Need solutions for the medication, medical appliances and/or medical travel that you can't afford? READ EMPOWER Yourself.
A Health Information Management professional, I survived a life-threatening emergency with information that only a person of my professional experience would know. And I’m sharing it!
The life lesson involved here is that compassion is called for in many respects, doctors. I know of a highly recommended book that can be shared between doctors and patients, too. You can even fill in some blanks together.
The writer designed it that way ;^ D
Psst: That was no accident when I used a capitalized P and R in the title of this blogpost. Compassion is good public relations at work! Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Fill your life with good solutions!
B'SD 25 Tevet, 5776 Social media is rocking with several heartwarming videos like the one below. Ever wondered what it takes for one person to help another? The answer is: An open heart and a sense of humor to match your sense of compassion.
Go ahead. Make someone smile! Get your giggle on when you read some of the humorous passages in the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Fill your life with someone else's happiness. Enjoy the glow.
B'SD 13 Adar, 5775 I'm just as curious as the next person as to what will happen in the Middle East and elsewhere, after hearing Netanyahu's speech last night. And I'm certain that perfecting decent behavior will convince The One Above to protect humanity from harm. Decency sure can't hurt our "Rescue us from a story as BIG as the Purim Megilla (the scroll/historic story), please" mindsets and efforts. To promote that decency, I'm sharing this video. It touches on some thoughts in the EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge book. Empathy for someone else's pain helps all of us to heal, even as the giver of empathy. And agonized people definitely need us to support them.
I hope to post some pix of Purim fun later this week. The holiday begins tonight.
Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.
Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Fill your life, and someone else's, with pleasantry.
B'SD 3 Adar, 5775 I'm interrupting my vacation to say "Thank you" to an extraordinary man, Dr Oliver Sacks. He opened our eyes to some wonders of humanity. He increased our insight into, and compassion for, people braving previously misunderstood maladies. I believe that I am a better human being for having read, watched and pondered his works. Many other people are better off for them, too. Please read this indescribably touching message that Dr Sacks shares with us upon learning that he has terminal (deadly) cancer. I am praying as I cry over the news and the man's utterly decent, inspirational message. Thank you for everything, Dr Sacks. You've made the world a better place for your efforts and sterling character. Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.
Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Embrace every moment for its potential.
B'SD 16 Shvat, 5775 (I'm posting this message a bit earlier than so I can travel to see some friends without missing a blogpost.) Life comes with plenty of agony. It also comes with options. I recently interacted with people who were purposely causing pain to others to attract sympathy or respect in a vengeful manner. Not a good idea.
I coach people to understand that "X, Y and Z did not cause your pain or problem.
Punishing them for it is pointless.
Push back the anger and fear.
Be your best self, and come out cultured,
kind and compassionate.
You'll respect yourself more over time. Other people will, too."
I hope you'll let me know your thoughts about that. Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Smile when you look in the mirror. You're doing your best and passed a test.
B'SD 17 Tevet, 5775 Much of the world is struggling to grasp, and to cope with, the enormous meaning of the cold-blooded murders at Paris' Charlie Hebdo magazine office. No matter your politics or spiritual persuasions, when you or someone else face overwhelming horror, the most compassionate response you can give to affected others is a form of compassion called empathy. No, not sympathy, empathy. Sympathy has a tendency to sound condescending in some circumstances. Some errant people feign sympathy to seem better than the people in their vicinity. Others offer sympathy due to a lack of knowing better ways to behave in given circumstances. Empathy is an identification with and/or appreciation for the unhappy person's sense of misery. This video explains the concept simply.
The same wisdom is true for people facing frightening diagnoses, financial, emotional and other situations aka disasters. Confused? Practice sympathy and empathy with a role-playing partner until both of you understand the difference. We've all been there, and plodded along just as you might until you make the emotional connection. I'm sighing with you. Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Focus on relevant emotions so you can deal with them, and with sad people, sensibly.
B'SD 24 Heshvan, 5775 There's a substantial amount of idea-sharing in the
book about how to handle rude medical personnel, and how to convince them to respond with respect or to leave the area.
Stress damages health.
Calmness promotes it.
One of the ideas behind those paragraphs is that you, the patient, are the consumer, the boss, of your health care staff. A doctor is a hired hand, so to speak. You are free to fire clinicians you dislike and to hire the ones you prefer. Recent changes in health care law make that concept seem kind of fuzzy. As I read an oncologist's recent essay to medical colleagues, I was struck by his compassionate insight into those realities. You'll figure out how to feel safe when you need a second medical opinion, by reading and re-reading
Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism. Feel comfortable with your medical team.
B'SD 29 Shvat, 5774 Learning Disabilities can be different for each person who has them.
Even snowflakes are never alike.
And each one has its own beauty. So does every star.
Each person has their unique strengths and weaknesses, insights and contributions to make in this world. Even if people call them cruel names and do hurtful things to them. If you've ever been hurt that way, or know someone who has suffered from being "different," you can share this movie with them. Listen to the movie with your eyes, and with an open heart. Your heart will open wider as the show goes on.
It is long, and heartwarming.
Want background information about the film? Read it here.
Gain more insight into coping skills. Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism. Find strength in your individuality.
Researchers found that during PTSD treatments, rapid improvements in depression symptoms are associated with better ... full story
Need to learn some simple, but powerful, coping mechanisms? Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism. Free the person who needs your compassion with unconditional love.
