Tuesday 21 January 2014

Wisdom vs Psychological Distress & Existential Terror


     Can we be proactive and do something constructive for ourselves & our patients so as to become resilient during potentially the most vulnerable time of life? Thousands of years of human wisdom traditions hold the key - let's not forget to make wise & timely use of them.

     "As the discipline of Palliative Medicine matures throughout the world, it is becoming more apparent that concepts of adequate palliative care must be expanded in their focus beyond pain and physical symptom control to include psychiatric, psychosocial, existential, and spiritual domains of end-of-life care. While pain and physical symptoms are indeed distressing to cancer patients with advanced disease, the fact remains that symptoms relating to psychological distress and existential concerns are even more prevalent than pain and other physical symptoms. Integrating spirituality and issues of meaning and faith into the supportive care of cancer patients with advanced disease is now an essential component of optimal supportive care."

       Breitbart W. Spirituality and meaning in supportive care: spirituality- and meaning-centered group psychotherapy interventions in advanced cancer. Supportive Care in Cancer 2001 DOI 10.1007/s005200100289 

 
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