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Force-Feeding: An Ethical Dilemma
What are your thoughts about the practice of force-feeding individuals who refuse to eat? As nurses, we sometimes find ourselves in situations where we are asked to carry out clinical tasks we believe are ethically unsound. For instance, let’s look at the case of the Guantanamo-Bay prisoners who went on a hunger strike in June 2014. The military nurse assigned to them refused to force-feed the prisoners “because it felt wrong,” he said (http://www.washingtonpost.com/force-feed-detainees). If he were to follow through with the orders to...
read moreWhen The Creative Tide is Out: Guest Post by Patrick Ross
Photo by Marisa Ross. I’m excited to introduce my first guest blogger and accomplished writer, Patrick Ross, of Committed: A Memoir of the Artists Road. Patrick and I are fellow alums of the Vermont College of Fine Arts, where I had the opportunity to read parts of his powerful account of his journey across the United States to engage with creative individuals. But the book is more than about traveling; it’s about identity, and his journey of self-discovery. Starting on page one, Patrick bravely shares his vulnerabilities and...
read moreBeing Mortal by Atul Gawande
Most of us avoid talking about death. The topic is not, well, the most pleasant one to address because, inevitably, it means a discussion about what happens before we breathe our last breath. Dying. That’s the part of the conversation where you say, “I hope I go in my sleep,” or “I hope it’s quick and painless.” Since we can’t run away from dying or lock it up in a closet – sorry – I thought I’d share what Atul Gawande has to say about it in his latest book, Being Mortal. He takes an anxiety-producing topic and fearlessly broaches it through...
read moreYellow: A Poem
I’m a prose writer, a memoirist, and essayist. I don’t pretend to be a poet, but I dabble in a bit of poetry here and there. I don’t adhere to meter, heptameter, hexameter, or iambic pentameter. I don’t write limericks, ballads, or sonnets. I write vers libre (free verse). I write to share the emotional truth. Yellow – the most visible color. Banana peels, tractors, raincoats, school buses, beach flags. Highlighted words: scars, survivor’s guilt. Sticky notes on the refrigerator, on the bathroom mirror, scrawled...
read morePost-Traumatic Growth
In the wake of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, we’ve learned more about post-traumatic stress disorder. But have you heard about post-traumatic growth (PTG)? Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun, psychologists at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, conceived the concept in the 1990s. PTG involves a positive psychological change that occurs after experiencing a traumatic event. PTG can be measured through what is called the PTG inventory. But each one of us copes differently, and who is likely to experience PTG depends on several...
read morePost-Traumatic Stress Disorder Linked to Premature Births
In 2012, nearly half a million premature births occurred in the United States. An infant born before 37 weeks gestation is considered premature. Risk factors include: race, smoking, alcohol use, having delivered a previous pre-term infant, carrying multiple infants (twins, triplets), problems with the uterus or cervix, and chronic illnesses such as diabetes, asthma and kidney disease. www.cdc.gov/PrematureBirth If you don’t already know, post-traumatic stress disorder is also considered a risk factor for premature births. In the largest study...
read moreCelebrating Martin Luther King Jr.
This past weekend, in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr, I attended a celebration in his honor at a local Unitarian church, where I was graced with the presence of Nontombi Naomi Tutu. In light of the recent deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Eric Garner in New York City, and Tamir Rice in Cleveland, this event could not have come at a better time. People clapped and shouted “Right on!” as Tutu reminded us, in her mesmerizingly charismatic voice, “humanity is indivisible.” She repeated this phrase again and again throughout her...
read moreDriving after a Traumatic Brain Injury
For most of us, driving equates with independence and freedom. So when you are diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and learn that you cannot drive at all, or need to limit your driving to daylight hours, you may feel the loss of independence you once enjoyed. Even with a mild traumatic brain injury, changes in thinking, perception, vision, and motor skills can affect driving: the ability to stay in the correct lane, react quickly when another driver cuts in front of you, and seeing a green light change to red. With a TBI, individuals...
read moreWalking Toward Understanding: A Review of the Movie Wild
“I’m sorry you have to walk a thousand miles just to …” Cheryl Strayed’s ex-husband, Paul, tells her. But “just to” what? Early in Wild, Strayed finishes the sentence for her ex-husband: “Why do I have to walk a thousand miles?” At mile one, Strayed is not sure why. She’s not even sure at mile eight, twenty-eight, or thirty-six. She lumbers around sharp curves and up and down rugged terrain in order to find the answer, or answers. Strayed’s father was an abusive alcoholic. Her mother, whom she calls “the love of my life,” died of cancer at...
read moreHow Yoga Helps Heal Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
What is your New Year’s Resolution? Perhaps it’s to eat healthier, exercise more, quite smoking. Maybe you have decided to take up yoga. If you suffer from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, yoga just might be the perfect resolution. Studies show that yoga, specifically the breathing-based aspect, improves PTSD recovery. Hyper-arousal, nightmares, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, irritability, are all common features of PTSD. Yoga, which dates back to 3,000 B.C and practiced among warriors before heading into battle, means “to unite.”...
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