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Three little piggies

The way 3 terrors helped me battle my poor mental health

By smith morganPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
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Cookie, Oreo and Montezuma (left to right)

I'd firstly like to say that I never thought these tiny balls of fluff would have as big as an impact on my life as they have. I now wake up to go and see them; see how they have continued to be petty towards one another; and to see how much the look forward to seeing me.

But that wasn't always the case.

I remember when Montezuma and Cookie came home from the shop: so scared and timid that i barely saw them for the first week. Yet gradually they became to trust me and my family, even to the point now when they'll come across to want to be picked up or stroked.

But I didn't write this to tell you how to train your pig or how to get your pig to trust you. I'm writing this to share my story of how the helped me win my fight in the battle against my bad mental health.

Because it all started with Oreo.

She was an accidental purchase, some might say. But she definitely changed my life for the better. We didn't know when she was meant to be born (in fact we just thought Monte was fat but that's a whole different can of worms), so to have her appear in the hutch a few days before Christmas was a miracle in itself.

But I guess her being around humans has made her not only trust us more, but made her the most optimistic animal I have ever laid eyes on. I have never seen any other animal be bitten; trodden on; have food taken away from; be forced to sleep away from the hay; pushed down the stairs; pushed out of the hutch; or forced to run an entire lap of the hutch before allowed to eat any nuggets and still bounce back with the same amount of optimistic energy and resilience as Oreo*. And I guess her way of seeing life as this brilliant fantastic thing, caused me to ultimately win my fight against the looming dark clouds that would never leave me.

And I guess even now I am thankful that, not only Oreo but all of my guinea pigs, have such huge over exaggerated personalities, as whenever i feel down or low having them as a source of resilience, positivity and general brightness in my life has made me the person I am today.

So if any of you are feeling like you are battling your mental health, even if you cannot afford or do not have space for a guinea pig, i urge you to try to find a single ray of sunshine in your day. Be it a bird singing, the flowers on a tree or even a baby guinea pig resisting the urge to succumb to bullying. Recognising just the little things that make u smile or appreciate your life, even for a second, really can change an entire mood or your perception of the day.

I’ve been consciously doing this in my daily life for almost three years now, and I cannot stress enough how much better I feel. It's easier said than done, but even one ray against the dark clouds can brighten the entire picture to infinite levels.

*They have now accepted her and no longer bully her to such an extent. In fact Oreo now stands up for herself and if we feel any of the pigs aren't being allowed any food we give them extra away from the others so that they can maintain the essential minerals, vitamins and weight that they need :).

guinea pig
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About the Creator

smith morgan

Hi i'm just doing this for fun atm to try and improve my techniques.

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