Just something to think about.
Diseases caused by stress:
Skin disorders
Obesity
Asthma triggers
Autoimmune Diseases
Hypertension and heart disease
Migraines and headaches
Constant stress can cause serious immune system dysfunction.
Home, children, overtime at work, finances, volunteering, husbands.
Death of a loved one, divorce,substance abuse, miserable jobs.
All promote the release of cortisol (our stress hormone) which can cause destructive immune factors to be released.
Abnormal levels of these cortisols are associated with autoimmune conditions, inflammatory diseases and allergic conditions.
When cortisol counts go up, DHEA counts go down. DHEA is the immune and anti-aging hormone which helps repair and maintain tissues, reduce atherosclerosis, increase insulin production and balance, control allergic reactions, and balance the immune system.
Low levels of DHEA cause sexual dysfunction, muscular shrinkage, memory loss, degenerative disease and poor immune function.
Life with a non-complaint diabetic is 24/7 stress.
So how do we go about reducing stress?
1. touch therapies and reflexology....relax the muscles, relaxes the circulatory system, sooths the nervous system.
2. slow down. take care of yourself. eat healthy food. take a daily multivitamin that includes high levels of B complex.
3. learn relaxation techniques that suite your lifestyle and personality
4. meditate (any activity that helps keep your attention calmly in the present moment)
5. breathe. Deep. Slow. In. Out.
6. self massage
7. take a time out. No wonder I love long hot baths.
8. music. sing. play the piano. listen to soothing music.
9. positive thinking. 30 seconds is enough to shift your heart's rhythm from stressed to relaxed
10. love. Love your pet. Love your child. Love yourself.
So I have failed at this. I have been under such intense stress for the last 3 years. First with his heart attack, then open heart surgery a year later, then the 2 spinal fusions surgeries a year after that (this past February) 21 days of him in the hospital with me fighting for his life, for his care, nearly 24 hours a day. Then 3 months of intense home care.
And in that process, I did not take time to take care of me. Oh, I thought I was. But I really wasn't. My art wasn't enough. My body started to attack itself. I ignored every single symptom. Until 2 weeks ago when I physically could not move. I called my doctor and said I needed help. Today, she did all kinds of xrays, lab work and she thinks that my immune system is attacking itself. We are going to rule out as much as we can, but it seems apparent that my body has attacked my muscles, causing weakness and muscle pain.
We are starting physical therapy immediately and will be treating this with meds. There is hope for a good prognosis, but if we don't "fix" me, I could well end up in a wheelchair - way too young!
All because I thought it was more important to take care of him than to listen to my own body.
Hrump! I think things will be changing around here tomorrow! I have cleared my calendar for the next 10 days. I am going to stay with one of my sister's next week and relax. Completely and totally forget about everything and anything here. Sort of a "cleansing" process so to speak. I will be altering my diet, adding exercises and stretches, doing everything possible to nip this in the bud.
My body is screaming at me to slow down. I'm going to listen.
DW
Showing posts with label Stress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stress. Show all posts
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Back to work way too soon!
And the signs are starting to show up. This is a guy who NEVER cries.....and he has been on the brink of tears twice this week because of things going on at work. He works from home, but it's just as stressful. He missed a call while getting back xrays last week and they moved 3 of his key employees into other units. Then yesterday, he got a phone call to join an emergency meeting and he had one hour to give the name of an employee they could cut. It's a huge corporation and he has excellent income and benefits and can do all this from home. But his stress is beyond anything I have ever seen with him.
So, we decided that he has 3 options after a lengthy talk yesterday afternoon.....into the evening.
1. He can go back out on a 6 month short term leave with full pay and see what happens at the end of that time.
2. He can try for the company's long term disability. I'm certain that he qualifies. It would be 66% of his salary for 5 years and then he would have to retire. While on disability, he cannot work anywhere else.
3. they are offering a retirement package right now. He qualifies. He would get a buyout around $100K and then $1600 a month for the rest of his life. Certainly not much income. We could buy a small retirement home with the cash and help my sis take care of my mom. I'm all for this option. I have a retirement income and between the 2 of us, we would be ok. And there would be no restrictions on his working somewhere else.
