Today I share words from a column printed in Heart, a newsletter from St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City.
It provides a stern warning for all of us!
The U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, accounts the tale of one of his more memorable patients who for years had worked in the food industry, living on a modest salary and living an unpretentious lifestyle. One day he won a large jackpot in a lottery, and overnight his lifestyle changed dramatically. He quit his job and moved into a luxurious house in a gated community. Yet as he sat in Doctor Murthy’s office two years later, he sadly admitted, “Winning the lottery was one of the worst things that ever happened. Wealthy but emotionally isolated, this previously social and vivacious person no longer knew his neighbors and had lost touch with his former co-workers. He had also developed depression, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.
If you had to guess the single most important strategy for maximizing your future well-being you’d probably say more exercise, better diet, or quitting tobacco. But Peter Attia in his superb new book, Outlive makes a strong case for tending to emotional health as the top priority if you are on a quest to lead a long and vigorous life. For the past century American, life expectancy has been rising from 47 in 1900 to 68 years in 1950 to 79 years in 2019. But, then it reversed course and started falling – to 77 years in 2020 and 76 in 2021.
This U-turn was due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic, but also due to rising deaths of desperation- suicide, drugs (mostly opioids), alcohol, car accidents, and gun violence—these fatalities typically from risky and self-destructive behaviors arising out of emotional distress and social isolation.
Despite being amongst the hardest working and wealthiest nations in the world, the U.S. faces a mushrooming emotional healthcare crisis.
MY INTERPRETATION: KEEP YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY CLOSE!! I’M STEVE SAUDER
