Welcome to the happiness podcast. I'm Dr. Robert Puff. I've been creating the happiness podcast for almost seven years now and over those

seven years I've got some wonderful letters emails Texas from you, the listener.

But over the course of this time, the one thing I've noticed is, as listeners, sometimes we go

through really hard times, tough times. And the question I get so many

times is, Dr. Puff, what can I do? I'm going through this really challenging time right now and I just

don't know how to get through it. So that's what we're going to focus on today

because I think in the world we get very different answers to what

to do when we have very challenging things going on in our lives. The story that I'll

never forget because it was a friend of mine, it was her son.

He had definitely struggled in life and been quite a challenge for her to raise. Well, one time as he was going through a very hard

breakup with someone that he was planning on living his life with, instead of seeking

help, reaching out to others, or doing a variety of things that could have

healed his heart, he decided that what he was going to do to help his heart heal was to go on a drinking bench, which he went on for three days. And of course this did not heal

his heart. But we all know stories like this. We may have been even told to do this when something

is really hard going on in our lives. Go ahead and drink it away. It will make things better.

We may look at that and say, of course that's silly. We wouldn't do that.

But aren't we surprised by how many people, when they go through very challenging times what they do is they

numb themselves perhaps they turn towards food perhaps they go to the local doctor

and get a prescription drug to reduce the stress.

Perhaps they turn towards illicit drugs, things that really can challenge and

reduce their quality of life.

For my friend, that's what happened to her son.

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