We were both leaning towards # 3 and talking about whether to help my mom, a 100 mile move, or move 1000 miles and help his parents who are younger. I thought we could do both. Move close to my mom until she passes, then move again. HA! That went over like a lead balloon.
The other problem is that my mom lives in our HMO area. His parents - no idea what insurce we'd be with there. And because he would lose his health insurance if he retires and have to go on mine, I decided I get to pick! LOL! (Just kidding!)
I was up all night long because this is how his company does. Makes an announcement and gives you 24 hours (or less) to make your decision. They have not offered a retirement package in 2 years and have had about 8 reductions in staff. If he doesn't go with the package now, he may not get the option. And there is no guarantee that his name won't be put into the pot with the next reduction,
And we are certainly ill equipped to make this kind of a decision in 24 hours!
So, we agreed to sleep on it. He slept, I searched the internet for homes for sale!
Got up this morning and he is in the worst, most foul mood ever. I realize this is beyond stressful for him. Not only is he in the process of making a decision about himself, he's got to give up the name of an employee that he really is close with. It's just heart wrenching. Bottom line, he is simply not well enough to go through this amount of stress He should not be back at work. He will neer heal. And he is not well enough for us to move. But if he retires, we cannot stay in this house - it would be way to expensive to maintain. We might even end up in foreclosure or bankruptcy. I have no idea. But I feel my own ulcer brewing!!!
What I do know is that no matter what happens today.....we wil get through this. No matter what decision he makes, I will be here beside him, trying my best to support him.
I have decided to take the day off and just play. Called some artist pals and they are coming to the rescue and my sister is going to skype in, so we're going to have a party! Carrot cake in the oven making the house smell wonderful!!! At least I've learned how to take a "bad" moment and turn it around!
DW
So, we decided that he has 3 options after a lengthy talk yesterday afternoon.....into the evening.
1. He can go back out on a 6 month short term leave with full pay and see what happens at the end of that time.
2. He can try for the company's long term disability. I'm certain that he qualifies. It would be 66% of his salary for 5 years and then he would have to retire. While on disability, he cannot work anywhere else.
3. they are offering a retirement package right now. He qualifies. He would get a buyout around $100K and then $1600 a month for the rest of his life. Certainly not much income. We could buy a small retirement home with the cash and help my sis take care of my mom. I'm all for this option. I have a retirement income and between the 2 of us, we would be ok. And there would be no restrictions on his working somewhere else.
We were both leaning towards # 3 and talking about whether to help my mom, a 100 mile move, or move 1000 miles and help his parents who are younger. I thought we could do both. Move close to my mom until she passes, then move again. HA! That went over like a lead balloon.
The other problem is that my mom lives in our HMO area. His parents - no idea what insurce we'd be with there. And because he would lose his health insurance if he retires and have to go on mine, I decided I get to pick! LOL! (Just kidding!)
I was up all night long because this is how his company does. Makes an announcement and gives you 24 hours (or less) to make your decision. They have not offered a retirement package in 2 years and have had about 8 reductions in staff. If he doesn't go with the package now, he may not get the option. And there is no guarantee that his name won't be put into the pot with the next reduction,
And we are certainly ill equipped to make this kind of a decision in 24 hours!
So, we agreed to sleep on it. He slept, I searched the internet for homes for sale!
Got up this morning and he is in the worst, most foul mood ever. I realize this is beyond stressful for him. Not only is he in the process of making a decision about himself, he's got to give up the name of an employee that he really is close with. It's just heart wrenching. Bottom line, he is simply not well enough to go through this amount of stress He should not be back at work. He will neer heal. And he is not well enough for us to move. But if he retires, we cannot stay in this house - it would be way to expensive to maintain. We might even end up in foreclosure or bankruptcy. I have no idea. But I feel my own ulcer brewing!!!
What I do know is that no matter what happens today.....we wil get through this. No matter what decision he makes, I will be here beside him, trying my best to support him.
I have decided to take the day off and just play. Called some artist pals and they are coming to the rescue and my sister is going to skype in, so we're going to have a party! Carrot cake in the oven making the house smell wonderful!!! At least I've learned how to take a "bad" moment and turn it around!
DW
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
