Meditation is key way to spiritually and emotionally rewind. Mindfulness is also an application some use. Mindfulness and meditation both help individuals but they differ in their approach.
The article, “How mindfulness, meditation can benefit both spiritual and physical health” by Eliza Smith-Driggs looks at mindfulness and meditation as way to find health. She also explains how they differ. She states,
“Dr. Annie Budhathoki, doctor of acupuncture and oriental medicine and licensed acupuncturist at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, teaches her cancer patients both mindfulness and meditation practices. She distinguished the two this way: “Mindfulness focuses the mind on one thought or object. … Meditation is about emptying the mind.” She said emptying the mind is harder for people in pain, whereas focusing the mind on something positive can be more effective.”
Mindfulness and meditation both have unique qualities that lead to healthier lives. Please also review AIHCP’s Meditation Instructor Certification
Please also review AIHCP’s Meditation Instructor Certification and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study. The certification is four years and open for qualified professionals.
Meditation can sometimes be more difficult than it should. People focus too hard or are too distracted. Individuals are to conscious of what they are trying to do and are unable to find the peace meditation offers to them.
There are certain tips that can help you meditate. Please also review AIHCP’s Meditation Instructor Program and see if it meets your needs
The article, “7 Meditation Tips For Those Who Have A Hard Time Staying Still” by Ashley Tibbits discusses some tips to help one find mindfulness. She states,
“Changing your mentality is just one thing you can do to make meditating feel more within your reach. From simple breathing exercises to creating your own cozy corner, there are a few tricks you may not have thought of that could help you start a habit that sticks.”
Meditation can help one find peace and solace in these difficult times. Please review AIHCP’s Meditation Instructor Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study for qualifying applicants.
Did you ever wonder why one person can drink and even binge drink during their college years and never emerge addicted , while another person may become addicted to alcohol his or her whole life? It is a multi faceted issue that does not have just one answer but multiple issues that can come together and form the scary picture of addiction.
Many factors can lead one to addiction. Please also review AIHCP’s Substance Abuse Counseling Training Program and see if it matches your professional and academic requirements
The article, “Why do some people become addicted to drugs while others do not?” by Pam Rush takes a closer look at the biological, personal, and environmental issues that can lead to addiction. She states,
“No single factor can predict whether a person will become addicted to drugs. A combination of genetic, environmental, and developmental factors influences risk for addiction. The more risk factors a person has, the greater the chance that taking drugs can lead to addiction. Environmental, genetic, and developmental factors may include:”
Please also review AIHCP’s Substance Abuse Counseling Training Program to see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and open to qualified professionals seeking certification in Substance Abuse and Addiction counseling.
Malpractice can occur at anytime in healthcare. Unfortunately, many people suffer life long damage due to malpractice. However, when do you know you have a legitimate case?
The article, “The “Four D’s” of Medical Malpractice” by Greg Barnhart looks at four easy ways to recall if your case fits the malpractice paradigm. He states,
“Medical malpractice can be thought of as a particular subset of negligence. If you feel like you or a loved one has been damaged by medical professionals’ negligence (meaning, their failure to adequately perform their duties), our Florida medical malpractice attorney can help. The requirements for establishing medical malpractice are often referred to as the “four Ds:” Duty, Deviation, Direct Causation and Damages.”
What constitutes medical malpractice? Please also review AIHCP’s Legal Nurse Consulting Program
Please also review AIHCP’s Legal Nurse Consulting Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals and nurses.
Worker burnout is a big issue in today’s work field. It can range from dissatisfaction of a job due to mundane chores to the opposite of overload and over specialized tasks. It can occur due to poor personal relations with other employees and managers. It can occur due to poor job descriptions and task goals. Finally it can be due to lack of overall content with the job due to lack of advancement or security.
Worker burnout is due to chronic stress. Han Seyle, the father of stress study, emphasized that stressors can negatively affect the organism. In doing, so the organism responds with a fight or flight response. In agrarian communities, this was a far simpler response. In prehistoric times, one could face a larger predator such a saber tooth tiger, or flee. In modern day, minor stresses, although less fatal acutely can become fatal on a chronic level because employees cannot fight or flight. An employee facing a difficult customer, or a demanding manager, or an over loaded office desk, cannot externalize the frustration or flee the scene. Instead, stress is internalized and becomes toxic without an outlet.
