- With Mayo Clinic oncologist
Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
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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.
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Stress blog
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Dec. 12, 2012
Holiday survival tips
By Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
As American psychiatrist and author M. Scott Peck said, "Life is difficult. This is the great truth, one of the greatest truths." Once we accept this fact, it's a little easier to move forward.
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If the stress in your life is more than you can cope with, get help right away.
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And the challenges we face don't go away just because it's the holiday season. Indeed, this can a time of heightened stress for many people.
A wise colleague of mine who is dealing with some difficult personal issues shared with me a few survival tactics that I would like to share with you:
- Watch the numbers. This means striving to get 30 minutes of walking or related activities a day, and eight hours of solid sleep a night. It also means being mindful of calories and high-fat foods.
- Put first things first. Whatever is important for you to do today, write it down. Repeat after me: Write it down. It's easy to become overwhelmed with demands and expectations. You will get swept away in a tsunami of demands if you don't take care of your own needs.
- Sharpen the saw. The author Steven Covey spoke about "sharpening the saw." He tells the story of two lumberjacks working in the forest. The lumberjack who was most successful was the one who would periodically stop to sharpen and oil his saw. Follow this example. Make time to preserve your greatest asset — you.
- Let go of unrealistic expectations. Don't get hung up on the mythology of the holiday season. Few American families fit the traditional mold of a mom, a dad and 1.7 above-average children. We live in a time of the blended family and step-relatives. Be gentle with yourself and be realistic with your expectations.
As demands for your time increase during this season, you need to do more for yourself — not less. After all, what are the holidays all about? It's not the stuff. It's about about finding peace and serenity for ourselves and sharing it with our fellow travelers.
Follow me on Twitter at @EdwardCreagan. Join the discussion at #Stress.
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