The Pressure We Live Under

4-26-2025

By Dr. Howard Friedman, MD | Veteran | U.S. Army Medical Corps | Internal Medicine | HHOM LLC

Pressure—physical, emotional, and environmental—shapes our health and our future. Recognizing its impact is essential to protecting our well-being.

Life today is full of noise, pressure, and distraction. It is the air we breathe and the ground we walk on. To pretend otherwise would be foolish. The truth is, living without external stressors is impossible. What we can do — and must do if we value our health — is learn how to limit their impact.

External stress interacts with internal stress, which will be the subject of my next blog. For today, I want to focus on what is pressing in from the outside: the endless demands, the constant noise, the distractions we often don't even recognize for what they are.

We live in a world that is available 24/7. Information, entertainment, obligations — all of it seeks our attention, every hour of every day. It is easy to get lost in it. It is easy to surrender to the pace and forget that we have a choice. But the fundamental law of nature remains: the only thing you truly control is you. You can influence your surroundings, but control? That begins and ends within.

When it comes to stress, boundaries are your defense. Protecting the peace in your home, your schedule, and your relationships is not selfish. It is survival. Setting limits is not about rejecting life; it is about living deliberately rather than reactively.

There is an old wisdom that teaches: Say no often enough to protect the power of your yes. Not every request deserves your time. Not every headline deserves your energy. Distraction is big business today — whether it is news, social media, substances, or endless deadlines, they are all designed to pull you away from awareness. They profit by your attention.

I want to be clear: you are free to choose whatever balance you wish. If you want to be healthy, however, it is important to recognize that distractions, unchecked, can cost you your focus, your peace, and eventually, your health.

A healthier life is not about achieving perfection — no one ever has. But the pursuit of a simpler, more intentional life is a worthy journey. Living with awareness is not about deprivation. It is about reclaiming your time, your mind, and your energy from a world that profits when you lose them.

Health, as I see it, is the pursuit of a goal — a striving toward an ideal that includes not only avoiding disease but actively nurturing vitality. Managing external stress is part of that path. It is a choice you make every day: to live deliberately, not reactively.

As always, these blogs are not here to tell you what you must do. They are here to offer reflection, insight, and encouragement. You choose your path. You live your life. My role is simply to offer guidance grounded in truth, tradition, and experience.

If you would like to explore these ideas further or have a question about your own health journey, I invite you to visit my website at HHOMLLC.com. There is a button labeled “Ask Dr. Howard” — and I would be honored to hear from you.

Until next time,

—Dr. Howard Friedman, MD

Board-Certified | Internal Medicine | Veteran | U.S. Army Medical Corps

Founder of Howard’s House of Medicine (HHOM LLC)

https://www.hhomllc.com