Life is about adapting

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Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle ~ Plato

I love this quote because it reminds me to see the spirit in the people around me. It's especially powerful when applied to working in a hospital or long term care facility. These are places where people come only because they HAVE to. They are not in a good phase of life. They are usually under significant emotional, physical and financial stress and frequently do not act the way they would in "normal" life. As a provider, it is a beautiful opportunity to practice the advice of Plato.

I have been away from the blog for months now because of my own physical and health challenges. I'm on the repair now and looking forward to getting back to posting regularly. Healing is rarely a journey that happens on a straight path and having provided care to others for 25 years now, I will "get" to practice what I preach. :-) Here are a few things I preach about adapting to a situation regardless of what you are healing from. These may seem like common sense, but repeatition is good!

1. Be patient! It took many years of accumulated strains & stresses to create the health situation you are experiencing, it will take TIME, frequently lots of it, to work it all out and restore balance.

2. See #1 and "break it down"(insert MC Hammer voice here). Pace yourself by braking activities into smaller parts (most tasks can be broken down into 3 steps), and resting in between each step rather than doing everything at once. 

3. Manage your energy level by adapting your position. Easily done by sitting on a tall stool for kitchen tasks, a short bench for getting dressed or brushing teeth, or laying down for 5 minutes on really tough days.

4. Manage physical pain cosistently.  Keeping up with your pain medication schedule if you are on them, and using ice regularly if nursing in injury or surgery that warrents its use. Recent studies show that 12 minutes of icing is optimal, but most people still adhere to the 20 min on rule. Also, if using ice for a shoulder surgery, iceing your shoulder BEFORE you put your shirt on can ease the intensity of pain.

There are so many other tips, but I'll stop for now :-)

Peace for your day!
Michele

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