Healing You

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  • COVID Fear

    Most days I spend helping patients with COVID concerns.

    Hello everyone! The weekend is in full swing and so many things are happening. School is back in session, college and professional football is back and if you go to any retail store you will see Fall/Halloween decorations and candy. Life is trying it’s best to continue despite the ongoing COVID pandemic.

    I am continuing to see patients with positive COVID tests, but thank God, they have started to drift back down to levels we saw before the Delta variant ramped up in late July – early August. Our health system has begun to open up again after being placed in ‘black’ status August 4th. Our hospital leaders used Green, Yellow, Red and Black to communicate the hospitals bed availability (inpatient and ICU), inpatient surgery availability and to determine the flow of visitors in and out of the facilities based on the positivity rate in the community as well as inpatient admissions.

    More frequently now, I am seeing patients that want to be tested due to fear of COVID. There are not always symptoms that cause a person to seek testing, but concern for those around them. Many people have older parents, grandparents and small children/toddlers that they are concerned about spreading COVID to.

    One concern that I have not seen in my professional world day-to-day is the psychological effects that COVID has had on people. I am caring for the person with the complaints of sore throat, earaches, cough, sinus congestion and wheezing, but have not had anybody come in for insomnia or anxiety related to COVID and its’ effects on their daily lives. This got me thinking about how many people have had anxiety or insomnia concerns and how often this is happening.

    Some of the common concerns that person’s with psychological reactions toward the pandemic encompass many of the obvious issues such as feelings of fear, worry, frustration, anger and helplessness. Other reactions include difficulty concentrating and making decisions, changes in appetite, energy and activity levels, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, physical complaints such as stomach problems, fatigue, body aches and headaches as well as increased use of mind altering substances. More than 35% of Americans have said that their mental health has worsened, 43% said their emotional well-being has gotten worse and more than 1 in 5 people say their sleep quality has suffered. This is according to data collected early in 2020. Current data shows that approximately 1/3 of US adults reported occasional sleeplessness and anxiety weekly.

    People occasionally prefer talking to someone face to face and then there are others that wish to unburden themselves anonymously. There are many options for dealing with the psychological effects of the pandemic. Many Apps are available to download on your phone such as Calm, What’s Up, Mood Kit, MindShift, Talkspace, Happify and Headspace. Some of these apps are free, others charge a fee for their use. The key is to find the one that matches your needs and finances. There has been documentation of young adults, racial and ethnic minorities, essential workers and adult caregivers having distinctively worse mental health outcomes than the average population.

    Now we all know that a person’s mental health contributes to their physical health. So how do we help our mental health when there is an invisible ‘monster’ lurking almost everywhere we go? We have to talk to our friends and family members about issues that bother us. Getting our concerns out in the open is helpful, but in that same instance, we can not allow the mental anguish to overtake our lives. Turning off the TV, closing our social media and not reading the newspaper every moment of every day may begin to help the onslaught of TMI that we are faced with now. Between the medical issues of the pandemic including new variants as well as the political issues surrounding everything COVID, there is more information than we can safely process.

    Do anything to take your mind off the harsh reality that invades our thinking while we are awake and often while we are asleep. I have found some ‘old’ TV shows that are fun to watch. I have started watching Home Improvement, Gomer Pyle, USMC, Green Acres, Hogan’s Heroes, Petticoat Junction and Family Affair. These shows allow me to ‘mindlessly’ watch something that has nothing to do with current events. I feel better after a few of these shows, knowing I have given my mind a small break from reality.

    Sunday afternoon sightseeing

    Other ways to renew your spirit are to…..go outside! Take a hike, become a ‘local’ tourist, go to the beach or a lake, visit your family in a nearby town, or just sit down an read a magazine or good book under a shade tree. The point here is to allow yourself to reset and recharge in order to prepare for those times when you need to be alert and aware.

    I hope you find a successful way to deal with any anxieties and fears that you have related to the pandemic. You are loved and needed and deserve time away from those thoughts that cause you anything but happiness.

    New Smyrna Beach 2021

    Life is tough….But so are you!

  • Healthcare Heroes

    My fashion has changed since COVID-19 came on the scene.

    Happy September everyone! The Labor Day holiday has come and gone and we have a few more weeks until Halloween. Although if you ask my daughter Kimberly, it’s officially Fall Free-for All!

