Caring for Patients with Dementia - How Do Our Efforts Compare?

     We have much to learn about quality of life, particularly with respect to caring intelligently & compassionately for patients with advanced dementia. Take a look at this powerful (24min) documentary:

Health Within Illness - Prioritizing Evolution of Consciousness

     Many physicians & patients still tend to deal with "illness as an enemy, to fight for their life, and to choose treatments that prolong life regardless of the quality of that life. This view of illness as an enemy precludes a health-within-illness experience by focusing on getting rid of, rather than getting in touch with, the illness.
     Getting in touch with the message within illness is central to the ( health-within-illness concept ) ... ( that ) the experience of illness can accelerate personal growth through increased awareness and transformational change."
       Moch SD. Health within illness: conceptual evolution and practice possibilities. Advances in Nursing Science 1989; 11(4): 23-31.

     Health-within-illness is an opportunity to increase "meaningfulness of life through connectedness or relatedness with the environment and/or awareness of self during a state of compromised well-being."
        Moch SD. Health-within-illness: concept development through research and practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing 1998; 28(2): 305-10.

     Health-care professionals cannot & must not function as mere scientists with weapons against disease, we must in addition evolve to become wise human beings & teachers of wisdom. See "Wisdom": http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/search?q=wisdom

     See "Post-traumatic growth": http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/search?q=post-traumatic+growth

Steve McCurry   http://stevemccurry.com/