MONDAY MEDITATIONS FOR HEALING: Character & A Commitment to Self for Caregivers

Good Morning!  

Here is today's meditation to inspire your spirit to self-healing this week!  

Have a WONDERFUL week!

Today's Quote 

"The best index to a person's character is 

(a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and 

(b) how he treats people who can't fight back."

~Abigail van Buren (Pauline Esther Friedman)

A Commitment to Self for Caregivers 

(whether you are a healthcare provider or a family member caring for a loved one): 

Sometimes while we caregivers deal with the daily stressors in our own lives we forget to be kind to those around us.  We feel badly when we treat our friends & family with sharp words, but do we notice when we direct unkindness to those in our lives that cannot fight back?

The cashier at the grocery store, the waitress at the restaurant, the janitor at the office, the teachers aide at the preschool, the customer service phone representative.  We know that it is unlikely that any of these folks will be able to help us succeed professionally or personally.  So we treat them with indifference or even rudeness.

This week I will remember that no matter what is going on in my own life, I will learn to pay attention to the people in my life.  ALL of the people.  Particularly the ones that provide me services.  I will remind myself to be grateful for the small services that go unnoticed by so many.  

I will do my best to find something kind to say to let each person know that I SAW them--to let each person know that their place in the universe matters to me.   

I will remember that by with just one kind word, I can alter the quality of someone's life by making them feel valued.  

I can be a person of character, one day at a time, starting now.

MONDAY MEDITATIONS FOR HEALING: Gratitude & A Commitment to Self for Caregivers

Good Morning!  Here is today's meditation to inspire your spirit to self-healing this week! 

Have a WONDERFUL week!

Today's Quote 

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. 

It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. 

It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. 

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. 

~ Melody Beattie

A Commitment to Self for Caregivers 

(whether you are a healthcare provider or a family member caring for a loved one):

This week when my heart feels heavy, life feels out of control or I feel resentful that I have nothing more to give, I will pause for a minute and make a gratitude list.  

I will remind myself that this list doesn't have to be full of the "bold gestures."  

Sometimes all I need is to remind myself that I have clothes on my back, a warm home to sleep in and a friend to love.  And maybe, just for today, that is enough.  

MONDAY MEDITATIONS FOR HEALING: A Commitment to Self for Caregivers & Letting Go

Good Morning!  

Here is today's meditation to inspire your spirit to self-healing this week!  

Have a FANTASTIC week!

Today's Quote 

"There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self"


~Aldous Huxley 

A Commitment to Self for Caregivers 

(whether you are a healthcare provider or a family member caring for a loved one): 

This week I will stop trying to control other people.  

Not only does it not work, it also creates a lot of stress and allows me to focus on other's problems rather than my own.  

Each day this week I will commit to only focus on gently improving myself and I will let go of cataloguing other's flaws.  

In releasing those around us from our critique & judgement we can learn to live a kinder, gentler life with compassion to others and to ourselves.  

A healthier life.  

A life with sanity and serenity.  
 A life that we are proud of and grateful for every day.

A Toolkit to Communicate With Your Doctor & Take Charge of Your Health! ~Part 1~

Its Medical System Tuesday, a New Year and time for a new way of operating with regard to your health!  After spending the last part of 2011 sharing my "insider tips" on how to get the best medical care in the hospital, with the New Year upon us I'm going to shift to talk about outpatient topics to optimize your health BEFORE you become acutely ill.  I'll also throw in a few posts over the coming months specific to my medical specialty--like how to use rehab techniques to prepare for a joint replacement surgery or how to use multi-disciplinary interventions to treat chronic pain. 

Today I'm going to talk about how to take the first step to seize control of your own health.  This step begins with your primary care doctor.  


Outpatient clinics are hectic--you have a very short period of time to communicate your health concerns & give your doctor the opportunity to use their professional training & clinical judgment to assist you.  The result is often leaving appointments feeling confused about the treatment plan and having forgotten to ask about a key medical symptom that has been worrying you!  