    Things have begun to settle down, for a second time this Pandemic. So I have some free time to sit, reflect and share my thoughts. It has been 1 year and 6 months since my last blog post and I will admit, it seems like much, much longer. When I looked back on my last blog post, it was surprised to read that I was talking about the closing of businesses as the quarantine ramped up.

    Now here we are, dealing with the new strain of COVID and how to maneuver our lives with it running though the population. The initial strains of the COVID virus wrecked havoc on the world, and just when it seemed we were going to be ok, the Delta variant sprung to life. Now here we are again, fighting over the right to wear or not wear a mask and whether or not to get a vaccine that may help save us and our family members.

    At the beginning of the Pandemic, doctors, nurses, medical staff, fire and police were all regarded as healthcare heroes. Everywhere you looked, everything you read and heard, people were thanking those people that were working long hours in dangerous conditions for helping others in regards to the COVID -19 pandemic. Eventually, we saw more and more people arguing, conspiracy theories and using political affiliation to deride those that didn’t feel or act the same way. If you were Republican and contracted COVID, it was because you wanted your political freedoms. If you were Democratic and contracted COVID, it was because it was ‘do as I say, not as I do’. Masks were another bone of contention. ‘My body, my choice’ became a war cry for those that did not want to wear a mask. And if you didn’t want to wear a mask, you were being ‘unpatriotic’ because our lawmakers have asked and in some cases mandated mask wearing.

    Once we had a COVID vaccine developed, the two sides of the aisle drifted father and farther apart. If you got the vaccine you were labeled a ‘sheep’, just following along with the crowd. If you didn’t get the vaccine, your were labeled ‘selfish’, not caring what happened to your friends and family. Many people have lost friends and family over this issue; not because of death or injury, but people were cutting off friendships over the views on masks and vaccines. With people becoming more and more angry at all things COVID, those on the front line slowly stopped being HEROES. I can speak of my own personal experiences and how many times I am yelled at or rebuked for the amount of time a person has been waiting to be seen in my Urgent Care. There have been racial comments from otherwise normal seeming persons. And through all this, I have to keep my sanity and pretend that I am ok.

    Typical day of patient flow at our Urgent Care

    I have gone without meals, spent my lunch at my desk seeing the sick and injured. My husband has spent many an hour worried about my safety, not so much my physical safety but my medical safety. He has lost sleep and spent a lot of time fretting over if I too will get sick despite my vaccine or mask wearing.

    So for all those that do not work in healthcare, please be kind to those of us that do. We are tired from long hours and mentally exhausted from the constant anguish of continued illness and death. Many of us are leaving the medical profession because we can no longer continue at this pace, especially in the face of so much animosity. If we all leave, there will be no one else to care for you; in the offices, in the hospital, in the very moment you need us most.

    Until the time that I can retire, I will do my best to help those that need me. Be safe everyone and most of all be kind and considerate!

  • Why are we never satisfied?

    Hello all! I hope you are enjoying your day, whether at work or quarantined at home, or with a ‘stay in place’ order. Jobs are closing, school has been postponed like it’s a snow day and quarantine fever has nothing to do with Covid-19.

    Today I was making a visual list of things you can do while Social Distancing! It’s a funny list of things that if you have to stay home or stay away from other folks, you can accomplish throughout your day.

    So much as been shown on social media about the quarantine and how to get through it, but why ‘get through it’? What is it about humans that we can’t be satisfied? Why can’t we enjoy life as it is, in this very moment, whatever our circumstances? I’m not talking about being satisfied with scientific discoveries or other advances in humanity. But if you check out your friend’s list on FaceBook, Instagram or SnapChat, you will find some of the following examples of our inability to be satisfied.

    I wish I could stay home from work….I wish I could just go to work! I love my kids dearly, they’re the best……These kids need to get back to class! I just want to spend some time to myself……Why can’t I be in a group of more than 10? It’s so hot this summer…..I can’t wait for Winter/Spring/Fall! It’s so cold this winter…..I can’t wait for Spring/Summer/Fall!!

    Satisfaction is defined as “the fulfillment or gratification of a desire, need, or appetite”. I love this definition! The fulfillment of a desire. The gratification of a need. Have you ever looked at your life at any particular moment and felt completely satisfied, and not wanted even one thing to change? I know it’s been hard for me.

    When on a camping vacation, I am so very happy in the moment, but then ‘I wish I didn’t have to go back home!’. Or ‘ I can’t wait for the next 2 weeks to pass’, but forget that your child will be two weeks older and that time will be gone forever!

