthy ingredients enhance the better hormones , the positive feelgood ones. consider the impact of the microbiome and the health of gut bacteria, poor guts create poor emotional health. the place to begin stress management in humans and animals is through diet . 95% of our seratonin is produced in the gut, so to ensure we can access this and transmit it throught the body, the gut should function appropriately. The gut drives mood.

There was an agreement that in the past 4 months the humans  have become fearful and this has caused a general stressed energy within individuals, homes districts and globally. This is something I have been talking about since March, and the potential for a rise in allergy, immune, emotional damage ongoing for us and pets.

The panel recommended regualar check-ins with our animals, to identify any changes in health and behaviour. this could be a general stress response to our rising negative energy, however careful we are.

Emotions are very much Gut related and indeed driven (think comfort eating!) Be aware of the way the raised levels of adrenaline and cortisol are creating health issues for us and that this creates stagnant energy - particularly the liver energy (from a TCM perspective - green leafy veg help with this). Take time to "ground" physically with the earth, the earth connections was a thread throughout the day. Move the energy around to dissapate the negative. Stress shunts nutrition away from the gut, when we are in fearful state digestion is unimportant. Consider the impact of exciteorary foods and htose which are calming, to reduce inflammation and stressful responses.

The panelists are clear that cleaning our toxins are vital, and that we need to be very aware for ourselves and the animals how all the antibacterial chemicals are toxifying our systems, consider liver detox including perhaps the use of milk thistle alongside a clean diet.  cleaning the lymphatic system is vital to reverse toxic stress. dandelion, nettle , and juniper are helpful too, We were reminded to wash off the toxic chemicals regulalry from pets paws and our own bodies.

Isla spoke of the energetic state at cell level. that we are connected energetically each living thing with another , within and without, across the globe and beyond. The immune system is deeply impacted from stress, the sympathetic nervous system kicks in to keep the body that is in danger safe. This puts it into overdrive and hence infalmmation and allergic responses.

How you feel inside impacts how you are expressing outside.

The energy spreads and that incldudes to and from our animals. even the words we use can impact the energy flow. The DNA has been shown to hold consciousness beyond physical bodies. our own energies imprint on the living beings around us and they upon us.

How do we begin to reverse this stress vibrational energy?

Begin with nurtrition, physical wellness, heal the gut to change the energy flow. connect hearts and minds, positively. work with our own energies and mindset. Fresh food contains a higher vibrational energy.

Breatthing techniques can significantly help, breathing in activates the sympathetic nervous system (fight and flight)  , breathing out activates the parasympathetic system (calm, rest digest). Keeping the out breathe longer and pausing the energy can make a huge difference quickly.  Use mindfulness, meditation or just time to connect with nature will raise the energy and vibrational resonance.. Considering movement in the energetic spaces between us and others including pets can lower stress and boost seratonin and higher positives energies. Using a Fig 8 infinity symbol can calm. Stabilising cellular health will stabilise and nurture energies wtihin and without.

Using the energy and vibrational imprints of botanicals can support a calming health state.

Isla suggests using vetiver, nutmeg essential oils and linden blossom hydrosol. Flower essences can really help.

In considering herbal support there was much agreement with nutrition and energetic states as a srong foundation. to patch up when things get out of balance there were recommendations of

Rhodiola, motherwort, passsionflower,  as calming, nurtruing, opening the heart. Ashwaganda and Astralgus, as well as Tulsi (Holy Basil) were considered great options. Teas from the herbs for humans and animals were considered a really great cleansing option. A 2015 study on Tumeric showed  that the impact upon the gut also impacted the brain and mood significantly, consider its use more often.

Movement however is the best mover of cortisol and positive energy booster. This is a good reminder for our fearful animals.

A closing ceremony from Isla was deeply moving and a reminder to connect with the earth through mindulness, meditation and physically to stabilise energies.

It was an inspirng set of sessions. All are currently available on the

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