Start as you mean to go on…
2016 has been, to put it mildly, a funny aul’ year.
Between the usual suspects of Trump, Brexit and the seemingly never-ending list of celebrity deaths (most recently that of Debbie Reynolds, the Hollywood legend who died just one day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher), it’s a year that many people want to put behind them in order to start 2017 with a clean slate.
While some people have their own interesting theories as to why so many people in their 50s and 60s have died suddenly this year…
It is becoming increasingly obvious that David Bowie has established a better alternate universe and is populating it selectively one-by-one
— Miss Texas 1967 (@MsTexas1967) December 27, 2016
… these recent deaths prompted Angel V Shannon, a nurse and CEO of Seva Health, to take to Twitter to talk about the dangers of stress and how important it is to look after your mental and physical well-being.
You may not agree with everything she has to say, but there’s no denying how dangerous stress can be so please do take the time to read the thread.
As Shannon asks, how are you coping?
This will help…
A really odd feeling to read about the sudden deaths of so many 50 and 60 year olds while having a patient roster full of 90 year olds.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
I don't know anyone's medical history but one thing I do know is stress is the precursor of every disease. Cellular stress. Mental stress.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
I tell people all the time, there's a whole LOT that doesn't show up in the numbers (lab reports, blood pressure etc) until it's too late.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
Stress is a silent killer.
If people do absolutely nothing else in 2017, mitigating their stress would be more than enough.— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
And what's crazy to me is that people wear stress and that "hustle/grind…I'm so busy" like a badge of honor. Don't believe the hype.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
Nothing sexy about the cellular stress of insomnia all for the sake of hustling and grinding. Nope. Nothing.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
My goal is not to get more done but to have less to do. Productivity through rest, nutrition, and good, radical self care is my playbook.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
And here's the other thing: just because you've always done a thing doesn't mean it was always the right thing to do.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
Just because you've always "survived" on four hours of sleep doesn't mean it was always the best thing to do at the cellular level.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
There's a thing called "stages of sleep." Best to know what that's all about & find out whether you're really sleeping (ie resting) at night
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
Folks have NO idea what an assault it is to their entire system, at the cellular level, to have night after night of no real sleep.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
By the time stress shows up in your numbers – blood pressure, labs, weight, etc – the cellular level assault has already taken place.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
And this is why, from my perspective, every single clinic visit should include a discussion abt how the person is coping with stress.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
Eliminate stress? Not gonna happen.
Stress is a part of life.
For everyone.
All the time.
The question is how are you *coping.*— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
Coping: managing, mitigating, warding off, setting healthy boundaries, acknowledging limits, setting realistic expectations.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
And a word about the very last one: realistic expectations. I find that to be one of the *main* sources of personal stress.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
Large majority of us are literally doing too damn much. Too much for too many with too little. And running on fumes.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
Boundaries work great for other people. But what about the boundaries we need to be setting for ourselves, like a decent night's rest?
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
What about the boundary of health as the very FIRST wealth?
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
Real talk: being downright honest about your stress and learning how to *cope* with it is literally money in the bank.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
Do NOT normalize the sudden deaths of 50 and 60 year olds when folks are out here playing tennis in their 80s and 90s.
— Angel V. Shannon MS, CRNP (@angelvshannon) December 28, 2016
For more on Angel’s Twitter, click here.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