    I reminds me of the movie ‘Click’ with Adam Sandler where he wishes he could fast forward through the hard and mundane things to get to the moments that he needs to work on or get through. This works well, until he realizes that the time he is skipping is getting longer and longer and he has no control over the amount of time he is losing! It shows him that every single moment is precious. And they are. Doing yardwork, which I hated at a kid, now just serves as a reminder of times that my mom, sister and I would spend outside (usually mom was yelling at us to get back to work!). But I do miss those moments with the two of them.

    So while you are self-isolating, quarantined or under a ‘stay in place’ order, please enjoy those around you! Spend as many moments talking, getting to know your children again, date your spouse or significant other! This time will not return and you can grab some satisfaction in the meantime.

    Have a great day all! I’m going to go walk my cat!

    Tracy

  • Quarantine Time

    Hello everyone from sunny Orlando Florida! Or at least I think it’s sunny. The last time I checked it was sunny! Working in the healthcare field right now is very hectic, 14-15 hour days with more to come.

    We are in the middle of Quarantine Time here in Central Florida. COVID 19 is here and has no plans of leaving. Travel plans included: Walt Disney World…..closed; Universal Studios……closed; Legoland….closed. Then it decided ‘Hey, I’ll take a cruise”…..no can do! Maybe eat at some of the nicer restaurants in the tourist area….NOPE, closed until you leave COVID 19!!

    This has hit many people hard, especially the service industry, in which Orlando is mostly employed. Small business, family run restaurants and nightclubs/bars have had to send people home and unable to tell them when they are going to return to work. Churches are cancelling services in the most Holy of days, Lent and Easter.

    We have to stay 6 feet apart from each other and the grocery store shelves are empty of toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Everyone wants this to go away, but so many people do not want to do their part in helping to flatten the curve. So many are at risk to include infants, elderly, pregnant women and the immunocompromised.

    There are people that want to be tested for the Coronavirus, but only so they can return to their ‘normal’ day-to-day lives. One such lady said she couldn’t self isolate because she had to go to the grocery store! The very place where we don’t want germs.

    I just wanted to take a minute to let you all know that I hope you are taking time away from the news, away from each other, and away from the chaos that comes with this quarantine we are in. Take care of yourself, wash your hands (soap and water is just fine) and don’t touch your face.

    Make sure to pay attention to the companies that take care of their employees at this most tender time. These are the companies that you want to frequent after the crisis is over. Some of these companies include: Darden Restaurants, PepsiCo, Walmart, Amazon, Apple, McDonalds, Disney, Universal Studios and Delta. These are a few of the companies that are putting their money where their mouths are! WAY TO GO!!

    Love to you all!! Be well and talk again soon!!

    Tracy

  • Take a breather!

    Good day everyone! Hope your Tuesday is going great! We’re getting closer to Spring, can you feel it yet? I know everyone in our house is looking forward to warmer temps and longer days!

    It’s been a rough couple of weeks! We have been busier than usual, Brett has been keeping the bike shop at top speed and I have been screening just about everyone for the flu (now getting ready for the Coronavirus concerns!) But on Sunday, when I was supposed to be getting ready for work, I just felt the need to break away!

    I wanted to call in sick and take a day to completely forget everyone and everything associated with responsibility. I told one of my coworkers that I didn’t want to be. Not be at work, I just didn’t want to ‘be’. There is no need to worry about my mental health, but I’ll admit I wanted to sit in a room, under some covers and not think! I didn’t want to have to make any decisions, do any housework, talk to any other humans or perform any ‘higher brain’ functions! I wanted to be an introvert just for the day!

    There are days when we need to just take a breather. Times to detach ourselves from our routine, hectic life! Time to ourselves and our thoughts, times to recharge our batteries. To be a compassionate human being, you must be able to give of yourself and if you have not emptied your well, you can’t take any more on. Time to ignore the laundry and leave the dishes in the sink, as hard as that may be!

    Today for me, is my breather. I made a sandwich, packed my bicycle (well Brett did that for me) and made sure I had sunscreen. I found a spot on the sand at the beach and anchored my umbrella. The next 5 hours involved no one but me!! I feel refreshed and ready to take on my next challenge.

    My wish for you today is that you can ‘take a breather’! Eat dinner outside, take a long bath, go to a hotel and get a full nights sleep……the world will be there for you when you return!

