the scariest thing

If you are a healthcare provider, you should be scared. If you are a healthcare consumer or a patient, you should be terrified. If you require prescription medication, or physical, occupational, or speech therapy, or you require mental health services, if you are raising children or caring for an aging parent, you should be afraid.

"A healthy person has a hundred wishes,

but a sick person has only one."

~A.G. Riddle~

We should all be worried because the people we depend upon to protect our health and well-being have been dismissed and replaced with people who have no training, or knowledge, or experience in medicine. We are losing the experts we need to develop the drugs that we use to manage diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, infections, and cancer. To monitor and manage public health threats. To protect our children. To man suicide hot-lines. The list goes on...and on...and on. Jobs have already been lost. Staff, dismissed. Offices, closed.

We should be worried because research into advanced techniques and treatments will cease as the grants that fund medical research disappear. People who are enrolled in clinical trials will be abandoned and lost to follow up.

It's scary to imagine what will happen to people who will no longer be able to afford health care. To people who won't be able to afford their medication. To people who will lose the benefits they need for mental health treatment, substance abuse recovery programs, and protective services.

Measles cases are on the rise. People have already died. Unnecessarily. Drug-resistant tuberculosis is on the rise. HIV prevention has taken a hit.

"Not everything that is faced can be changed,

but nothing can be changed

until it is faced."

~James Baldwin~

It's all very scary. Heart breaking, actually. But this is the scariest thing of all:

WE ARE ALL FEELING HELPLESS TO PREVENT

THE GUTTING OF OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM!

All the phone calls, all the letters and emails, all the demonstrations that we have traditionally relied upon to make our thoughts and feelings known to our leaders--our frustrations, our anger, our disbelief, our fear--are falling on the deaf ears and blind eyes of the people we depend upon to lead us into the future. 

"I am not afraid of an army of lions

led by a sheep.

I am afraid of an army of sheep

led by a lion."

~Alexander the Great~

No one seems to know what to do. Or where to begin. Or how to go about it. Perhaps they simply lack the backbone to take a stand against what is happening. Or, they lack the courage to begin.

What will you do to protect your patients? To support the research, services, and human decency that you dedicated your career to? 

While you think about it, try this: 

Extend a simple kindness to someone.

Do something that will make the moment just a little bit safer, easier, or happier for someone.

Smile at or with someone.

Feed someone.

Hug someone, or if that's going too far, hold someone's hand, or wave to them.

Be nice.

In other words:

"Do what you can

with what you have

where you are."

~Theodore Roosevelt~

Something will come to you...

jan

writing to heal

 

Some time ago, I talked about the ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Score and how childhood trauma can cause epigenetic changes in the young brain that trigger an overactive inflammatory response. This has been shown to lead to disease states in adults, such as autoimmune conditions like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, depression, and PTSD-like anxiety and reactivity. Luckily, epigenetic changes can be reversed. Healing is possible.

"What is the source of our first suffering?

It lies in the fact that we hesitated to speak.

It was born in the moment when we

accumulated silent things within us."

~Gaston Bachelard~

Among the practices that have been shown to promote epigenetic healing is writing to heal. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon found that the simple act of writing and reporting on an emotional state had a significant effect on the body's physical state. It improved measures of immune function even in patients battling life-threatening diseases. It reduced markers of the stress response by lowering the heart rate and blood pressure. It lowered rates of depression, addiction, anxiety, and PTSD. The damaging effects of ACEs can last a lifetime, but they don't have to. 

"I write because silence is a heavy weight to carry.

I write to remember.

I write to heal."

~Andrea Gibson~

Bernie Siegel, MD, uses "writing to heal" in his workshops. He prompts students to write on the topic of  "why you love yourself." Then he asks them to write about why they might want to end their lives. They are usually surprised to see that the compilation of pages they have written about why they should commit suicide is many times greater than the collection that considers why they should love themselves. Whether their stories are about emotional pain or physical pain, Siegel encourages them to break the silence that has been wreaking havoc on their minds and bodies all their lives without their awareness or understanding.

In another study, one group of participants was asked to write about a personally traumatic experience for 15 minutes daily for four days in a row, while another group wrote about an emotionally neutral topic. The first group reported improved mood, improved memory and sleep, reduced pain, fewer intrusive negative thoughts, and reduced blood pressure compared with the second group.

It is hypothesized that writing exerts its positive physiological effects by reducing the levels of inflammatory substances that accumulate when traumatic or painful thoughts and emotions are denied, repressed, or otherwise silenced. Acknowledging, describing, and releasing those feelings through writing may allay anxiety, reduce stress, and promote healing.

Hence, my interest in the practice of narrative medicine.

If you would like to give it a try, or if you want to offer this tool to your patients, here are a few general guidelines for getting started:

• Find a time and a place to write without distraction or interruption.
• Try different modalities, such as writing long hand in a journal, tapping it into your laptop or phone, or dictating and transcribing your story.
• As you write your first draft, do not worry about or let yourself be sidetracked by correcting grammar, spelling, or usage.
• Forget what you imagine others will say about your writing.
• If what you are writing about makes you increasingly anxious, set it aside. Focus, instead, on self-care. Take a walk outside. Take a nap. Have something good to eat. Call a friend. Return to writing when you are ready.

"Self-care is a divine responsibility."

~Danielle LaPorte~

The simple act of putting our stories into words can help us heal both psychologically and physically. When we share our story with others, it can help them heal, as well. And isn't that what we are here to do? To help others heal?

"The healing that can grow 

out of the simple act of telling our stories

is often quite remarkable."

~Susan Wittig Albert~

jan

five succinct bullets

Last week, Elon Musk directed all federal workers to submit a list of five things they had accomplished at work in order to justify keeping their jobs...or risk being fired. A few days later, they were advised to ignore the order. Then, without explanation, they were redirected to comply with it. Needless to say, this resulted in total chaos. In fear, anger, and confusion. 

"...use this as an opportunity

to shine and show off what you do

in five succinct bullets."

~Elon Musk~

I'm retired, so obviously, this doesn't apply to me. Still, I thought it might be fun to try it (tongue in cheek...). So, here it is:

1. When my plans for the weekend fell through at the last minute, I decided, instead, to drive to Pittsburgh to surprise my son who was celebrating the first year anniversary of his very own craft brewery, CoStar Brewing. Check it out at https://www.costarbrewing.com/. I think it pleased him when I showed up unannounced.

2. I spent either an hour in meditation or two hours walking in the countryside every day.

3. I read. I'm reading "Coming to Our Senses" by Jon Kabat-Zinn in preparation for a meditation retreat with him later this year. It's a big book! It'll take a while for me to get through it.

4. I woke up early to enjoy the sunrise.

5. I fed the birds, squirrels, and the deer out back with the "good" (meaning "expensive") birdseed every day. 

Granted, this might not be the type of activity that would impress Musk, but it serves to keep me balanced and relatively calm in spite of the chaos. It helps me stay in touch with reality even when it scares me. It keeps me sane, unlike some people I know...

"When something is important enough,

you do it even if the odds

are not in your favor."

~Elon Musk~

jan