Think of your brain as a highly-trained watchdog, on high-alert for perceived threats that can put you in danger. By acknowledging that you are in this state and thanking the brain for this coping mechanism, you are effectively telling your brain that you are safe; patting the watchdog on the head (so to speak) and giving it permission to engage the part of the nervous system that’s responsible for relaxation and…
A letter written by my friend and colleague, Lisa Rinehart, RN, BSN, JD Nurses Week 2020– A Perspective in a Unique Time As Nurses’ Week is celebrated this year, I have no doubt that we will continue to hear about the wonderful accolades and sincere gratitude that we have seen attributed to all nurses during the pandemic that has settled over our world. They are all well-deserved and so appreciated. Each……
I had a family member ask me this weekend why I am such a vocal advocate for people with obesity when I personally don’t have a ‘weight problem’. My response is to ask this: Do you have a coping mechanism? I would argue that we all do, whether in response to normal life stressors or true traumas. What if one of your coping mechanisms could be easily seen and noticed before……
An activity that started as a way for me to spend time with my son became a valuable lesson on the care and appreciation of weight-diverse clients. First, a little background. My son is entering high school next year. He is sweet, thoughtful and funny. He is also painfully aware that he is smaller than most boys his age, which limits his involvement in some sports and over time, has eroded……
A little over a year ago, a professor at a prestigious nursing school reached out to me via my website asking if I’d be interested in writing the infertility chapter in a women’s health nursing textbook. I was flattered and realized it would be an amazing opportunity. I was also a little nervous. I weighed the risks and benefits. Writing a chapter in a textbook would be an amazing accomplishment, ensuring……
It’s amazing how a single image can generate two polarized feelings. This one triggers, in me, both intense joy and unbelievable loss. It was taken at a conference about two months after I found out I was pregnant. I remember my husband and I seeing the heartbeat on ultrasound, the only appointment that he was able to make, and us laughing and conspiring about how I was going to keep my……
As an infertility nurse practitioner, I am asked this question often and it’s a valid one. First, I want to say that I am so sorry. I understand how devastating this news is. By explaining the potential reasons why this treatment cycle didn’t result in a pregnancy I don’t mean, in any way, to diminish the sadness and frustration that you might be having, only to give you information that, in……
Once a couple is diagnosed with infertility, clinicians suggest a plan of care that is the most effective, least invasive and, whenever possible, economical. On a parallel journey, the couple also explores interventions or actions, on their part, that can contribute to their success in achieving a pregnancy, often researching complimentary medical techniques such as acupuncture. In the U.S. over the last few decades as subfertile patients search for complimentary and alternative adjuncts to Western medicine in order to improve reproductive outcomes.……
