Hi All,
Sorry for the late post, but it's been one of those LONG days. I'm sure you can relate.
Last month I had posted about some health issues. Thank you, all for your prayers and positive vibes. They certainly worked; I am very HAPPY to report that it's nothing too serious. However, it was quite the scare.
I have had high blood pressure for a while now because of my weight gain triggered by the prednisone I was taking for my chronic arthritis...this is a very toxic drug that blows you up like a balloon. I had put on over 70 pounds in two months, which of course, triggered the HBP.
Between this and LIFE's pressures, stress sent my BP through the roof. It created horrible chest pains, which felt like heart attack symptoms. Being a middleaged man, this was a great concern. Men and women of our age are prone to heart disease and it's a number one killer of people in our age group.
For the past month, I have changed my lifestyle dramatically; I'm now monitoring my stress levels, eating right, and exercising. As many of you remember I was in peak health only a few short years ago. It doesn't take long for stress to take over our health. SO, I am speaking to all of my wonderful friends who are stressing... Stress comes from everywhere. We, as creative people, are passionate, so everything affects our lives. Even writing stresses many of us. Not having time to write, not figuring out our plots, character developments, fight scenes, beginnings, endings, middle slumps, etc. You get the picture. Take some time to reflect. Take time for YOU... step away, take a leisurely walk, meditate, start a workout program. Find ways to relieve this deadly stress. When you think of that quote, "Stress can kill you..." Realize that it CAN.
I took some time off even from my rewrites of MOMMY KAY. I needed to step away from everything. It was so good for my recovery. My BP is almost normal. I dropped close to 40 pounds of the 70 I had gained last year from the prednisone, and my mind is fresh and ready to jump back into the rewrites. Be kind to yourself. I have said this many times before, but we all have a tendency to forget this when we are spreading ourselves too thin. Spring is a time for rebirth... it's the perfect time to slow things down and concentrate on treating yourself to some much needed personal time.
Thank you, Alex, and the wonderful IWSG team for keeping all of us in check as well as having the opportunity to vent our anxieties as well as to connect with our fellow writers once a month. If you haven't signed up yet, don't hesitate to join our group and become part of this wonderful family. Pop over to Alex's site right now.
Sending out a HUGE hug to you all!
Have a wonderful month!
Sorry for the late post, but it's been one of those LONG days. I'm sure you can relate.
Last month I had posted about some health issues. Thank you, all for your prayers and positive vibes. They certainly worked; I am very HAPPY to report that it's nothing too serious. However, it was quite the scare.
I have had high blood pressure for a while now because of my weight gain triggered by the prednisone I was taking for my chronic arthritis...this is a very toxic drug that blows you up like a balloon. I had put on over 70 pounds in two months, which of course, triggered the HBP.
Between this and LIFE's pressures, stress sent my BP through the roof. It created horrible chest pains, which felt like heart attack symptoms. Being a middleaged man, this was a great concern. Men and women of our age are prone to heart disease and it's a number one killer of people in our age group.
For the past month, I have changed my lifestyle dramatically; I'm now monitoring my stress levels, eating right, and exercising. As many of you remember I was in peak health only a few short years ago. It doesn't take long for stress to take over our health. SO, I am speaking to all of my wonderful friends who are stressing... Stress comes from everywhere. We, as creative people, are passionate, so everything affects our lives. Even writing stresses many of us. Not having time to write, not figuring out our plots, character developments, fight scenes, beginnings, endings, middle slumps, etc. You get the picture. Take some time to reflect. Take time for YOU... step away, take a leisurely walk, meditate, start a workout program. Find ways to relieve this deadly stress. When you think of that quote, "Stress can kill you..." Realize that it CAN.
I took some time off even from my rewrites of MOMMY KAY. I needed to step away from everything. It was so good for my recovery. My BP is almost normal. I dropped close to 40 pounds of the 70 I had gained last year from the prednisone, and my mind is fresh and ready to jump back into the rewrites. Be kind to yourself. I have said this many times before, but we all have a tendency to forget this when we are spreading ourselves too thin. Spring is a time for rebirth... it's the perfect time to slow things down and concentrate on treating yourself to some much needed personal time.
Thank you, Alex, and the wonderful IWSG team for keeping all of us in check as well as having the opportunity to vent our anxieties as well as to connect with our fellow writers once a month. If you haven't signed up yet, don't hesitate to join our group and become part of this wonderful family. Pop over to Alex's site right now.
