Stress and Dis-Ease: Keep Them Below the Boiling Point

“It’s not stress that kills us; it is our reaction to it.” – Hans Selye

On July 10, I got the early morning call everyone dreads—my 34-year-old niece was rushed to the ER with a blood pressure reading of 225/123mm Hg. After hanging up the phone with my sister, stunned, I paused to process the news. I tested a new stress management technique I’d recently learned, and it helped me complete my morning meditation before heading to the hospital.

I checked into the hospital and headed to the ICU, where my niece was fighting for her life. The doctor and I were surprised she hadn’t had a stroke, given her dangerously high blood pressure. But she was already experiencing kidney and congestive heart failure and was placed on a respirator and emergency dialysis.

After a two-week stay in the hospital, she was discharged and now receives dialysis treatments three days a week.

Having supported my daughter through a catastrophic stroke at age 37, I knew how to guide my niece through the crisis phase of this life-changing event. And just as I threw myself into learning and teaching my daughter about strokes eight years ago, my niece and I are now learning about dialysis together.

Yet I feel compelled to do more - to educate others on the link between stress and dis-ease. If you are among millions living with high blood pressure or other chronic conditions, or know someone who is, it’s important to recognize that stress can be a major contributor. Sadly, many young people, like my niece, don’t make the connection between stress and illness until it’s too late.

Over the past five weeks, my niece shared with me that even though she knew she was tired and “stressed out,” as she described it, she didn’t understand what being “stressed out’ does to the body. So she just kept running and running until her body got her attention – her kidneys were tired of working overtime to manage her blood pressure and completely shut down. I explained to her that what happened to her is how the body behaves when you ignore its early warning signs.

I joined the Health Promotion bandwagon over 35 years ago, and health outcomes have worsened since I began the journey in 1989. Obesity and chronic disease rates continue to rise, and are appearing at younger ages. For example, data from the United States Renal Data System and the NIDDK show that in 1990, approximately 6-7% of dialysis patients were under 40; by 2023, that number had climbed to about 10-15%. Knowing that my 34-year-old niece is now part of that statistic is heartbreaking.

In 2023, I added the "Stress and Dis-ease: Keep Them Below the Boiling Point" Workshop to the small change Toolkit, and it’s time to do more teaching so I’m offering it again. While I especially hope young adults will attend the event, it’s open to anyone struggling with chronic conditions or curious about how stress impacts the body.

Visit www.myrtlerussell.com to secure your spot for this transformative workshop. Take action for your health today—whether for yourself or someone you care about. Don’t wait for a crisis; join us to learn strategies that could change—or save—lives.

Ready to bring the "Stress and Dis-ease: Keep Them Below the Boiling Point" Workshop to your community? Contact me at smallchange@myrtlerussell.com  or call 731-267-2524 now to make a difference.

Be informed, Be Well

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