  • Merry Christmas……still!

    Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope that your Christmas was peaceful and full of joy!

    This morning I returned to work to I felt a excitement to start the ‘new year’! Yes, I know that it isn’t quite the New Year yet… that will be next week. I mean the new year in the fact that we have celebrated the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ! I can’t help to be excited about this time of year!

    We spend so much time preparing for Christmas by decorating and shopping, baking and sending well wishes to our friends and family. But then, December 26th comes and the world returns to the hustle and bustle of life.

    There is still so much to be thankful for, even after Christmas Day! It only take a moment to slow down, look around and see those people and things that are in your life that are blessings. Your job for one- it may be a hard grueling job, but there are so many other that can’t work or can’t find work.

    How about your home? Yeah it needs a fresh coat of paint and you can’t really remember what caused that stain on the living room carpet, but it kept the cold out and the rain off your head. What a blessing!!

    And your family….boy are they annoying! But is there anyone you know that is missing their mom, dad, brother or sister this Christmas season? What they wouldn’t give for one more hour, one more day with them.

    So I would like to challenge you to look at others around you, what could you do to extend blessings to them? Could it be a nice hand written card thanking them for being part of your work team? Maybe pass on that ‘last season’ outfit that you no longer need or want. Or perhaps, start making regular donations of time, talent or treasure to a charity of your choice.

    So……Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!! I hope this next year is so full of blessings that your face gets sore from smiling so much!

    Tracy

  • A Grateful Heart

    Happy Fall Y’all! Halloween is soon approaching and then it will be time to put on our stretchy pants for Thanksgiving!

    If you haven’t visited my other blog ‘Our House Has Wheels’ you may not have seen our recent vacation to Chattanooga Tennessee. We had a blast, but we did have some troubles.

    Today I wanted to write about having a ‘grateful’ heart. It’s easy to be grateful when things are going well, we’re getting along with our spouse, work is fruitful and the bills are paid.

    What’s important is being grateful in times of stress! On our journey home, we have had not 1, but 2 blowouts on our RV tires! It delayed our travel home, but more so than that, it gave me time to think!

    I was aggravated at Brett for not leaving early enough on Monday when we were headed to Tennessee. He still hadn’t finished packing and checking and double checking everything he needed to.

    But it was last night and today that I realized, the time he took to make sure we were completely prepared for our trip, made sure that when we had troubles, we were prepared.

    Being grateful doesn’t take money. Being grateful just takes time. Look for ways to show your gratitude to someone in your life today. Whether it’s someone at the grocery store that you don’t know, or a family member that does something small to make life easier.

  • Don’t compare your insides to someone else’s outsides!

    Hello everyone! Hope you summer has been restful! Before you know it, the children will be back in school and life will calm down……or get busier, LOL! I remember the days that my girls were in school, it seemed to be a never ending barrage of things to do and places to be.

    I have been thinking a lot about todays’ topic. I keep coming back, over and over, feeling the tug to my heart about writing on this. Scrolling through social media, ie. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc., you can very easily get pulled into the rabbit hole of envy. Delicious foods, wonderful places, expensive clothes and flashy jewels. So many ‘social media influencers’ make a lot of money from sponsors by showing their amazing lifestyles.

    One of the most disturbing items I recently saw online, was about the flock of people taking Instagram photos at a beautiful turquoise lake. It can be found in Siberia and the beautiful blue waters are the envy of all those looking to take envy invoking photos. What’s the downside you might ask…..it’s a toxic waste dump for a nearby electric company. The company has even posted warnings ‘You can not swim in the ash dump.’

    Ralph Waldo Emerson said “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”. This quote seems to have even greater meaning when we look at the number of ‘followers’ that social media stars have. Not a lot of the internet stars have any talent other than posting amazing photographs that have been staged, produced, retouched and filtered. Hair & make up artists, wardrobe assistants, professional photographers as well as production assistants make the posts seem to be larger than life.

    For those of us ‘regular‘ people, this can be disheartening! Who wouldn’t love to eat amazing meals prepared by professional chefs, quit our 9-5 and get paid to ‘post’ photos, and be sponsored by our favorite clothing line or shoe designer (and keep the items after we’ve posted our pictures!)?

    When you decide to be yourself, living your life how you want, you will find that you are at peace, and happiness will follow you everywhere you go. Let go of things, start living for the people around you! Enjoy your experiences…make memories to take with you as you get older.

