Some of us live such busy lives that making time to meditate seems like an impossibility. If you are like this then you need to learn to meditate on the go when you can fit it in. If you want to know how to meditate during your daily routine then you should check out this article for some helpful tips.
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Kubler Ross, the great pioneer in the study of dying looked at death and dying from a sociological prism. Her natural compassion and sympathy for the patient pushed her to great insight in regards to treatment of the patient and care of the “person”. Within the Pastoral Care field, I think it is important, especially for those in pastoral care within the hospital setting, to study her research regarding the psychology of the patient within the hospital.
One of the first obersevations is how the patient or person feels upon being admitted into the hospital. Kubler Ross noted that patients first, felt stripped of autonomy. From the stripping of the clothes, surrending of personal items and confiscation of medication, the patient becomes total dependent upon the hosptial system. In many cases, they see the hospital staff as interlopers who are breaking down the relationship between them and their primary physician.
On the other hand, the hospital, while its staff and system should be commended for saving lives, unfortunately at times, seems like a repair shop. It is there to repair the disease, not the person. Ideas of death, are seen as failure. In Kubler Ross’s article, she even points out that such words as “dead” or sometimes unconsciously substituted with “expire” or “loss”. The death of a patient is seen as failure. With these things in mind, we can see why the emerging importance of hospice is critical, especially if hospitals do not have the pastoral training necessary to treat the whole person.
Continuing on with the admission of the patient, the patient soon understands two realities during the hospital visit. First, “I must survive the stay” and second, “how can I ensure that I am cared for?”. In regards to the second point, the patient may feel uneasy over-using the help button. This forces the patient to possibly manage pain to save the button for only the most important needs. A simply sigh by a nurse or disgruntled expression can effect the patient’s willingness to call when needed. Furthermore, a reward versus punishment paradigm develops in their mind. The rules of the game indicate waiting as punishment, while anticiapation of their needs as a reward for their good behavior. Other subtle rewards are seen as a doctor who sits instead of stands while speaking to them, or a nurse who takes the time to merely touch their shoulder while explaining something. The reality is patients are testing their boundaries all the time. They are trying to see what is acceptable and what is not. One patient interveiwed by Kubler Ross, said she wished to acknowledge the busy schedule of the nurse as a token of appreciation, in a hope the nurse would appreciate her. This is an unfortunate psychological reaction of the patient in the hospital and one that should not come into play but unfortunately does.
Another element is entitlement. Patients feel they are entitled to a certain level of care, not based on money spent, but how ill they are. Fever and pain level are two indicators in how much a patient will risk punishment for entitlement. The closer to death, the more a patient will push the button, feeling they deserve more.
Ultimately, a hospital is about recovery of the injured body part. While it should strive also to serve the personhood of the patient, it sometimes falls short. Nurses are trained more in technological aspects that keep the patient alive instead of interpersonal skills that keep the patient secure and happy. Kubler Ross applauded the hospital system and understood the nature of the system, but also wished to make it better with a more sincere effort to make the patient also emotionally and spiritually happy.
If you are interested in learning more about Pastoral Thanatology, then please review the program.
Mark Moran, MA
Summer fruits make nutritious, low-calorie dishes you’ll want to serve every day.
Summer is the time of year when we shift from earthy, heavy and hot soups and stews to light and refreshing summer salads full of nutritionally rich holistic health foods. Like most I feel it is not summer until I have tasted fresh watermelon, experienced the first bite of a juicy peach or the “heat” from a peppery summer salsa. Here is a list of a few holistic fruit salad recipes I personally am dying to try out this Memorial Day weekend. For more on holistic nursing please visit our webpage.
The article, “10 Ways That Meditation Can Change Your Life”, by Joel Brown states
“One ancient practice that has shown tremendous transformations is the practice of meditation. So what is meditation? and what meditation techniques can you use to improve your success?”
Meditation can help you in a number of ways. The health benefits from daily meditation range from reduced stress to lower blood pressure. If that information is not enough to get started then maybe this list of 10 ways meditation will change your life might. It is easy to learn how to meditate and there are no special meditation techniques to master. All you have to do is set aside 10 minutes a day to change your life for the better.
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The article, “ADHD Drug Shows Promise for Binge Eating”, by John Gever states
“A stimulant drug, lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (Vyvanse), nearly abolished eating binges in adult patients who had experienced such episodes four times a week, a researcher said here.”
Most of the time there are no alternative uses for ADHD drugs. An ADHD drug (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (Vyvanse), however, has started to show promise against binge eating. Interesting how alternative ADHD treatments can be helpful in other areas.
See on www.everydayhealth.com
The article, “The Top 5 Ways to Reduce Stress and Reclaim Your Peace of Mind”, by Dr. John Pierce states
“Doctors and therapists often encourage people to decrease stress and “stop and smell the roses,” but how can you accomplish this when your day-to-day life is hectic and overwhelming?”
Learn how to reduce stress with this simple stress management advice. In this article are 5 ways to reduce your stress. They are easy to do and do not take much time either. If you have the time to stress out about something then you should have the time to review ways to combat it. Quick article to read, won’t take you more than 5 minutes. Do you have 5 spare minutes to combat your stress? I think you do. So do yourself a solid and click on the link!
