Wednesday, April 25, 2012

I know it has been a long time since my last blog and I have great excuses but the truth is life got away with me.  In getting overwhelmed by life I have learned a lot about how important my practices have become.  So I thought I would share a few of my thoughts.
In the last month both my parents have been sick.  As a family we have been very lucky in the past but it seems that the time has come to face the music. Having our family turned upside down with my parents sickness has lead to many emotional complication as well as physical ones.  Just trying to figure out the western health care system has been a huge chore.  Luckily my sister is versed in how to manage the system but even for her this has been a complicated case.  Sometimes in the middle of the phone calls and changes and craziness  even she gets frustrated and she has been a rock and I am thankful for her guidance. 
The emotional component of seeing your parents become ill and fragile is gigantic at least for me.  Often when we are given information about one of our parents conditions the first reaction I have is to think the worst and to project to the future.  What I have found is that you can not project to the future because honestly when you do it is just fantasy.  When dealing with acute conditions things change on a dime.  So I have learned that really sitting back and just being in the moment with the information is all I can do.  I have found that being present to just what is and breathing helps more than anything else.  It has allowed me to have the ability to sit next to my dad in the hospital without getting upset when others can not.
Overall the best medicine for me has been to sleep and to breathe.  When I allow myself to sleep and to breathe I find that my ability to be present to all of the circumstances around me is much better.  When I don't sleep or breathe I find that my emotional reactivity is heightened and my ability to problem solve is reduced.
So as I keep working through this change in my life I need to remember when I tell all my patients...take care of yourself!

Love you all

Idalee

1 comment:

  1. Beautifully stated Idalee. Thanks for the reminder.

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