Dealing with Change

Change

Everyone at one point or another will experience change, it’s inevitable. How you deal with the change is completely up to you.

I have always thought that if you work hard and prove yourself the direction of your life will be just as you planned. I am learning now that this is not the case. Over the past few months I have been put in a position where I have to make a life choice regarding change. The hardest part, knowing that I have done all that I could but no matter what I do I will not be able to hang on to this job that I have and absolutely love. I know that this change is not common knowledge in the workplace at this point and I should not be talking about it but its weighing heavy on my mind. If you know Santa please don't say anything as I don't want to end my position earlier than it needs too. :)

 Knowing that my job will be ending hit me very hard in the past weeks , I have found myself letting my mind wander and beat myself up thinking what  more could I have done? The answer I found was “Nothing”! I have given my all and the issues of funding cuts and changes in policy have Zero to do with me.

I have decided that I will hit the ground running in my possible new position within the company and get myself back into a positive state and possibly  have a job that I love and will continue to carry on what I do! but who knows I might even do it better.

Can I honestly look myself in the mirror and ask the question “did you give 100% to your profession and the people you have been in trusted to help on your case list”? “Are my clients better off now than when I met them”?  The answer is YES!!!! Not to be conceded, but I am good at my job and I can take with me the fact that I did make a difference in people’s lives while I was here. And that was my whole goal when I started.

 There are so many positions in Healthcare that I can transition to; it’s just a matter of getting in that’s all.  I will guarantee, I will knock down every door until I do. I have not let this experience get me down and I will not let this define who I am or the work that I set out to do.

I am trying to deal with this change with decorum, dignity and poise, and most of all preserving my own self-respect! All the things that I have been preaching to my clients for so many years.

I will miss so many of them when the time comes, after a while they become family, I cannot conform to being a robot and shutting down feelings when it comes to people who have had Brain injuries, born with FASD , or those who are mired in a world that can’t be explained having Mental illness. All that I have described are people just like you or me but when I think back on all of the changes that these people suffer on a daily basis in their bodies with government funding or lack of resources, changes in workers.  a new Job is not so bad and I must sound trivial in being upset, unfortunately I am human.

Change is how you deal with it.!
Thank everyone for all of your support 

Self Harm

Self harm

This week was a tough week for me; I was witness to a young man who felt that the only way to ease his pain was to harm himself. Luckily we were able to talk with him, and keep him safe until the paramedics arrived to tend to his wounds. When arriving at the hospital the young man was disappointed that he was still here. Broke my heart to hear that. Not even yet an adult and with so much to live for but yet felt like he did not have any other choice. The young man has had multiple attempts in the past due to his substance use and mental illness. I just hope one of these times he doesn’t succeed.

I visited the young man the next morning; he was happy to see me and thanked us for the quick action and for staying with him during the whole ordeal. I asked him why he thanked me as I explained that that is what people that care do, stick beside someone regardless of the situation. The young man says he has never had that before and was shocked. The young man explained to me why he did it. He stated “my grandfather would not bring me Marijuana or Meth and I just wanted to go to a happy place for 30 minutes or so”. After talking with him I have learned that this had been normal routine with the drugs and alcohol since the boy was 11 and when he was denied the substance it threw him into a state of panic. It’s sad to think that a family member, who is supposed to be a role model and a mentor, was role modeling the dangerous and obviously harmful behavior. The young man will have another reminder of his situation and the pain that he feels on a daily basis, 40 surgical staples on each arm extending from the base of his wrist to the bend in the elbow.

The young man broke down when we talked and says to me, “why can’t I just feel like I belong, why can’t I just be loved like other people my age” My response, “you are loved and cared about that’s why I am here and as for belonging, you are not in heaven so you must still belong here with us” he laughed and thanked me once again.

If you ever notice someone who is doing things to themselves that could be considered self-harm, let them know that you care and that you are glad they are a part of your daily lives. Most people just want to belong and feel wanted.  

Self-harm can manifest in so many ways, here is just a few

 - Cutting

- Single / repeated overdoses

- Disfiguration of the body

- Swallowing sharp objects or foreign objects

- Inserting foreign objects into the body

- Swallowing poisonous substances

- Hair-pulling

- Head banging

- Scratching

- Excessive scrubbing of skin e.g. with sandpaper, scourers, Chinese rubs etc.

- Burning with cigarettes

- Alcohol/drug abuse

- Eating disorders

- Repeated attempted suicide

Please be a friend to someone who may need it. There is so much negativity, and for my young friend let’s make this world his happy place so that he does not have to harm himself again to try and find it.

Santa