For more on stress management please visit: Online Stress Courses.
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The article, “How to help children cope with tornadoes, disaster”, by Kfor-TV and Ashton Edwards states
“The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum has years of experience helping children cope with tragedy and disaster after the bombing April 19, 1995.”
An article with links describing how parents can help children understand tornadoes and how to deal with the loss they cause. Good set of links to investigate. Child grief counseling is an important step is recovery for a child. You can replace homes easier than you can mend emotions. Learning about child grief will help you help them understand what happened and why.
If you are interested our grief counseling program then please review the site
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Substance Abuse counselors no doubt encounter common themes with their patients. One common denominator would probably be bad family life. While not always the case, undoubtedly, it is probably usually the case.
The sad plight of the American family since the cultural revolution of the 60s has led to a decay of the traditional family and its values. Values that held strongly to a moral code, interfamily communication, order, and support. These values have been become weakened with the infusion of moral subjectivism and materialism.
The case of materialism is especially striking. Potentially due to worse economic times, families strive for the dollar over quality time. Without a home maker, children are less and less supervised by the parents and fall victim to idle time and lack of guidance, falling prey to various social “isms”. In this idle time, replacing the dinner table, family board games, and a close emotional tie is the rise of video games and the internet. Regular social norms that take place in the real world are now replaced with artificial ways of communication. These artificial ways of communication also open the children to a wave of information previously unattainable. A simple click of the mouse and the teen or child is flooded with information that may not be suitable. Of course, if the parents are too busy to find time, despite their own schedule, then these ideals from television and the internet become more of an influence over their child.
The situation is even worse is split homes. Divorce destroys the family structure and leaves children vulnerable to other sources. Furthermore, depression and unresolved grief may affect the child. These situations are breeding grounds for substance abuse.
Regardless if a family is still married or divorce, parents must find time for their child. The simple gesture of love and its ability to help a child grow is the difference. Listening to your child, partaking in his or her interests, doing things outside, and just giving them a hug when they are sad can make the biggest difference. The question is how broken is this generation’s parenting skills? Do parents wish to take time and realize that their child is their primary vocation before “me” time at the bar or if divorced, dating. No matter how tired after work, a parent needs to make sure their child does what he or she is supposed to do, but beyond that, let them know you care and love them. Let them know that their concerns matter and let them know that you want to do things with them and be part of their life.
While some parents may form a friendship partnership with their children, it is still important that while being part of their life, there is a line between parent and child. If done in love, this line will serve as an important basis for serving discipline with love and forming of character. The child needs to see the parent as someone he or she can talk to and have fun with but also hold for the parent that revered sense of respect.
Ultimately, the solution is simple in preventing substance abuse, yet are we, as parents, willing to sacrifice the “time”.
If you are interested in Substance Abuse Counseling, then please review the program.
AIHCP
This week we celebrated Pentecost Sunday. What does it mean to Christian Counselors?
For Christian Counselors, one of the most important gifts of the spirit is counsel. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, mentioned in Scripture, are individual charisms or gifts given to a baptized individual. These gifts manifest most notably when the person is born again, or in Catholic terminology, confirmed.
The apostles were the first to receive this gift on Pentecost Sunday. They awaited the coming of the spirit as Christ had promised them. Upon reception, they became soldiers of Christ and truly began to carry on the work of Christ in the infant Church.
In Protestant theology, the gifts of the spirit are especially emphasized in worship. Each person possesses a special gift to contribute to the life of the church. While some branches take this to extremes in cases of tongues and snake handling, most main stream Protestant churches view these gifts in a less charismatic fashion. In Protestant theology, the reception of the spirit is not confined to a ceremony but is upon belief in Christ as Savior and continues to manifest throughout the person’s life.
Pentecost is the birthday of the Church and the institution of the sacrament of Confirmation. The sacrament is the vehicle for receiving this grace formally. Through the sacramental grace of the Holy Spirit, the soul becomes a soldier for Christ. Catholicism also believes that the spirit manifests throughout the life of the Christian. One minor note is that Catholicism believes that Mary was present during Pentacost, while Protestants differ due to no biblical reference to her presence. Catholics tend to focus on the tradition of the apostles and early church fathers who state she was there. This is a minute point and should not be a point of argumentation.
Despite slight differences, both theologies share common features regarding the inner working of the spirit with the soul. While Protestantism does not have a sacramental formula, it does believe in the coming of the Spirit which in essence is the same ideal found in Catholicism.
Let us pray that through the Holy Spirit, all Christians will continue to manifest their gifts as the apostles did on Pentecost.
If you are interested in Christian Counseling, then please review the program. Our program in Christian Counseling is a comprehensive program with multiple courses required for certification. If you have any interest in learning more about our program in Christian Counseling, then please let us know.
Mark Moran, MA
The article, “What People Don`t Know About Losing A Pet”, by Stan Popovich states
“I read the Bible and I talked to many people regarding this subject for a long time. Based on all of this research, I would say there is a 99% percent certainty that our pets will be there when we die.”
A comforting commentary on pets and you in the afterlife. How do you feel about the thought of pets experiencing an afterlife? Do you feel they have a soul similar to ours? Pet Loss Grief like regular grief is somethings combated by the reassurance that we will see our loved ones again.
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