Category Archives: Deep Thoughts

Dissociative Society Disorder

Homeless

I was raised in a very conservative Christian family. I still believe in what Jesus taught, which I suppose still makes me a Christian, although the “conservative” part was permanently revoked when I got myself a tattoo for my 45th birthday. These days, however, I’m finding myself more and more reluctant to admit to being one. It pains me to be associated with what Christianity seems to have come to represent. There is such a huge conflict between what Jesus taught and how so many people who call themselves Christians … Continue reading

Posted in Deep Thoughts | 12 Comments

Voice Lessons

One of my responsibilities as a psych nurse is patient education. I help my patients learn coping skills, teach them about their medications and how they work, and help them find ways to change the thoughts and attitudes that keep defeating them. It’s not a one-way street, though; my patients teach me, too. They show me new ways to look at the world; they teach me honesty and transparency, and about the resilience of the human soul. Once in a while, one comes along who teaches me more than I … Continue reading

Posted in Deep Thoughts, Nursing, Parallel Universes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Post-Election Thoughts

The time for choosing sides for or against a candidate is past. Now it’s time to unite as Americans and move forward. I’ve had enough of the badmouthing and doubt-casting and the “just wait, you’ll see!” doom and gloom negativity. What’s done is done. There is no longer a choice of candidates before us – what’s before us now is a choice between sitting on our butts complaining to whoever will listen because our guy didn’t get elected and we don’t think the new guy is going to be any … Continue reading

Posted in Deep Thoughts, My Life | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Just the Black Notes: Amazing Grace

There’s something about this song that has always reached right down through my brainstem and grabbed me by the soul. I had heard the story about the author before, but I didn’t know the part about the black notes.

Posted in Deep Thoughts | Leave a comment

Compassion

Since I haven’t had much time for blogging lately, I thought I’d share something I wrote for school. This is an excerpt from a paper for one of my nursing classes. I hope you like it. It was compassion that precipitated my journey toward a career in nursing, and like many of my peers, I had always felt I possessed a great capacity for empathy. That, however, was before I encountered Carlos (not his real name). He was a young man in his early 20s with elegant features and ivory … Continue reading

Posted in Deep Thoughts, Nursing | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Thinking About Forever

A common theme has cropped up recently in discussions with a couple of my friends. One friend is trying to quit smoking; another recently stopped drinking. They both made statements that were nearly identical: “I just can’t imagine never [smoking|drinking] again!” It got me to thinking about how we humans are so good at defeating ourselves by how we think about things. Forever is such a long, long time, and is so much more to deal with than we could possibly have the strength for right now. No wonder it’s … Continue reading

Posted in Deep Thoughts | 2 Comments

Thankfulness

I had a patient recently who will stay in my memory for many years to come. He’s not an old man, barely middle-aged. He’s a homeless drunk, “frequent flier” on the hospital unit where I work as an aide. He’s admitted on a regular basis for various injuries and illnesses. Now he’s got cirrhosis and cancer and half his body is covered with cellulitis. His skin is yellow from liver failure and brown from living outdoors and red and oozing where the cellulitis has attacked; his teeth are rotten and … Continue reading

Posted in Deep Thoughts, Nursing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment