Stinky's Home, and is supposed to avoid "stress." Should I turn off the teevee??

[Sparkly]

Husb2Sparkly came home today! He posted a thank you at the end of the other thread. We both appreciate all the wonderful well-wishes. This is such an amazing community.

So, he's supposed to avoid stress -- emotional stress. He's a guy who rants when he's angry or frustrated (as if you hadn't noticed), and he's frequently angry and frustrated at the horrible actions and consequences of BushCo. I've never allowed him to watch an entire State of the Union address read by the Chimperor, because he gets so irate (and so loud, nobody could hear it anyway).

True, these rants generally go straight up and come right down again within minutes. By the time he's posting a blue-streak here, he's pretty much doing it tongue in cheek.

But it got me thinking about reactions to "political" news. When doctors told him he shouldn't work because of stress, he said his work isn't stressful. I told one of his business partners what the doctor said, and she replied, "But he loves what he does! Much of what we do is actually relaxing!" I found myself sort of joking telling the doctors and nurses that it's TV News that stresses him out, not work.

It seems like a joke because to many people, it's a silly thing to be upset over -- mere politics! But it's about decisions, actions, and reactions that cause suffering and death, that can bring down this nation along with others, that are cloaked in deceit and lies and false accusations and character assassinations of others, etc. etc... It's just the worst of human nature, the anti-Golden Rule of greed, playing out on TV day after day.

It's NOT silly to get upset over (including for those of us who aren't ranters). If we didn't care, or know, or pay attention enough to get irate and sad over such wrongs, we'd be... well, Republicans.

I'm not saying these things *caused* his heart attack at all, but I still think I should enforce a strict TeeVee Newz diet of ONLY Keith Olbermann, just to be on the safe side.

But even when you can take the clown away from DU, you can't take the DU out of the clown. By the time he left today, he'd somehow convinced his nurse who she should vote for in the primaries!!

[PresidentObama]

1. Keep him in line.

:hi:

[Evergreen Emerald]

2. Great news! I am so glad he is well enough to come home

I know exactly how he feels about the news. My family won't let me watch Bush either--because I also yell at the TV so loud, no one else can hear it!

I hope he can still post on DU! (perhaps he can stick with the lounge for a while--it can be a bit less stressul than GD).

welcome home...get better.

[bearfan454]

3. Get well soon H2S

Just relax and take it easy.

[JeffR]

4. Even KO may be too much

It's so easy to get a "righteous indignation contact high" while watching.

Glad the curmudgeon is home & mending. Really miss his posts!

[Warpy]

5. It's much more stressful to be treated like a baby

Let him do what he wants to do, except smoke and eat anything made with trans fats.

[AlCzervik]

6. Good news, hugs to both of you.

:hug:

[mike_c]

7. glad to hear it-- I'd advise turning off the TV altogether, permanently....

Seriously. Replace watching TV with genuinely relaxing pastimes. Like reading, listening to music, walking with your loved ones, and QUITTING SMOKING.

Please give my best to the stinkeroo!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. I stopped watching TV because I found it was harming me

physically in that it raised stress levels.

Does Stinky do any breathing practices? I have found that they can do wonders in relieving stress, can be done any time, and are easy to learn.

If you are interested, PM me and I will give you particulars.

[tularetom]

9. Won't he stress because he feels he's missin something?

Personally I don't give a rat's ass about TV news because all I ever do is yell at the assholes anyway. I'd be stressed without the web and the blogs where I get most of my info anyway. But maybe he wants to know what the other side thinks.

[joneschick]

10. Welcome home Stinky!

I love your rants, they're always so eloquent--but most definitely NOT at any risk to your health. Take care and mend well and rapidly.



:hi:

[Pithy Cherub]

11. Your house has to become sort of Flintstony...

Electronic gadgets that allow his to surf the web - bad...
Electronic gadgets that allow listening to speeches by villain - bad...
Electronic gadgets that allow one to listen, surf and change channels - bad...

Hmmm, Laughing Yoga classes - good
Hmmm, daily walks (doctor approved) - good
Hmmm, support group for new non-smokers - good.
Time with Sparkly - Great!

Hope all is good and may joy and happiness abound as he gets better. The Heart Association usually has great local meetings and interesting activities. My mom went and it helped a lot.

[sam sarrha]

12. i just ordered an audio anger management CD from Pema Chodron.

there are many good ones .. the Tibetans have some really good ones.. pemas When Things Fall Apart is wonderful

for stress the best thing is meditation..there are some good DVDs at amazon.com used really cheap

[Gregorian]

13. You couldn't have said that better.

And he sounds a lot like me. Except I am even more stressed about world population on top of it all. It's eating the planet alive.

