Presidents face unabated, unfathomable stress. “You see it over a term,” said Ronan Factora, a physician specializing in geriatric medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. “It’s a good study of chronic stress on a person’s overall health.”
Changes in skin or hair are gradual, he said. “If you do have a stressful event, nothing is going to happen right away.” Nothing visible anyway. Inside the body, the pituitary gland jolts the adrenal gland, just above the kidneys. Hormones start coursing. Adrenaline cranks up heart rates and blood pressure. Cortisol, another hormone from the same gland, causes inflammation and preps the body for converting sugars into energy.
“It’s not intended that people would be chronically exposed to these levels,” said Sherita Golden, a physician at the Johns Hopkins Medical Bloomberg School of Public Health. Cortisol strains the circulatory system, battering artery walls. The hormone also thins the skin, makes muscles waste and bones lose mass. The immune system weakens, and viruses that cause colds and cold sores take hold. Sleep turns fitful.
“Your cognition slows, you may feel more depressed, your ability to concentrate goes down,” Factora said. “And it just builds on itself — a real cascade.”
There may be no more stressful human experience possible than to have all of the responsibilities of running a country weighing on your shoulders. And when that country is America, well it is amazing that these men even have the physical strength left to campaign for a second term.
The Washington Post features a slideshow of pictures showing the President aging over his four year term, that for me at least was almost heartbreaking to watch.
In many ways it kind of made me feel grateful that he was willing to further damage his body by serving a second term, knowing full well what the impact would be on his appearance, body, and health.
With all the crazies out there I am so fearful of the danger he faces every day-I hope that Monday goes smoothly. Why are some of these people who threaten the safety of others still at large? The USA is so lucky to have a man of good character as its leader and he is so under appreciated that it makes one ill.
ReplyDeleteHe's still sexy and pissing off the RWNJs right and left!
ReplyDeleteBlack
Brains
Brawn
BOOYAH!
Actually, alot of his aging is what happens naturally from the four years that have passed, that would happen to anyone that moves through those four years. Not to say that stress doesn't contribute to one's aging, but I don't see that his aging is out of the ordinary at all, even if he was not president. Further, I don't know how anyone can call him unemotional. His eyes speak his emotions so eloquently, if you simply listen. That slideshow just let me see the many expressions of our president, as opposed to any extreme aging. He would have developed grey hair anyway with the passage of time, he looks tired in some pictures more than others, but really, nothing out of the ordinary. His amazing spirit shines through it all.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there was a study out that pretty much confirmed your hypothesis. Plus, IMO, he actually doesn't look THAT much older.
DeleteI agree as well. Perhaps had they taken the exact same picture of a relaxed and made up Obama four years later, then we can really see if a significant difference has been made. Based simply on the two pictures above at two different emotional states, I'd say to Obama's significant aging theory....nah, not in the least bit.
DeleteThat February morning in 2008 found Barack Obama decidedly out of sorts.
ReplyDeleteHe was locked in one battle with Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination that showed no signs of ending — and another with a vicious cold that felt the same way.
As he rode the service elevator in the backway of a convention hotel here, the snowy-haired African American operating it turned suddenly. He held out a black-and-gold bit of fabric embroidered with a screaming eagle.
“Senator Obama, I have something I want to give you,” the man said. “I’ve carried this military patch with me every day for 40 years, and I want you to carry it, and it will keep you safe in your journey.” Obama tried to refuse, but the older man persisted.
Big endeavors can find their meaning in small moments.
Later that day, Obama and his aides discussed the encounter. The future president pulled the patch from his pocket, along with about a dozen other items people had pressed upon him.
“This is why I do this,” he said. “Because people have their hopes and dreams about what we can do together.”
Two American stories intersected that morning in that elevator. The more famous, of course, is the one that begins its next chapter on Monday, as the nation’s first black president takes the oath of office for a second term.
But the other story also tells a lot about where this country has been and how far it has come.
No one in Obama’s small party that day noticed the man’s name tag or, if anyone did, the fact that it said Earl Smith was quickly forgotten.
