Balancing Hope And Reality To Plan A Dignified Death

Dealing with the end of life and the decisions that accompany it can bring critical challenges for everyone involved-patients, families, friends and physicians. In fact, "managing" the progression toward death, particularly when a dire diagnosis has been made, can be a highly complex process. Each person involved is often challenged in a different way.

Communication is the first objective, and it should start with the physicians. In their role, physicians are often tasked to bridge the chasm between lifesaving and life-enhancing care; thus, they often struggle to balance hopefulness with truthfulness. Determining "how much information," "within what space of time" and "with what degree of directness for this particular patient" requires a skillful commitment that matures with age and experience.

A physician's guidance must be highly personalized and must consider prognosis, the risks and benefits of various interventions, the patient's symptom burden, the timeline ahead, the age and stage of life of the patient, and the quality of the patient's support system.

                                
At the same time, it's common for the patient and his or her loved ones to narrowly focus on life preservation, especially when a diagnosis is first made. They must also deal with shock, which can give way to a complex analysis that often intersects with guilt, regret, and anger. Fear must be managed and channeled. This stage of confusion can last some time, but a sharp decline, results of diagnostic studies, or an internal awareness usually signals a transition and leads patients and loved ones to finally recognize and understand that death is approaching. 

Once acceptance arrives, end-of-life decision-making naturally follows. Ongoing denial that death is approaching only compresses the timeline for these decisions, adds anxiety, and undermines the sense of control over one's own destiny.

With acceptance, the ultimate objectives become the quality of life and comfort for the remainder of days, weeks or months. Physicians, family, and other caregivers can focus on assessing the patient's physical symptoms, psychological and spiritual needs, and defining end-of-life goals. How important might it be for a patient to attend a granddaughter's wedding or see one last New Year, and are these realistic goals to pursue?

In order to plan a death with dignity, we need to acknowledge death as a part of life - an experience to be embraced rather than ignored when the time comes. Will you be ready?

Mind Control in Our Lives

Mind control seems like some fantastic sci-fi idea that is in the realm of literature. In fact, mind control is something that every one of us applies to our daily living and or interaction with others. The most basic type of mind control is repetition and is a technique largely in use by advertisers.

There are people who are skilled in practicing mind control and you will find this even being practiced by children to some extent without realizing what they are doing. Have you seen the way children drop hints, suggest things that will allow them to influence their parents to buy things or get them things that they want? These are simple and often crude attempts at mind control, and many parents also use these in reverse when they want their children to do things that they find them resisting to some extent. Parents will constantly use mind control to get children to change their behavior and habits so that they are more acceptable to society.

                                  

Mind control is basically influencing the way others think so that they start acting and thinking in the way that you want them to. People may not use mind control consciously but it is a fact that everyone does practice it to some extent every day of our lives. It can be an effective way of communication that can lead t your life and its happenings becoming that much easier. Once persons are familiar with mind control it is almost certain that they will recognize when other people use these techniques on them. This can then lead to some resistance and a reluctance to being manipulated.

Practice mind control only if you are sure that you can be disciplined while doing so, and if you are sure you will not hurt the interests of others. You must especially refrain from it when you are emotionally upset and feeling hurt and feel the need to retaliate. Mind control can lead to hurting others and can lead to consequences that you must be prepared to face. Do not overdo it,, as in future every one of your words and actions will be viewed suspiciously by the people you are in constant contact with. 

Mind Power and Its Limits

What you think goes a long way in determining what you do. It is a fact that mind control can play a significant influence over everything that happens in your life, and can even decide how you feel.

The body is always aware of what your mind thinks and if you limit your thinking, it can affect your actions, and may even place a barrier on what you can achieve, even though you are physically and mentally capable of doing much more. It is possible for a person to convince himself or herself that do much more than what they have achieved to date. The only limit is the one you place on your mind power. So, in fact, the limit mind control is you.


At the same time, it is important you be careful of the control that you have over your mind, and be practical and limit its power to thinking or doing what is possible and within the capabilities that you have in body and mind. It is not possible to convince yourself that you can climb Mount Everest tomorrow. Remember, that mountaineers have to go through a lot of training, practice, and experience before they have achieved this lofty goal. What you can do, is set that task for the future and take effective steps to learn and practice about mountaineering. You may find your limits, and that you do not have a physical structure that can endure the required hardships.

Again, here it s a matter of the mind, and if you want to, you can always set yourself to improve your physical strengths so that going on a mountaineering expedition becomes a feat that is in the realm of the possible. To get over the limit that your mind has, you need to have the desire to accomplish whatever you want, and this desire must act as a motivator to allow you to propel both your mind and body to accomplish the new tasks you have set for yourself.