Worker Burnout is a reality in the modern day work paradigm. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program
During the stress encounter, Seyle pointed out that organisms react in three phases. The first phase, is alarm. This phase prepares the body for fight or flight. The heart pumps more blood, blood pressure increases, the body excretes adrenaline, and organs release sugar to burn. Temporarily, this prepares the body for action. It gives the body more focus, more energy and an ability to react. However, when this alarm is constantly on, it can cause health issues, especially when there is no way to externally release the stress.
The second phase is resistance. In this stage, the person is not able to fight or flight, and is forced to deal with the stressor. Anger and frustration can emerge in these cases.
The third phase is exhaustion. In this phase, the raw emotion is gone and the person succumbs to the stress. The person may in this phase exhibit burnout. Burnout syndrome is caused by prolonged chronic stress. Burnout though has two elements. Some become constantly angry and easily frustrated while others become detached and depressed. Burnout is ultimately a sign that one has no control over the stressors that ate tormenting them. One becomes powerless.
In preventing burnout, it is essential that one identifies issues that could lead it to it. One acronym that helps individuals become more positive about stress is OPEN. Open looks to rethink the way we look at stressors and stress.
O represents opportunities. One should look at their position and look at the opportunities associated with it instead of the negatives.
P represents positives. One should look at the positive elements of one’s work or place in life
E represents environment. One should look at the environmental issues at work and see how they can be better faced and create better productivity. Stressors can help us show what is wrong with something and create better responses.
N represents negative. One should identify the negatives of a job or position and see how they can become less impactful. How can one face the negatives and reduce stress? This is the key element of looking at the negatives.
In addition, stress reduction goes beyond the individual’s attempts to reduce but also at the organizational level. Better organizations can lessen the chance of burnout among employees. Over taxing jobs or under stimulating jobs, while opposite extremes, can produce stress and create burnout. In assessing this, organizations need to see where more balance can be produced for employees. Employees with more balance see less burnout.
The Job Diagnosis Index looks at a few critical points in a job that lessens burnout. Does the position hold skill variety? Does it possess task identity as well as task significance? Does it offer some autonomy to the employee? And does it offer feedback from the others as well managers regarding the position and how things are done? When positions lack a variety different tasks and became over mechanized, the employee may burnout from boredom, or feeling of lack of significance. When an employee feels zero autonomy they feel enslaved and free from expression or innovation. And finally, when an employee is not given feed back or allowed to express concerns, then the position can truly become stagnant.
Positions without task variance, task identity, significance, employee autonomy and employee and manager feedback are more likely to lead to burnout
Positions with clear cut mandates, significance, variances in tasks, autonomy with less strict oversight, and communication between management and feedback from staff, experience less burnout. Team work, team orientated goals, autonomy and communication are key in reducing burnout. Keeping the position challenging but not over tasked and preparing the training necessary can make the employee become one of the team instead of a step in the process.
Hence employers should offer task variety, provide task identity and offer some autonomy with feedback and discussion. Beyond these basics, job enrichment can also be amplified through increased responsibilities, opportunities for advancement and job security. With an umbrella of communication and structural support, a better job position can be created that reduces stress and pushes one to do better in more healthy environment.
Some positions, such as nurses, waitresses, customer service centers, social workers, and police offers find a more difficult time in dealing with these issues. They face a chronic criticism and deal with many situations that can tie their hands in how they respond to certain things. With better structural support as well as stress management skills, they can also better face the issues they deal with regarding the public.
Some individuals may be better equipped to handle stressors. They may be able to find outlets and also have the resources for support. Others may fall victim to burnout. Unfortunately in recent history, one can identify the stress for police officers as they come across difficult crowds due to policing policies that need reformed. The ability to handle the stress becomes internalized and chronic stress can lead to a break down.