But this doesn't have to be the case!  There are a few simple things that you can do to get the professional best out of your doctor and leave appointments feeling empowered to take charge of your own health!


It will require some work on your part but the benefits are tremendous!  Are you ready to get started?  In the comments section of this post let me know if you are COMMITTED to taking these steps and then lets check in next week to see if you were able to follow through!!:-)

Your first goal is to organize yourself as a patient to enable your doctor to get all the data they need to fully focus on and address your key medical problems.

As you can probably tell, I like writing lists so guess what?  Its time for another list!  This time its YOUR list of assignments for the months of January and February 2012. :-)  

Here are the first three tasks (lets take it step by step and don't get overwhelmed!)

By next Sunday, January 15th:

1) Make an appointment with your primary care doctor to be seen in one month from today.  When you make the appointment ask for either the first appointment of the day or the first appointment after lunch.  This will make it more likely that you will be seen close to on time.

2) Make time to sit down and organize all your health information before you go into the doctor (make a medical info sheet, put all your health-related paperwork in one binder, call ahead and make sure the doctor's office has all your updated information in their files.)

3) Research what recommended health screens you should have based on your age and exposure.  Make a written list of any tests that haven't been done that are appropriate for your age range. 

MEN:  print this PDF file out: http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthymen.pdf or visit the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) website at: http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthymen.htm 

WOMEN: print this PDF file out:  http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthywom.pdf or visit the website: http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthywom.htm

Ok now lets get to it!  Tune in next week for the key tasks to complete in the two weeks prior to your appointment and the techniques you can use to make sure you leave the appointment with a clear understanding of what your doctor recommended and most importantly, WHY!

Coming Up:

• Build a Healthy Immune System with Food: Part 2 of SuperImmunity for Kids!
• The Clear Skin Diet and My New Soy-Free Life!
• Treating Pain with Food--more thoughts
• Foods That Make You Feel Good (A New Series Featuring Individual Foods & Their Nutrient Power)

Coming Up on Medical System Tuesdays:

• Part 2: A Toolkit to Communicate With Your Doctor & Take Charge of Your Health

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

MONDAY MEDITATIONS FOR HEALING: A Commitment to Self for Caregivers & The Time is Now

Good Morning!  

Here is today's meditation to inspire your spirit to self-healing this week!  

Have a WONDERFUL week!

Today's Quote 

"Never imagine that there will be time later to accomplish something, because that later time will turn out to have been yesterday."


~Valerie Jenkins, age seventy-four
from "30 Lessons for Living: Tried & True Advice from the Wisest Americans" by Dr. Karl Pillemer

A Commitment to Self for Caregivers 

(whether you are a healthcare provider or a family member caring for a loved one): 

Caring for others makes it easy to shelve our dreams in favor of someone else's comfort.  Sacrificing everything for others sounds good on paper but in real life it builds resentments and can poison even the sweetest hearts to bitterness.   

This week I will remember that even though I spend my days and nights caring for others I still need to keep my OWN dreams alive. 


With that in mind, I will pause for a moment today and write down a dream I have packed away as I've cared for others.  


Then I will make a list of small things I can do everyday to keep moving towards that dream, no matter what.  


I commit to do this for myself because I know that there may not be enough tomorrows to make my dream come true if I don't start today.
  

MONDAY MEDITATIONS FOR HEALING: A Commitment to Self for Caregivers & What Matters Most!

Good Morning!  Here is today's meditation to inspire your spirit to self-healing this week!  Have a WONDERFUL week!

Today's Quote 

Today, may we remember the difficult lesson that each day offers more things than we can do.  

May we do what needs to be done, postpone what does not, and be at peace with what we can be and do.  

Therefore, may we learn to separate that which matters most from that which matters least of all. "  

~ ~ Richard S. Gilbert

A Commitment to Self for Caregivers 

(whether you are a healthcare provider or a family member caring for a loved one):

This week I will stop every morning and ask myself:  

Is this task on my "To Do" list for today more important than my serenity?  

If the answer is "no" than I will challenge myself to cross the item off the list before even beginning it and use the time saved to do something that brings me joy!