"Studies suggest that the brains of insomniacs may be in a constant 'on' state,
continuing to operate at high levels even when it's supposed to be dialing down ..."
-- Alice Park, "Insomniac? You Might Have A Hyperactive Brain," Time online
 |
| Self portrait 6-27-14 |
"If your dog has a lot of built-up energy, a really vigorous dog walk
is another excellent way to redirect it where YOU want it to go.
Once you've burned that extra energy away, your dog should be pleasantly exhausted
and too tuckered out to jump and nip."
-- Cesar Millan, "How To Calm A Hyper Dog," Cesar's Way
I love The Dog Whisper.
I don't even have a dog.
I don't even particularly like dogs.
But I've discovered that you don't really need to have a disobedient, overactive dog to use Cesar Millan's helpful advice.
I have used some of his common sense principles of dog psychology in parenting. I particularly like the concept that an overactive, naughty dog is much more likely to settle down and obey when it has been properly exercised -- when it is good and worn out. Same with overactive, naughty kids.
My kids are grown and no longer have behavioral issues. But this particular dog-rearing principle is still massively useful and effective in managing my own wildly disobedient, overactive mind.
"Overactive mind" is a real diagnosis that is often coupled with anxiety and insomnia, both of which I have. When you have an overactive mind like mine, it's as if the "on" switch is permanently stuck. And the more you try to switch it "off", the more "on" it gets. Imagine a light bulb that is being pumped with more voltage than it's supposed to conduct, so that it's constantly on the verge of shattering.
Or, imagine a hyperactive dog that is constantly barking, biting, jumping around and knocking all the tchotchkes off the tables (and then eating them). Now imagine that same dog racing around inside of your head, and every time you shout "No!" or "Bad dog!" it's as if you're encouraging its misbehavior, and so it just ramps up even more.
It's exasperating. It's incessant. It's constant. It's oppressive. It's maddening.
It makes you want to shoot the damn dog.
This is why I love The Dog Whisperer.
Thanks to Cesar Millan's advice on how to calm and quiet, rather than shoot, a hyperactive dog, I can use exercise to calm my overactive mind effectively enough so that I don't go off the deep end.
Cesar says:
"If you don't provide enough exercise, the dog's excess energy in its body will
override everything else. That dog's mind will not be focused and its heart (or feelings)
will go completely out of control."
Mine too.
Yesterday, my yipping mind wouldn't shut the fuck up. It was barking, biting, jumping, scratching ... all that shit.
So I took Cesar's advice and used my body to get inside my head. I climbed on my road bike and pedaled, hard, for about 3 hours without stopping. I pumped music through my ears while I pumped out excess energy through my legs, and I didn't stop until my body was so exhausted that my mind finally came to heel.
The thing about overactive dogs is that they'll be overactive again tomorrow and they'll require their good, hard playtime again. And again. And again.
It's the same with my overactive mind.
That's why you'll find me out there pretty much every day, working my mind issues out through my body's tissues.
I guess that's why they call it a workout.
Anyway, I do it because Cesar says.
Sit. Stay. Good dog.
