Dealing with loss
By Mayo Clinic staffOriginal Article: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dealing-with-loss/MY01987
- With Mayo Clinic oncologist
Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
Edward Creagan, M.D.
"The magic of the electronic village is transforming health information. The mouse and keyboard have extended the stethoscope to the 500 million people now online." — Dr. Edward Creagan
The power of the medium inspires Dr. Edward Creagan as he searches for ways to share Mayo Clinic's vast resources with the general public.
Dr. Creagan, a Newark, N.J., native, is board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hospice medicine and palliative care. He has been with Mayo Clinic since 1973 and in 1999 was president of the staff of Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Creagan, a professor of medical oncology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, was honored in 1995 with the John and Roma Rouse Professor of Humanism in Medicine Award and in 1992 with the Distinguished Mayo Clinician Award, Mayo's highest recognition. He has been recognized with the American Cancer Society Professorship of Clinical Oncology.
He describes his areas of special interest as "wellness as a bio-psycho-social-spiritual-financial model" and fitness, mind-body connection, aging and burnout.
Dr. Creagan has been an associate medical editor with Mayo Clinic's health information websites and has edited publications and CD-ROMs and reviewed articles.
"We the team of (the website) provide reliable, easy-to-understand health and wellness information so that each of us can have productive, meaningful lives," he says.
Latest entries
- First, do not harm
May 22, 2013
- Coping with life's hard knocks
May 8, 2013
- Be open to solutions and silver linings
April 17, 2013
- Learned optimism
April 3, 2013
- Recognizing that life is unfair
March 20, 2013
Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Stress blog
-
Jan. 18, 2012
Dealing with loss
By Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
Although the comments posted are each different, a recurrent is theme is that of dealing with loss — the loss of a dream, the loss of a relationship, the loss of an opportunity, the loss of health and peace.
| Need more help? |
|
If the stress in your life is more than you can cope with, get help right away.
|
How do we deal with life's losses and move forward? People far wiser than I am say that we never do get back to normal. There's a time of confusion and uncertainty that then merges into a new normal. The longing, disappointment and regret are there, but they become less palpable with time. Let me share with you an example.
A colleague suffered the tragic loss of his daughter about 20 years ago. At odd times, even today, he finds himself going into a funk. He's struck by a profound sadness over what will never be. He will never walk his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day. He will never be a grandfather. He acknowledges that overall his life is good, and the good days outweigh the bad. But out of the blue, he's reminded of the loss by a song, a meal or a comment by a colleague.
So somehow we do heal, but every healing leaves a scar. We must remember that healing is a journey, not a destination or a point in time. It's an evolving process that is never completely over. Idle words or can you relate to some of these observations? Please weigh in.
25 comments posted
Share on:
25 comments posted