No one knew how much of Smith’s life had been woven into a patch that, over four decades, found its way from the shoulder of an Army private to the pocket of a future commander-in-chief.
It was the only shred of cloth he had saved from the uniform of a nightmarish year in Vietnam. Smith fired artillery with a brigade that suffered 10,041 casualties during the course of the war. The brigade’s soldiers received 13 Congressional Medals of Honor.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/earl-smith-is-the-man-behind-a-military-patch-that-president-obama-prizes/2013/01/18/deec2444-5c13-11e2-beee-6e38f5215402_story.html
What a awesome story! Thanks for sharing!
Deletecwl
I don't always agree with him, but I know he doesn't make knee-jerk, emotional decisions based on a whim, and I respect him immensely for always maintaining his composure and leadership demeanor.
ReplyDeleteHa, Quitter Queen has aged twice as much as President Obama in the last 5 years, and she's done nothing but grift the public and repeat the same speech hundreds of times for a buck!
ReplyDeleteGuess being a Quitter Pretender is even harder on the body that being the leader of the free world, who'd of thunk it?
Yes indeed!
DeleteBecause it's so stressful being a working mom, er, I mean, a quitter mom with your younger kids farmed out to relatives. Some days Sarah has actually had to awaken before 1:00 or even noon a couple of times. Not much time for rejuvenation and beauty replenishment. Being a grizzly mom sure ain't easy.
DeleteNow that's a comparison timeline I would absolutely LOVE to see. How time spent over the last five years has impacted the outer image of President Obama vs Palin. I know Uncle Gryphen has done this in the past, but ending with that last Walmart picture vs. getting sworn in as Commander-In-Chief a second time....priceless!!!
DeleteI read somewhere that Mr. Obama (the NRA has now refused to address him as 'Mr.') has stated that he feels safe because he has very good security.
ReplyDeleteWell, that may have been the case three or four years ago...but the hatred directed toward the president and his family has escalated. That must weigh on his mind.
I worry about the president and his family's security. I know he has the best security in the world..but there are so many nutcases out there (Ted Nugent and his ilk come to mind)..
And no less, Sarah Palin and her propensity to put bullseye targets over Democrats' that she doesn't like. And we all know of her incredible hatred of our president. She and her sick followers wish our president ill well.
I read an article awhile ago (sorry, can't find a link) that said he gets 30 credible threats a day, over 400 times more than any other President. Yeah, that thought does cross my mind from time to time, but I trust he's got a great security detail.
DeleteO/T: Gryphen, if you would, love, perhaps find a screen grab or post Mittens Rmoney's 'transition' website...the one that mentions plans for his inauguration? ('where to call for tickets, where to stay..etc.)
ReplyDeleteThat would be delish to see again.
Whatever will the Rmoney's be doing on Monday?? I wonder if they will let all the help from their 8 mansions off for the day...so the help can watch the inauguration of the man that they more than likely voted for???!
Hee..hee...hee..
Found this link that posts the main page from his transition website. Don't have time to check if you can actually get there any longer.
Deletehttp://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/08/mitt-romneys-transition-website-where-president-elect-romney/
Oh wait, there is a link on the site I just posted where they did screen grabs of most of it. Link is right above the screenshot on the first page. Too freakin' funny!
DeleteRomney's Transition Site
Deletehttp://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/11/07/romneys_transition_site.html
And Bush seemed to age in reverse. What's up with that?
ReplyDeleteYou can really see the dramatic difference when looking at President Clinton as well. I can see that President Obama has aged, but he's aged well! I know stress plays an important part, but what one does to combat stress is important too. I think his relationship with his family is his secret to aging well, for the life of me, I can't imagine having my mother in law (shudder) move in with me! He did, and makes it look so easy!
ReplyDeleteHe also exercises! A big FU to stress! He doesn't eat great on the road but when at the WH he eats healthy organically grown food (Thank you FLOTUS!)So that helps alot.
DeleteStress is a KILLER. Exercise combats stress.