Learning to create a better work environment is key to preventing burnout. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program
Stress Management is critical in the modern world. With industrialization, one must deal with stress without being able to fight or flee it. Individuals are over worked or under challenged due to these new labor paradigms. In addition, jobs that deal with the public especially during the recent turmoil are pressing first responders. Stress Management remains an important skill set. Stress Manager Consultants can offer guidance to business, organizations and police stations. Stress Management Consultants can help employees and employers better deal with stressors and help create more conducive environments that limit chronic stress and prevent future burnout.
Please review AIHCP’s Stress Management Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.
Sources: “The Stress Management Sourcebook” by J. Barton Cunningham, PhD
Negligence happens in healthcare. In some cases it can also occur with medication. The article below looks at a case of malpractice and looks to determine if it falls under ordinary negligence or professional malpractice.
There are many types of medical errors. This article looks at ordinary negligence and professional malpractice
The article, “Fatal Medication Error: Ordinary Negligence or Professional Malpractice?” by Ann Latner presents a case in which such a decision was needed. She states,
“This month, we look at a recent case out of Nevada where the court was asked to decide if an error involving a fatal dose of morphine was medical malpractice, requiring an affidavit from a medical expert, or whether it was ordinary negligence, which does not have such a requirement.”
Please also review AIHCP’s Legal Nurse Consulting Training Program. The program is online and independent study. Nurses and other qualified professionals can take the program to earn a four year certification. See if the Legal Nurse Consulting Program from AIHCP meets your academic and professional goals.
Making sense of suicide is difficult. Loved ones who lose family to suicide suffer immensely in the days and months and years after. Questions swirl around their minds. What could one have done better, or why did one say this or that, or why was one not paying attention to the signs.
Processing the loss of a loved one to suicide is a very difficult process. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
Regret, guilt and intense grief can follow. The very fact that suicide is a taboo subject can also intensify the grieving process. Suicide grief hence has all the prerequisites and ingredients for a possible complication emotionally for the family.
The article, “Making sense of suicide grief” by Susan Quenelle looks deeper at suicide grief for family members trying to make sense out of the senselessness. She states,
“September is National Suicide Prevention Month. This designation helps to serve as a reminder to all of us of the many people who struggle with emotional issues on an ongoing basis. But another related area of concern is those who are left behind after someone has committed suicide.”
Those left behind suffer the most and it is important to help them understand their grief. To read the entire article, please click here
To learn more skills to help others through the process of losing a loved one to suicide, then please review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
Dying is as much part of life as birth, yet many dismiss it, hide it and avoid it. Death is a taboo subject for many. It is forbidden word of bad luck. When such attitudes persist, how one experiences death or experiences death with a loved one can be negative.
It is important to face death as we face birth. We need to live the dying process fully and despite the pain, stand by those who are dying. David Kessler explained it best as how we used to meet our loved ones at the gate of an airport. We met them there, but when their time to leave arrived, we walked them to the gate. While this is no longer possible since 911, the idea and analogy fits perfectly. We welcome many from day 1 and in some cases we also say good bye to them. We cannot cheat the process. We cannot just drop them off at the terminal and allow a shuttle to carry them off. We need to be with them every step of the way.
Death is a sacred and intimate moment that we owe our loved ones. We need to be there and experience it with them. Dying well is critical to living well.
In honoring them, in honoring the death process, loved ones need to be with the loved one, yet many negative ideas on death prevent this important time of bonding. Seeing death as the enemy, as a bad word, and as something to be avoided, leads to regrets later. It not only affects the dying loved one in a negative way, but it also prevents healthy healing later for the surviving person.
How many times, do individuals not speak about the person’s condition, avoid the disease, maybe even avoid the dying person? How many times, do individuals chastise other family members for speaking about death to the dying, or express emotion.
In addition to dismissing death, many hide emotion. They think one must be strong for the loved one who is dying. This prevents true expression of love. It incurs unresolved issues that can later haunt the bereaved. Most importantly, it prevents the dying to express their own emotions with the loved one. So many chances are lost when death is not spoken about with the dying, or emotions are not permitted to be shared in this intimate moment.
So what do we speak about to the dying? David Kessler and Elisabeth Kubler Ross would simply state, “listen”. By listening, we give ourselves to the dying, and we also allow them to open up. No conversation is wrong. It allows the dying to express their frustrations, their fears, their dreams. It allows closure in things that may never find closure.