I go to sleep by 8:00 PM-ish as a rule. I usually waken about 4:00 AM. This morning I
learned of the Boston Marathon Bombing, and sadly realized that part of the
wider world is living as we Israelis do: Victimized by psychopaths dedicated to
indiscriminate destruction. As decent people worldwide pray for an end to the horror - forever - I ask that you reach out to friends, to family and to mental health professionals if you need relief from emotional stress.
This is not a challenge to go alone.
A medical and emotional crisis - you're crying too, if it happened to you - even on the inside if it doesn't show on the outside. If you're remembering past trauma now, reach out for help quickly. Use your tissues and handkerchiefs with my blessings borne of experience. GOD gives you Permission to Weep. And you can say that to any critics after explaining that "It's MY Crisis! And I'll Cry if I Need To."
Need information about someone's welfare?
Call 617-635-4500
Can you tell police anything
about who might have
committed the crime?
Call 1-800-494-TIPS or 1-800-CALL-FBI
Buy the E-book or print edition for a clearer look at your mental health needs and how to meet them, too: Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical (and Mental Health) Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism. Face fear with friends and family who love you. Get compassionate mental health assistance if you need it. As the book indicates, work only with therapists who show complete respect for your well-being.
B'SD 22 Nisan, 5773 I enjoyed a pleasant Passover/Pesakh holiday week and woke up this morning to unpleasant news: Israel Braces for Massive Cyber-offensive. That attack - if it happens - will follow several others launched towards other parts of the world. I had recently alerted some Facebook friends to the reality:
The Internet connects us as never before, but there's a dark
I ask you to do yourself, me, and ailing people a BIG favor: counter the nastiness with niceness.
Buy copies of
and give them to people
who need them.
Cyber attacks are efforts to hurt people indiscriminately. Those people include you, me and the ill folks who'd benefit from the book's information about how to lower their stress and to find help in paying their medical bills. Buy the E-book or print edition today for a better look at your future. Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism. Take back your life. Help someone with theirs.
I subscribe to various listservs, one of which is dedicated to self-improvement via religious ideals. The listserv often holds requests to pray for a specific someone who is ill.
I read a pleasant surprise in yesterday's update, after having shared a message with the listserv's owner. Days before the update came out, I had explained that not only do ill people need prayers for healing (refuot/רפואות), rescue from this or that (yeshuot/ישועות) situation, miracles (nisim/ניסים) and wonders (niflaot/נפלאות) to help them along, but also a serenity of the soul (shalvat hanefesh/שלוות הנפש) so that the mind-body connection can work together in a healing manner instead of working against each other and further harming the already suffering person.
Less stress is always conductive to mental and physical health.
Compassion is called for when someone, including ourselves, is ill. Serenity of the soul is possible. It takes a bit of work, lots of forgiveness, increasingly healthy perspective and repeated effort. It can be done. The payoff is heartfelt relief and a happier look at life.
I hope you'll share your thoughts about the messages and ideas above and below in the "Comments" section.
Today’s daily dose is dedicated to the refuah shleimah of Binyomin ben Batya. Please recite a kapitel of tehillim in his zechut, he is greatly suffering from pain in his back. May HaKadosh Baruch Hu send him refuot rabot, yeshuot rabot, nisim v’niflaot v’gam shalvat hanefesh amongst all of Klal Yisrael who are sick and suffering b’karov, b’rachamim, Amen! (Thank you to Yocheved Golani for formulating this bracha).
Please visit her on EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge print or E- book (buy it by clicking HERE) and Its MY Crisis Book Blog http://tinyurl.com/itsmycrisis-blog)
We are continuing our journey to avodat Hashem with purity. Chazal teach us other valuable ways to achieve the goal of attaching to Hashem with purity and increased emuna. The following lessons will focus specifically on achieving a higher level of self- discipline and thereby minimizing transgressions in order to improve purity of heart.
We are all born with innate desires, attractions, thoughts and tendencies which need to be harnessed in order to achieve our maximum potential. Often we cannot control our thoughts as they feel involuntary. Yet, refusing to act on a thought represents the epitome of self-discipline and therefore holiness. Meeting the challenging task of refusing to bow to our temptations brings with it tremendous spiritual rewards.
Chazal set boundaries to safeguard us from sin. These borders are created to prevent us with our human frailties from entering a dangerous situation from which retreat will be virtually impossible. If the boundaries were left up to each individual, they would be pushed and moved to suit our ever changing wishes and individual challenges. Respecting the sages’ knowledge of our own character and weaknesses helps guide us on the right path.
Restraining ourselves from following our desires ultimately makes us feel good. Deep down our soul knows we are choosing the right thing. Rabbi Nachman ztk”l offers insight from the Zohar HaKadosh that controlling one’s urges creates a conduit for receiving bracha into the world. Hashem ‘yearns’ to send us blessings and we provide Him with this opportunity by controlling our desires. .
However when sin does transpire, we must admit to it and daven to Hashem asking for mechila (forgiveness). Rabbi Nachman teaches that the yetzer hara is like a trickster who runs around with his fist closed asking people, “What do you suppose I have in my hand?” To which each person imagines that the closed hand has in it just what he desires most. They all run after and follow him and when they reach him he opens his hand which is completely empty. This is the way of the evil one who lures us into sin without fulfilling any of our worldly desires!
This idea shines further light onto the insignificance of chasing after non-spiritual pursuits. They are meaningless and will lead us to transgress.
Buy EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge print or E- book HERE
Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism. Forgive yourself, knowing you've done your best with the tools at hand and the skills you've developed. Take pride in your future efforts to be even better. We're human, doing the best we can under complicated, confusing conditions.