Sending out a HUGE hug to you all!
Have a wonderful month!
23 comments:
Hi Michael. So pleased you're back on track with your health. It's all too easy to let the stress of the writing life get to us. It's great to step back then come to it with fresh eyes. MOMMY KAY must have worn you down. Hopefully you're finding the joy in it again.
Have a great month!
I know too well how stress can make you gain weight. I'm still struggling with the pounds that I picked up over the darker years. I seem to cling to every pound I pick up like a fat cell hoarder. Congrats to you for taking charge and shedding so many so fast!
That's good news it wasn't your heart and it's something you can control. Stress can kill - I have a co-worker close to my age who has already had one heart attack and he's going to stress himself into another one. We have to take care of the vessel God gave us.
Glad you're doing so much better. I've had a lot of stress over the years and am really focusing on eliminating it too, eating right, and exercising.
So glad you've dropped some of the weight and got the stress and blood pressure under control. (And thanks for the heads up what prednisone does - I will someday soon have to take something for arthritis and I'll make sure they DON'T give me prednisone!) My wieght's fine, but I'm a bit stressed and need to get it under control.
Pleased to see that you are better and now taking care of yourself. As someone with a chronic health condition - well, two - I know about stress and spreading oneself too thin. But it's too easy to ignore the symptoms. So, glad you have made changes.
Glad you're doing better. That is an issue with treatments for one health issue, they often cause another problem.
Wow, Michael! You have been through a lot. I’m so thankful you’re all right. Thank you for talking about the dangers of stress and how that can affect health.
I can just imagine what a 70 lb gain did to your psyche, Michael, knowing how hard you work to stay fit and healthy. You'll get the rest off soon enough!
Hi Denise... it really wasn't MK that wore me down, it was issues where I live... long story. I decided to stop letting it affect my health. There's no rationalizing with morons.
Working again on MK and I hope to have it finished by the end of this month. Also working on the cover!!! Now, that's a challenge. LOL
Thanks Elizabeth. It's not easy... I'm at a plateau, but that soon should pass.... Hang in there, they'll shrink if you keep at it.
So true. Thanks Alex.
Thanks Natalie... those are great ways to keep stress at bay.
Definitely stay away from it if you can. It's administered for extreme pain. Movement and eating right are the best ways to keep arthritis under control.
Thank you, Roland. I wish the same for you. Keeping healthy as we get older is certainly a challenge...
Very true, Susan. Sadly the pharmaceutical industry counts on it. They create these drugs to cause side effects, so that can sell more to counteract them. It's a vicious multi BILLION dollar industry.
Thank you for your concern, Sheri... you of all people know about how health issues affect our lives. I hope all is well with you!
You know me SO well, Karen. It did and still does, but I am a realist and know that I can only have so much control over this. It will take me at least a year or more to get back to my former health and fitness level, and hopefully I can keep going without tiring out and giving up.
Hi Michael,
So, so glad to hear you're doing better and are back on the right road to a stressless-er life.
You're absolutely correct with this post and I hope that everyone reading it will take something from it - as I know I have because life is too short to worry ourselves to an early ending!
PS: Thanks for the kind wishes and wishing you, as always, the very best and here's to a happy, peaceful summer and beyond!
I'm glad to hear you're doing better. Writing can be very stressful; I know it is for me as much as it is my favourite activity. I try to meditate every night and get at least a minimal work out in front of the TV and work it into my daily mobility since I don't do gyms. (I just don't have the time or patience even, lol, to have an exclusive work-out session like I used to.) So what you've been saying is so right. It is important to take care of ourselves and not let stress take over us. Thanks for sharing that.
I either deal with whatever is stressing me out or I side-step it and put up the hand. A few years ago it made me sick too and I won't go there again. :-)
Anna from elements of emaginette
I hear you 100%! Been dealing with strange stress myself the last little while. Come to find out I produce too much cortisol (stress hormone), which has attributed to high BP and weight gain myself. Among the tools you've listed, I've increased my vitamin C intake and ashwagandha to smoothies. Has a curbing effect on stress. Glad you are feeling better! :)
I'm so glad you're managing your health better. Stress can indeed do terrible things to us--physically, emotionally, creatively. Getting a handle on what stresses us can free us from some of the symptoms. I hope June is a better month for you.
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