Somedays, certain conversations about the reality of death may not be beneficial. Other days, simply talking about the game and allowing the dying to live suffices. Other times, discussing death can help the person face the reality and discuss important matters, or share certain feelings. It is critical in these narrowing days of life, that one shares what one feels. To hide and take away this precious time of mutual disclosure will never be there again.
Hence it is important to share things, to discuss death, to discuss anything and most importantly listen. It is also crucial to share emotion, to allow the dying to know it is fine to be cry too! Too many times, individuals masquerade their feelings in these final precious moments.
Dying well involves communication, sharing, emotion and togetherness. Please also review our Pastoral Thanatology Certification
Death is part of life and not something that should be done wrongly. Dying wrongly or experiencing death with a loved one is not about how one dies but how one experiences that death or process. One who experiences death with communication and no false faces is not denied the dignity of it. One who sojourns the dying to the final gate, experiences its entirety. It is far from pleasant but when dying and loved ones experience death fully together, then it far more healthy in the short term for the dying and the long term for the mourner. It is a moment in time that is intimate and precious and one we owe our loved ones to experience fully with them.
That is the pain of life but it is part of life. We must live life to the fullest and live it correctly. Death is no different.
Please also review AIHCP’s Pastoral Thanatology Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. Care of the dying is an important field and the Pastoral Thanatology Certification can help one in helping others die well and in peace.
Death of a loved one is difficult by itself. It takes time to recover from the loss and re-adjust to the life without them. While we re-adjust, some say we never truly recover completely and that is fine. However, when we lose someone and the death is complicated because of the nature of the death or how we ended it with a particular person, then complications can emerge in our recovery process.
Looking back the death of a loved one can be painful. Sometimes it can bring back certain things about the death or how we reacted to it. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
Sometimes one may regret how they handled the death of a loved one. Maybe the last words were not pleasant, or the one felt conflicted during the person’s illness. Other times, one may regret not discussing or doing this or that with the person. In other cases, the nature of the death itself can cause extreme distress. Many deaths via suicide or through a particular disease can become disenfranchised. Individuals suffer far greater in these types of sudden and unnatural deaths. They raise questions and cause embarrassment in some cases.
These types of complications can lead to an array of issues for the recovery process and turn simple grieving into a complicated form of grief that may not reside on its own.
The article, “Struggling with How a Loved One Died” from “Whats Your Grief” looks at how one can overcome these conditions of a death of a loved one. The article states,
“It’s very important to note, revisiting events like these can bring up many distressing thoughts and emotions. When thinking about the death, some people may actually re-experience intense emotions like panic, terror, and fear. In an effort to not feel this way, the person may actively avoid anything that could bring up these memories which, in the long run, may cause them to cut themselves off from important people and places and to possibly live in a state of hyperarousal.”
To look back at a loved one’s death is natural. There is nothing wrong with it, but when the death is more complicated or we regret how the process played out, then we may feel stronger emotions that can haunt us. It is important to face those emotions and deal with them.
If you would like to become a certified Grief Counselor then please review the American Academy of Grief’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.
Improper ideas on grief can cause delayed and prolonged mourning. It can also lead to complications in the grief support process. It is important to understand false concepts regarding grief and loss to be able to grieve in a healthy way. Grief is a painful experience but it also a life experience and needs to be understood properly to proceed through it’s process.
Grief myths can prolong the grieving process and complicate it. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Training Program and see if it meets your needs
The article, “These Myths About Grief Could Be Interrupting Your Healing Process” by Catherine Adams looks at grief myths that may be causing issues with one’s grieving process. She states,
“Unfortunately, I’ve had a lot of experience with grief in my short 25 years. When I look at this year and speak with my loved ones, I see grief all around me. Grief can be such a shocking experience, and I’ve found there are many harmful expectations surrounding how grief and healing should look. These expectations pigeon-hole us into pain and stagnancy, and can bar us from actually getting to the healing.”
Grief myths can cause damage to the grieving process and also create erroneous views on life itself. If you are interested in learning more about grief, then please review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Training Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.
