by Deirdre | Jun 21, 2011 | Mindful living
Health is one of those things in life where your experience of it comes from thousands and thousands of small decisions – similar in a way to parenting. If I eat that fast-food burger, but go for a run later, do they cancel each other out? Red wine is a fantastic anti-oxidant, so more must be better, right?
Defining “success” in health is really difficult so it falls to interpretation, personal style, level of effort, and dare I say, obsessiveness. Something shifted in the last few decades in these most fortunate of generations – the boomers and the Gen Xers. Yes, we live in a way-too-much-information world and carry a much higher chemical load, but we also worry too much about our children, what we eat and our health. Isn’t worrying really bad for your health? (more…)
by Deirdre | Jun 17, 2011 | Mindful living
Integrative medicine puts the patient at the center of their health “story”. The difference between conventional medicine and integrative medicine is illuminated in the difference between treating and healing. A medical treatment plan includes the types of diagnostic testing, surgical or drug interventions and some options for self-care. An integrative plan looks at the physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual and environmental factors that affect a person’s health. It treats each person in a holistic manner with needs of mind, body and spirit at the heart of the plan.
The Bravewell Collaborative is a force to be reckoned with in this area. A philanthropic organization, they live and breathe to stimulate a widespread conversation about prevention and patient-centered care – and the public-private collaborations that will make that a reality. To quote a leading proponent of integrative healthcare: “They passionately want medicine to return to its soul, the altruistic call to service that treats the whole person in the context of one’s community”. (more…)
by Deirdre | Apr 22, 2011 | Mindful living, Resilient Mindset
A kind friend (and lovely soul) sent me a poem this week on how illness and suffering can help us remember our best self – our compassionate, patient and accepting self. Illness is never a welcome guest. It throws our daily lives into chaos and forces us to strip away the fluff. But we have so much time and energy invested in the fluff that its removal adds yet another layer of anguish to our days. All the things we should be doing . . . What will I miss? What will I lose?
Illness offers us a time to re-evaluate our lives and to grapple with some of the deeper human issues we skate over in our daily life. How each person grapples with the questions and searches for answers is as unique . . . as each person. There are those, like author Toni Bernhard, who see a path to spiritual grace inherent in illness. They see the chance to transcend illness and find meaning and connection and to appreciate the moments of grace and healing.
Others find that perspective a crock. The idea that illness has special powers to teach and transform is an offensive and distressing burden to place on someone who is already at the edge of coping. As Jessie Gruman, a physician who writes about her experience with cancer, says: “If I do not find spiritual or philosophical benefit, I fall short: Either I haven’t tried hard enough or I’m not smart enough to do so.”
Most of us, luckily, are able to stay far, far away from this inquiry. But for those who want to wade in, Havi Carel wrote a very readable, and short, philosophical treatment of the experience of illness. She argues that medicine (and, indeed, everyone) needs to take into account what it is like, moment to moment, day to day, for a patient to live their life within illness. She writes about the social life of illness and finding health within illness. Her account is personal, as she struggles with a life-threatening disease, and graceful.
Prayer for Healing after Pain
O God our undying hope, we thank you for the warmth which steals back
into our hearts after a while; for the healing which comes to wounded
bodies and spirits through time;
for the blessed fact that the flood of pain does not last forever, and for the
incredible bliss when the tide begins to ebb;
for the cheerfulness which breaks into our dark dungeon and strikes off our
fetters when least expected, we know not how;
for the strange sadness which haunts our brightest hours because our hearts
are made for a joy deeper than happiness;
for the insurgent courage which lifts its head above past mistakes and woes,
and affirms its right to try again;
for the way in which old quarrels often become forgetful, and afford us the
opportunity of being calm and compassionate;
for the golden thread of valor and good will never quite lost in the tragic
wanderings of peoples and nations;
for the labors of those who have sown that others may reap;
for the dear kindness of those who see us as we once were.
We thank you, God of our little faith, our greater hope, and above all our
faltering love, which can never fail because it is more yours than ours,
Vivian Pomeroy (1883-1961) from New Prayers in Old Places
Posted by Deirdre Walsh
Image: Death to Stock
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by Deirdre | Apr 14, 2011 | Mindful living
You know the ones I mean – those fantastic before and after shots. The one where the person starts out looking like they’ve eaten at one too many buffets and watched one too many reruns of The Real Housewives. Then in some incredible period of time – like six weeks – they’re as sleek and toned as any Hollywood star and taking calls for their own reality show. We all get sucked in to the promise of that kind of miraculous transformation in our lives.
The good news – that kind of transformation is possible. (more…)
by Deirdre | Apr 1, 2011 | Mindful living
There’s been an surge in technology tools for health in the past few years, with some really interesting apps and gadgets coming to market. They hold promise to help people engage closely with healthy behaviors.
The tools can be broken down roughly into four categories: educate, connect, track, and remind. The more interesting apps combine multiple functions. Here are some buzz-worthy health tools I’ve seen at health IT conferences in the last couple of years – through the filter of a non-techy person. (more…)
by Deirdre | Mar 29, 2011 | Mindful living
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The Wheel of Health, the core of health coaching, gives you seven areas to explore when you’re designing your own health plan. When they’re humming, they provide the balance to let you do anything you can dream up:
• Your body craves strength, flexibility, endurance, and restoration and it tells you when you’ve let any of them slide. Creaky, anyone? Find the right mix of movement, exercise and rest for your body. Focus on balance, the joy of movement, and the importance of rest and sleep.
(more…)
