Onwards and Upwards No. 21
Hello my healing team,
I hope this update finds you well.
I often write about my experiences of coping during times of adversity. In my experience, the adversity that I have been exposed to in my life has all had some level of associated stress. Adversity creates stress. I think that stress can also lead to adversity. Sadly, some events bring with them unprecedented levels of stress and it is during these events that we need either an inbuilt ability for tolerance, or some method to help us navigate and process the stress we face. It is our ability to cope with and to process stress that often governs how damaged we will be on the other side of the adverse experience.
I think of all of those times when I was highly stressed. More recently it has been related to my being unwell. But before becoming unwell, I had quite a bit of experience dealing with stress whether it was work related or was due to Richmond Tiger’s inability to string together a decent season of football. Over the years, the stress that I have been exposed to has increased gradually so I have been able to acclimatise. I could function quite well in high stress situations. This ‘training’ certainly helped me deal with the adversity that I have recently endured. I could be thankful that I have endured high stress in the past as it has helped me deal with my current adversity. Alternatively, I might also question whether that same stress made me more susceptible to becoming unwell in the first place?
With that thought, do you operate in a high stress environment? Do you cope well or are you ignoring signs that could lead to you becoming unwell. Could your stress be leading you to adversity?
Take care
Geoff
P.S – By the way, a recent PET scan has identified that I have a Hurthle Cell Tumour on the left side of my thyroid. This is an unrelated condition to the Myeloma. It has a 70% chance of being benign and a 30% chance of being malignant. Either way, I will have the left half of my thyroid removed in the coming months and have my fingers, legs and toes crossed that it is not cancerous. Just a little more adversity to deal with……… and deal with it I shall.