Having worked in cardiology, I can say that the consensus among doctors was diet and genetics. But stress may or may not be a factor. I think there are issues we simply cannot sweep under the rug. I will die stressed out about the stupid phenomenon of the number of people combined with their addiction to the automobile. It has left us in an undignified way. And has some of us running to find a place to live that is unruined by noise and the racing around of stupid boxes on wheels.

Don't smoke. Eat right. Exercise. And work for a brighter world. But try to do it with less stress. I'm not sure how to do it. I feel like I'm going under, myself. It's killing me. but that's what DU is for. The support. How to get control, and make this a better world. I think your posts are an alarm bell for us all to try and do this without too much internal stress.

[Turbineguy]

14. Food Network

[jen4clark]

28. Great idea!

No one gets mad at food!!

Welcome home Husb2Sparkly!! Light and good vibes continue to stream out to you and your strong, healthy heart!

[supernova]

31. DItto HGTV

Both of those channels are wonderful stress relief. Fine Living too, but it gets a little too froo froo for most men. Heh.

Good luck to stinky. :hug:

[supernova]

32. Nevermind

Wrong thread. :P

[tishaLA]

50. But Food Network IS stressful

after all, all that butter!!!!

To say nothing of that slop Paula Deen prepares.

STAY AWAY FROM IT, HUSB!

[CC]

15. Welcome home!

On the relaxing, have you ever tried meditation? If not yo might want too, it can do wonders for the body and mind.

Sparkly, do not let H2S watch any daytime cable news channels. They will cause ranting and raving at the tv. If he can't help himself and you have a newer tv with a v-chip you can always password them so only you can turn them on.:evilgrin: That is what I did to Fox Noise so no visitors could ever put that on my tv.

[Vinca]

16. Glad you're home and doing better.

Considering the state of the world and how interested we are in politics, it's a wonder the whole lot of us aren't dropping like flies. Chill out, Stinky.

[Justitia]

17. Try some Animal Planet, archeology on History Channel (no Nazis) & hey! The Westminster dog show is

on TV this Monday and Tuesday night.

Animals are shown to reduce stress, I imagine even the ones on TV.

Best wishes for a less-stressful recovery.

[hlthe2b]

18. I I think you better limit him to Northern Exposure reruns...

and the Pet Forum on DU..... LOL.... And have him hold a puppy on his lap, if you can! (works for me)

[The Magistrate]

19. Glad To Know He Is Well, Ma'am

And sorry to learn the old clown needed doctoring.

My best wishes for a full and speedy recovery. We can swap cardiac tips in future: I have had several, and when the admitting nurses say, "Hi, it's you!" things have reached a pretty pass....

I agree with your instict that a restricted T.V. diet featuring Mr. Olberman would be best.

[xchrom]

20. we love you husb2sparkly!!!

Now, do what your wife tells you to do.

you'll live longer and be happier and healthier for it.

and they EVEN HAVE scientific proof of it.

[welshTerrier2]

21. great last line, Sparkly ...

a genuine LOL ...

tell the Clown all his fans are so glad he's OK ...

[Pab Sungenis]

22. Turning off the teevee

is always a good thing, stress or not.

[Adelante]

23. Very good news

:pals:

[Bucky]

24. 3 points: 1- Welcome home, H2S!; 2- yes, keep his stress down, so limit him to Jon Stewart and 3....

Stinky? You call him Stinky?! :rofl: Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!

[FrenchieCat]

25. Yes, by all means! ALthough he might be able to watch C-Span....

as long as he's watching Democrats like Obama or some hearings chaired by Democrat.

Otherwise, no TeeVee for Stinky!

PS. Glad to hear he is at home.....YES, he should take it easy! :hi:

And Sparkly, I give you both this for Valentine Day!



Y'all are one of my favorite couples! :hi:

[Crunchy Frog]

26. I'm so glad to hear he's doing better.

Yes, I think you should unplug the Tee-Vee, find a spare room, and lock it up there, changing the lock and key if necessary.

I think that for some people, TV is exremely aggravating and stressful these days. I've almost completely stopped watching myself, because I found it so aggravating, and I don't even have heart problem.

Please do whatever it takes to get and keep Husb healthy. :hug:

[dogman]

27. Great that he's home, that should lower the stress on its own.

He will likely be his own best stress monitor. In time he will learn to turn away from things that bother him. You're right, it's hard for a person who cares to deal with a lot of the daily goings on in this country. Best wishes on his recovery.

[kestrel91316]

29. If he doesn't have a lap kitty, you should get him one. There's nothing

better for the soul than a purring cat on one's lap to pet.