  • Motivation

    motivation

    Motivation is a powerful thing. Successful people everywhere are often described as being motivated. But what motivates you, how do you stay motivated and where do you find motivation when its been lost? Motivation is the reason behind peoples actions, desires and needs.

    When you start a new task, new job or new hobby, motivation does not seem to be a problem. The excitement of trying something new becomes your motivation.  Often, the reason you started this new thing is driven by the motivation of more money, or satisfaction.

    Motivation factors include money/rewards, helping others/better world, power/fame, desire to be #1/best, recognition and passion. There are often multiple motivating factors as well as changing motivating factors. You may start a new job to obtain more money, but then find that you are passionate about the career you chose. Maybe you received a reward and then become motivated by the desire to be the best in your field.

    But there is another factor that has to be considered…drive. Behind a persons motivation is their drive. Drive is defined as ‘ an innate, biologically determined urge to attain a goal or satisfy a need’. It could be a basic need such as food and warmth or a need of material possessions. It can be seen when motivation and success are evaluated.

    When a persons motivation results in success, they receive a positive feedback and their motivation often increases in order to repeat or increase their success. But when motivation results in failure, their motivation may increase in order to prevent a second episode of failure or, their motivation may decrease, to prevent a second episode of failure. This is often seen with exercise/health, school/education, career/work or personal relationships. If you begin to have success after beginning an exercise program and you have a noticeable weigh loss, you are motivated to continue to repeat your success. If you do not have the weight loss you seek, or you gain weight, you may become frustrated at your efforts and become less motivated to continue.

    I challenge you to look at what aspect of your life needs increased motivation. What do you desire to achieve? You can channel your motivation by identifying what is your motivating factor and revisit this during your efforts. If you wish to lose weight, what is motivating you? If you wish to be successful in business, what do you wish to achieve? If you revisit your goals, you can increase your motivation and ‘keep your drive alive’!! I encourage you to find others that are motivating and let them help you in your efforts to be successful at attaining your goals! Get yourself some cheerleaders!! There is nothing more motivating than a group that wants to see you succeed. I have experienced this in my time with Mary Kay! You should see these ladies in action, each one helping the other to succeed! I feel like I can conquer the world after sitting down with some of my Mary Kay friends! Find that for yourself!

    Go out this weekend and enjoy your days! Look at what motivates you and tune up your drive! You’ll be so very glad you did! And I’ll be here, cheering you on!!

    Photo by Ylanite Koppens on Pexels.com

    Tracy

  • Our first road trip…..for real!

    Well here we go! Happy Monday everyone! I hope your weekend was great!

    Brett and I have ventured out for our first ‘for real’ long distance road trip with everything in tow…..pups included! We loaded our suitcases, pillows, blankets, cooler, table and chairs and puppies in the truck and headed up I95 for Pennsylvania!

    If you want to learn about a person, take a trip with them! Like, a for real, no time apart trip! Since leaving town, we have spent every waking moment together. And our sleeping moments were together as well!

    Whoever said ‘You can’t go home again’ was right! Brett and I made it to my hometown of Hope Mills about 12:00 midnight after having to take a backroads detour. After finding ourselves back on familiar roads, we decided to take a bit of a nap in the parking lot of a Bojangles restaurant until morning when we could grab breakfast and head back out on the road. There was a county sheriff nearby, so we felt safe enough to go to sleep.

    The puppies had settled in, the parking lot was dark except for occasional headlights and the blue lights of the sheriff deputy car. This seemed too good to be true, and true to it word, it was.

    Me: ‘Brett, there’s a car behind us.’ Brett: ‘Where?’ HMPD: (knocking on window of our truck) ‘Sir, everything okay here?’ Brett: ‘Yes sir officer. Just trying to catch a quick nap.’ HMPD: ‘Well sir, this business is closed, so you can’t park here. You can go park by the gas station across the street.’ Brett: ‘Yes sir. Thank you.’

    So at this point, we are run out of town! LOL! But seriously, it’s moments like this that you realize the type of person you are traveling with. About 10 minutes later, we are parked in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel and trying to sleep in the front of our truck!

    I’m so glad to spend these days with Brett, he is absolutely one of my favorite humans! Our adventures are so fun, if not at the time they are happening, then definitely when they stories are told later!

    See ya on the road! Eagle V out!

    Tracy (Brett and the pups too!)