After a thought of of Dr. Frutos del Nogal, who was head of the ICU of my beloved Hospital Universitario Severo Ochoa de Leganés, after the Sedation workshop at the recent #SOMIAMA, today I want to discuss an article of April 2013 in la Vanguardia and Elena Lorente (De Tots Els Colors) has shared with us: the healing power of Word (only available in Spanish).
Dr. Frutos told me, “without prejudice to the need for analgesics and sedatives, there is something that is not said: words. The word and the friendly gesture and the comfort of the patients. That reduces the consumption of drugs”.
We are communication in our DNA. We have it so inside, that sometimes we are not aware of the power that has the word in our relations and even to ourselves. To the psychologist Mercé Conangla, “The word can be source of healing and growth”, and I absolutely agree. There are many pains that they may be relieved with drugs, but the emotional pain do not. And we have to make conscious that what often happens to us unnoticed. We continue talking about empathy, put the shoes we have opposite, and thanks to the language learning from people.
We have to change our language to introduce new situations, re-educate ourselves to educate and generate the change needed to improve the subjective experience of all. We have starting from the inner dialogue, combating and changing that negativity and rework our beliefs because our mental speech conditions us. We talk to people, “cut and paste” from our electronic clinic storys and it makes us lose the key to the process of getting sick: the biography of the patient.
And for that, you previously have to stop, giving space to generate awareness and listen. Many times we hear things that we like, sometimes quite the opposite. But so, listening and understanding, that´s the way we are changing our reality and the reality of the UCIs.
A positive change, a step forward.
Happy Thursday,
Gabi
Such a simple, yet important, truth! Anything that creates a human connection with the patient has the potential to help alleviate suffering.