[smoogatz]

30. Great that he's home. Yes, for God's sake--

turn off the nooz and go rent some classic movies or something. Keep him away from the internets for awhile, too. Is he taking blood-thinners? The old belly-fat injections? Fun, fun, fun. Been there, done that.

[The Count]

33. Great news! And for now, only DU for him! Later, KO, Daily News, Colbert

Come to think of it - that's all the teevee he needs.

[PhilipShore]

34. If people only knew what I know....

The politicians are powerless; they need to control the means of communication, such as TV, newspapers, and radio etc., because they need to control the art of the people. If the politicians can control the media (art) of the world, they then control the Consciousness of the person and thus the nation.

Just ignore them, they are weak minded cowards.

Turn off the TV, stop reading the papers, stop listening to the radio.

Read a good book, move to the country --- get away from the noise of the city, and breath real air.

[roguevalley]

35. sweetie, summarize the news for him until he's better. get him to

commit to walking to build himself up when he can. have keith only. It will be better until he can stand on his own two feet and rant like the pro he is. LOL! Also, remind him there is a reason why women outlive men. ;) He should heed you. You have longevity on your side. :evilgrin:

[Leilani]

36. Good news, Sparkly!

Happy for both of you.

When my blood pressure goes up because of politics, I do a SciFi Marathon.

[Straight Shooter]

37. I think he should needlepoint an IMPEACH BUSH AND CHENEY handkerchief.

That should keep him occupied in a nonstressful way and allow him to express himself, too. When he's finished, he can use it to blow his nose. :)

[Auntie Bush]

38. Welcome home H2S! If you behave yourself maybe Sparkley

will let you watch some news. She can click it off just as soon as you start getting too excited. Anyone as interested in the news as you are would definitely find it very stressful NOT to watch TV. So, you are going to have to learn to watch that temper anyway... or we're going to miss you terribly! :cry::evilgrin:

[midnight]

39. Glad to hear he is home. I don't have cable,but the grammy's

are on and pretty good. The Dixie Chicks won a grammy for best album.

[mnhtnbb]

40. Glad he's home! Give him plenty of laughter. Rent comedies.

There's plenty of research that shows a correlation between healing and laughter.

[Vidar]

41. Great to hear.

[incapsulated]

42. Back and *posting* I see

I'm happy to "see" you both, though. :)

(hide the remote)

[lady lib]

43. Welcome back home, H2S!

Heal, rest, be well. :hug:

[Lugnut]

44. I'm so glad they sprung you H2S

Be well and don't let the bastids get you down. :hi:

[DeepModem Mom]

45. Great news -- thanks!!!

[Guaranteed]

46. Absolutely, shut that TV down. Break out the DVD player.

Don't let him read the news, either.

Just have fun. Play some games, talk to friends, whatever you guys like doing.

Great to see that he's back and OK. :)

[snowbear]

47. Tell him for me....

That the chick from Alaska just got home from playing 2 hours of hockey (ladies team beat the men's team!) and I'm all sweaty and smell like a hockey puck... .. but I'm gonna lay a big wet kiss on him:

[mnhtnbb]

48. Encourage naps, too! Check out this research which indicates

naps help to prevent heart attacks by lowering stress levels

http://www.newsobserver.com/672/story/542315.html

[Lasher]

49. Don't know, depriving him of politics might stress him out more.

I'm just happy he's home. Maybe he could go fishing. Hope he's not going to smoke any more.

Lasher

[Marnieworld]

51. Welcome Home Stinky!

Unplug TV or only allow Olbermann or Daily Show. Only hugs and kisses and maybe puppies should be around him. Take care of our Stinky the Clown! He'll be back in ranting shape in no time. :hug:

[CTyankee]

52. Rent a villa in Tuscany. Walk around the little hill towns (esp. Lucca). See history before

your very eyes. Work on learning some Italian and try it out in the little ristorantes and trattorias you eat in. Try all of the specialties of the region (you can spend LOTS of time researching them!). Find as much art as you can to look at and absorb. Catch up on reading whatever relaxes you the most.

The food, wine, walking, and learning the art of "dolce far niente" (the sweet do nothing)will change your life. You will get fine food and drink and you will exercise your heart and your soul.

[mcscajun]

53. Rent Movies, comedies especially; laughter is an excellent medicine.

Get books from the library...biographies, novels; NO current political rant books, it goes without saying.

So Many Books, So Little Time. He has time for it now. Let him read. :)

Best wishes to him in his recovery. :)

[BlueIris]

54. Yeah, turn that shit off, yo. We're all entitled to a break from BushWatch now and then.

Especially when sorting out major health issues.