Stress: a key factor....
After working for three years at a Silicon Valley startup company, and
getting more stressed out each year; especially approaching Christmas,
when there was deadlines. I was woken up one morning (Jan. '96, I was 47
years old) by a pain in my big toe joint that seened to be getting more
intense. Since I know I didn't sprain it, I theorized that my cat had
slept on my foot all night, causing a stretched ligament or something.
I ended up dropping in on a clinic later to get it checked, because it
was so painful. After an X-ray showed nothing, the physician suggested I
get a regular doctor and get a check-up.
A few days later, I had a checkup. This new doctor told me the toe pain
was probably due tio a sprain, and by the way, the tests showed that my
blood pressure was dangerous (190 over something) and that my
cholesterol was very high (my ldl/hdl ratio was also bad). Also, my
weight was an issue (190, which is the highest it's ever been)
Up to that point, whenever I had had a blood pressure check (not very
often) or cholesterol check (rarely) they had been dead normal.
Anyway, it got my attention. The doc put me on BP meds and told me to
try diet mods for the cholesterol/weight problem. (Also, I love the
fermented spirits of the grapes & grain, if you know what I mean, which
didn't help)
To make a long story short, I modified my behavior. My BP and
cholesterol gradually came down to normal over a year and a half (no
more BP meds). The foot pain came back hit me again the next christmas
(stress time) and I borrowed some crutches.
To make a long story even shorter....I realized that the stress that I
was subject to at my job was getting the better of me. There were some
impossible deadlines that couldn't be met due to the company being small
and inexperienced. This is what, over a couple of years, wrecked my
health, and initiated my first gout attack (I found out that both my
parents in their later years were diagnosed with gout).
My diet, exercise & imibing have slipped back from the Spartan level
that it was, with no ill effects so far. The one thing that I keep in
control is my stress level. I'm still working at the same hi tech
company that I have been at since '92, but now I NEVER let the job
stress me out in a negative way,: I'll do something to deal with the
problem: i.e. get extra help or get the schedule modified. My health is
# 1. I am actually more efficient when I have the stress under
control....
I believe that learning to deal with stress and diffuse it as soon as
possible ( you can never avoid it or eliminate it), prevents or
minimizes the effects of many illnesses. I beleive that if you get
stress under control, that most of the other so called u''nhealthy
habits will fall into line....
My gout attacks have decreased from 3 or so times a year to ??? one so
far. Keeping some Indomethacin capsules on me at all times is a +. If
you take it at the first twinge, you could head off a damaging attack.
If you wait a few hours, it will have much less of an effect in reducing
the pain & swelling
Anyway, my point is that uncontrolled stress over a long period of time
is destructive to your health, but you don't realize it because it kind
of sneaks up on you. And, even if you become aware of this as a cause,
it still takes a long time to reverse the effects.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with us BJD. I never realized
until this discussion started that stress had ANYTHING to do with
gout, but I guess I should have - it seems to cause or effech an
awful lot of other body ills, such as high blood pressure, ulcers,
etc. Glad you got your stress, HTN & gout under control. Thanks
again. Brenda
Sounds great, Diane,
Glad you got the rat-race tamed down a little. It helped me to
get
out of the big city (Houston TX) with its heavy crime, heavy traffic,
& heavy pollution, & heavy population! I'm about 9 mi. from work
now,
live out in the country, with lots of elbow room & fresh air. It's
nice, but I DO miss the resturants & shopping in a big city! I was
born & raised a city girl, lol. Had to get used to frogs, owls, &
coyotes at night instead of sirens & train whistles! A nice change,
though. Unfortunately, my job CAN be stressful a lot of the time.
I'll
just have to work on deep-breathing & NOT internalizing everything.
Sounds like you've done real well at cutting your stress level
down. Keep up the good work. Brenda
Thanks for the support, Brenda. I think more people
need to make cutting stress out of their life (or at
least *lessening* it) more of a priority. I found
that stress was contributing a lot to my poor eating
habits too (now that I am not so stressed out, I don't
run to the candy/cookies/chips/pizza to relieve my
stress with). Yes, I am a Stress Eater. I find it
easier to keep to a healthy diet when I am *not*
stressed out. Being stressed out weakens my resolve
and self discipline. When I am feeling relaxed, I am
also feeling strong. It's interesting. I am
discovering things about myself lately!
Also, I am finding working/living in the suburbs (as
opposed to living in the burbs and working in the
city) much more relaxing. The city is a nice place to
visit on occasion, for me, rather than a place I want
to be in five days a week, all day long. I lived in
San Francisco for five years when I was in my
Thirties. I got burnt out on it, and was glad to move
back to the burbs finally. I love listening the the
crickets chirping at night, and I too sometimes hear
owls hooting in the night! (We live on the fringes of
the countryside here in Walnut Creek). Nature is a
big stress reliever for me, too.
--Diane
Further to our discussion about stress, here is a post
that was sent to my WalkItOff e-mail group that I
thought was pertinent:
"It was my intention to reply to the topic of the day
for Thursday sooner, but I haven't had much time at
home the past couple of days.
Stress is something I can identify with, since it was
the reason I retired two years ago (a year or so
sooner that I intended). My job as a clinical
laboratory technologist was always stressful, but I
loved the work and dealt with the stress well. The
last year it really got to me with the cutbacks and
all and having to do the work of two people. I was
having medical problems that included chest pain, high
blood pressure, headaches, and insomnia. Not to
mention the fact I gained 10 lbs. Walking would have
helped, but that was before I began any exercise
whatsoever. I just stayed tied up in knots all the
time and ate all evening.
Once I made the decision to retire, it was like a
weight was lifted from my shoulders. All my medical
problems disappeared. I still take medication for
blood pressure, just not as much. My husband had been
retired for 2 years at that time, and we are really
enjoying like now.
I began my walking and exercise program immediately
after retiring, and rarely miss a day. Walking is the
world's best tranquilizer. There are still times when
I snack, but I guess I wouldn't be human if I didn't."
Dale
Glad to know I'm not the only stress eater, Diane! When I get up
tight I eat for "comfort!" I think that since I got gout I've put ON
weight instead of taking it off, groan.... I admire your losing. Keep
it up. Brenda
Nice Post from WalkItOff, Di. I haven't read that one yet. There are
SO many of them & I am working my way backwards from the most recent.
I'ts really taking a while, & I haven't read one I felt I could reply
to yet - especially since I don't have any walking experiences to
share - yet. I'm just lurking in the background, as some people have
said here. Now, HERE, I just go ahead & open my big mouth. I can
usually think of SOMETHING to say. Brenda
Yes, I think that's it: when I get stressed out, I
eat to comfort myself. It does, at the time I'm
eating. It's later on that I feel guilty about it,
and regret the weight gain the stress-eating caused.
--Diane
I mostly just read the posts on WalkItOff too. I use
the people's experience to gain inspiration from, and
also tips for keeping on plan.
--Diane