My blood pressure has been high lately. With the cold weather, the loss of my brother, and the weight of work, I find myself asking how to live with stresses that cannot be avoided—and how to adjust to them.
My blood pressure has been high recently.
Perhaps because of that, I have headaches and feel unwell.
The cold weather over the past weeks, combined with thoughts of my brother, is probably the reason.
Work-related stress has also been considerable.
These are things I cannot avoid.
I have no choice but to accept them.
So the question becomes how to come to terms with them.
For the cold, the answer is simple: dress warmly.
This morning was cold again, so I will start wearing thermal underwear from tomorrow.
I am sensitive to both cold and heat, but the rise in blood pressure caused by cold is something I can address.
What can be done, should be done properly.
I want to keep my neck, wrists, and ankles warm as well.
Still, I wonder why winters in Japan feel so relentlessly cold.
As for blood pressure itself, I try to drink less alcohol and reduce salt.
I know that as hot pot meals increase, so does my use of ponzu sauce.
As for my brother—he is gone now, and there is nothing that can be done about that.
I find myself recalling many things: our past, the funeral, scattered memories.
I have not yet fully come to terms even with my father’s death.
So how am I supposed to accept my brother’s?
I believe I will accept it someday, but I have no idea when.
Perhaps I never will, not until I die.
People have to live while repeatedly accepting the deaths of others.
As for work-related stress, there is little I can do about it.
Routine tasks should be carried out together with colleagues and clinicians, supporting one another.
Academic society responsibilities weigh heavily on me, but these too cannot be avoided.
If I run away, others will suffer.
These societies and study groups, and the people involved, are what raised and shaped me.
This is my way of giving something back.
It is my mission.
Swiftly and accurately,
I want to handle each task, one by one.
