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    Edward T. Creagan, M.D.

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  • Feb. 18, 2009

    Take the reins and reduce your stress

    By Edward T. Creagan, M.D.

9 comments posted

In 1912, a young German immigrant sailed for America from the grimy seaport of Hamburg, Germany. He was 10 years old and spoke not a word of English. He landed in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia, a prominent German community and one of the premiere thoroughbred breeding and training areas in the country. This man was my grandfather. Horse racing became his passion and career.

As a teenager, he had the physique of a scaled-down blacksmith — muscular arms and chest, and hands the size of watermelons. He was also fearless, an asset when dealing with the thoroughbred horse. This creature weighs half a ton, has a brain the size of a walnut and has been bred for 300 years to run through a brick wall at 30 miles per hour. To ride these animals day after day is indeed one of the world's most dangerous professions. In fact, it is the only profession where an ambulance follows you on your way to work. Health insurance for a jockey is among the highest in all of professional sports.

My grandfather was at the top of his game from about 1920 to 1940, but then he became complacent. He lost his fitness. He lost his focus. And his career went into free fall. He died in his early 50s, a broken man who let the dream get away.

My father continued in the racetrack industry as a professional handicapper and a jockey's agent. He was an astute judge of jockeys and received a share of their compensation for his services. Watching my father, I learned some powerful lessons about stress and burnout.

Let me elaborate: The essence of stress is a lack of control over our circumstances. My father controlled variables relating to horse racing success by meticulous attention to detail — about the horse, the rider and the track conditions. He left nothing to chance. If the track was wet and if the horse did not do well in the slop, that horse was not a good bet. If the race was a mile or longer and the horse had only done well in shorter races, this was not a bettable event. In other words, it wasn't by luck or chance but with knowledge and plain hard work that he chose the races that offered the greatest benefit.

In observing my father's work with jockeys, I learned how these professionals are able to survive in one of the world's most dangerous professions. They faced the threat of death and paralysis every day. The stress of performing at a top level was ever present. So what can we learn from these diminutive gladiators who risked their lives every day? Here are the "secrets" of the ones who went the distance.

  • Meticulous attention to fitness. This means running or walking and having a rock-solid understanding of nutrition — because a gain of a pound or two could signal the end of a jockey's career.
  • Focus. The jockeys who are able to eliminate distractions in their personal lives and in their financial lives are the only ones who achieve careers spanning several decades.
  • Business savvy. A generation ago professional jockeys — much like professional boxers — were relatively uneducated and many had little or no business sense. Not so today. They recognize that to decrease the stress in their lives they need to take charge of their finances and have a clear understanding of investments and how markets work. Equally important, they need to make sure their future is protected, for instance, by enrolling in disability insurance.

Let me elaborate on that last point. Several years ago jockeys paid little attention to insurance and just assumed that their union would take care of it. However, because of poor leadership a number of policies lapsed, as one particular rider discovered when he became paralyzed and learned that he had no insurance.

The message for us: We need to be preemptive. We need to be proactive. We need to control as best we can the variables that impact our health and wellness.

These are some of the lessons I have learned. I would sure appreciate hearing from our blog community so that some day we can all wind up in the winner's circle of life.

9 comments posted

blog index

  • August 14, 2009 7:34 a.m.

    I have produces this eLearning stress prevention programme as my final year project. Stress or distress is an increasing health risk for people. The website is : http://www.stress-prevention-clinic.net/elearning/ The research information http://www.stress-prevention-clinic.net/HtmlShowcase I would like people to use it and let me know if it helps

    - raymond short

  • March 28, 2009 1:54 a.m.

    Excellent article....................

    - Blend@www.d.tell.com

  • March 10, 2009 1:01 p.m.

    Hi Barbara: I noted your comment re jockeys. Having know many who squandered talent, would appreciate any background on your insightful words. Many thx....

    - Dr. Ed

  • March 1, 2009 4:54 p.m.

    As my mother would say when I'd wearily dump a load of homework assignments on the kitchen table, "You will own your own time when you do what comes hardest to you FIRST". Nowadays, my grandson finishes the sentence for me and recently told me that his great grandmothers advice really worked.

    - Kim

  • February 24, 2009 3:22 p.m.

    This is very timely & thought provoking article. Thank you for sharing. We are, many times, our own worst enemies. We fail to prepare, look ahead, and manage our reactions to situations & people, and then wonder why we're ready to snap. This is a lesson for me. Thank You!!!!

    - Janet RN

  • February 24, 2009 3:04 p.m.

    Jockeys learned to get greater control over their professional lives. We can use them as a model in our personal lives. For example, instead of just making the deadlines in your life at the last minute, plan so that you meet your deadlines well in advance if you can. Such skills in life management will reduce your stress and give you the sense that YOU are in control of as much of your life as you can be.

    - Barbara

  • February 22, 2009 1:45 p.m.

    Very good article. Thank you!

    - susan

  • February 19, 2009 7:54 p.m.

    at 55 I experienced a tramatic brain injury. Stress followed by depression, was constant. My father would use a term in various situations, "your thinking about yourself too much" following that advice I needed to find something bigger than me. I went to a childrens hospital and saw the children. that made my problems look small. I think about those children and what their life must be like and since then I have not been depressed. in summary, find something bigger than you, it makes your problems seem small, then get involved.

    - tim cowan

  • February 18, 2009 10:47 p.m.

    A new mom of 29yrs,I was diagnosed with brain cancer. Having few variables and little control enabled me to focus on what mattered most to me,my kids & my faith, limiting much of the stress.

    - sherri scott

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