The majority of health care professionals do a fantastic job and they are sensitive and caring people. I know I’m one of them! I have recently come across some online debates which shocked and saddened me. One of the debates is on the following link. Be warned however, you may find this offensive:
http://crass-pollination-forum.2287843.n4.nabble.com/Myalgic-Encephalomyelitis-td4607325.html
If you have read some of the comments from the above forum it is likely that you are in disbelief that health professionals could act in this way. I was shocked being a health professional myself.
I found the forum disturbing and felt resentment towards these people. I would go as far as saying I would have liked to see them stripped of their professional title and publically shamed.
Once I relaxed and reflected on the comments, I did wonder if people are entitled to their own views should they not be able to express them? If they can separate their personal opinion from their professional duties then having strong opinions should not interfere with their daily duties as caring health professionals! Although this sounds logical I doubt it is the case and here’s why.
An opinion is just a particular view based on perceived ideas about situations, how we perceive other people and how we view ourselves.
We all make judgements every few seconds regarding how situations will turn out. Will they turn out good for us or bad for us? And worst of all, we right off most situations as being monotonous and carry on down the road looking for the next stimulating event.
These thought processes continually drive us to seek pleasure, and avoid pain, often regarding 90 percent of life as uninteresting. Try observing your mind for ten minutes as you carry out your daily tasks and see if you follow this pattern of judgement.
A counter balance to this state of un-wakefulness is developing a Mindful approach to situations continually developing non-judgemental awareness moment by moment.
View attachment 3853
In this way we can hope to see reality without bias. Personal views that are developed can be evaluated repeatedly and with practice we can be free of bogus damaging opinions, which cause pain for ourselves and others.
We only have to look at how diseases such as Diabetes, MS and Parkinson’s disease were viewed prior to the recognition of a specific cause (these illnesses were viewed as hysteria and treatment was inappropriately delivered in psychiatric hospitals, history repeating etc). The treatment of sufferers was truly appalling. Are we, as a caring, developing society learning from these lessons?
The health professionals who have commented on the above forum are obviously suffering themselves – they feel the need to strike out at those whom they consider to be weaker than they themselves. You may have noticed that many of the practitioners have deleted their own comments. Have they either woken up to the fact that such comments are morally wrong or they are fearful they could loss their jobs and career?
I suspect that they are unlikely to be consistently aware of their own thoughts, feelings and rationale and least likely to be aware of the bigger picture. This is what is saddening as I’m sure they started out with the best of intentions.
There are many excellent practitioners who work in the field of healthcare. These individuals work diligently with some of the most challenging states of disease and social circumstances. However the profession is structured in a very hierarchical manner where bullies can seek positions of power and may thrive in an environment which offers them quick access to control others. This has an impact on other practitioners and more importantly on patients.
For this reason I would always attend appointments with a friend or relative who can support you and to ensure that positive outcomes are achieved and individuals are not able to hinder the healing process.
The above forum is a sad indication of the attitudes of some individuals; however we should not let these individuals detract from the good that many do and the positive moves that are happening around the world to address the care of individuals who are suffering from ME/CFS. Everyone should be able to vent there frustration, however it would be better if this could be done in a constructive manner to achieve positive outcomes rather than continuing down negative harmful pathways.
Comments would be welcome.
To find more information about the practice of Mindfulness please visit
http://www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness/
Many healthcare providers run eight week courses on Mindfulness, which may be accessed via your GP or Allied Health Professional.
Blog originally posted at http://blog.mecfsdiary.com/
http://crass-pollination-forum.2287843.n4.nabble.com/Myalgic-Encephalomyelitis-td4607325.html
If you have read some of the comments from the above forum it is likely that you are in disbelief that health professionals could act in this way. I was shocked being a health professional myself.
I found the forum disturbing and felt resentment towards these people. I would go as far as saying I would have liked to see them stripped of their professional title and publically shamed.
Once I relaxed and reflected on the comments, I did wonder if people are entitled to their own views should they not be able to express them? If they can separate their personal opinion from their professional duties then having strong opinions should not interfere with their daily duties as caring health professionals! Although this sounds logical I doubt it is the case and here’s why.
An opinion is just a particular view based on perceived ideas about situations, how we perceive other people and how we view ourselves.
We all make judgements every few seconds regarding how situations will turn out. Will they turn out good for us or bad for us? And worst of all, we right off most situations as being monotonous and carry on down the road looking for the next stimulating event.
These thought processes continually drive us to seek pleasure, and avoid pain, often regarding 90 percent of life as uninteresting. Try observing your mind for ten minutes as you carry out your daily tasks and see if you follow this pattern of judgement.
A counter balance to this state of un-wakefulness is developing a Mindful approach to situations continually developing non-judgemental awareness moment by moment.
View attachment 3853
In this way we can hope to see reality without bias. Personal views that are developed can be evaluated repeatedly and with practice we can be free of bogus damaging opinions, which cause pain for ourselves and others.
We only have to look at how diseases such as Diabetes, MS and Parkinson’s disease were viewed prior to the recognition of a specific cause (these illnesses were viewed as hysteria and treatment was inappropriately delivered in psychiatric hospitals, history repeating etc). The treatment of sufferers was truly appalling. Are we, as a caring, developing society learning from these lessons?
The health professionals who have commented on the above forum are obviously suffering themselves – they feel the need to strike out at those whom they consider to be weaker than they themselves. You may have noticed that many of the practitioners have deleted their own comments. Have they either woken up to the fact that such comments are morally wrong or they are fearful they could loss their jobs and career?
I suspect that they are unlikely to be consistently aware of their own thoughts, feelings and rationale and least likely to be aware of the bigger picture. This is what is saddening as I’m sure they started out with the best of intentions.
There are many excellent practitioners who work in the field of healthcare. These individuals work diligently with some of the most challenging states of disease and social circumstances. However the profession is structured in a very hierarchical manner where bullies can seek positions of power and may thrive in an environment which offers them quick access to control others. This has an impact on other practitioners and more importantly on patients.
For this reason I would always attend appointments with a friend or relative who can support you and to ensure that positive outcomes are achieved and individuals are not able to hinder the healing process.
The above forum is a sad indication of the attitudes of some individuals; however we should not let these individuals detract from the good that many do and the positive moves that are happening around the world to address the care of individuals who are suffering from ME/CFS. Everyone should be able to vent there frustration, however it would be better if this could be done in a constructive manner to achieve positive outcomes rather than continuing down negative harmful pathways.
Comments would be welcome.
To find more information about the practice of Mindfulness please visit
http://www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness/
Many healthcare providers run eight week courses on Mindfulness, which may be accessed via your GP or Allied Health Professional.
Blog originally posted at http://blog.mecfsdiary.com/
