Age Intelligently
Warmland Community Policing put on a successful Seniors Safety Fair event this past week at the Island Savings Centre in Duncan. Representatives from various seniors programs and services were represented. Nurse Next Door was there with friends from our seniors services network – our ‘Intelligent Aging’ group. One of the fun ideas was a passport to visit each of the booths, where the passport required an answer to a pre-selected question. Our Intelligent Aging group chose an important question – ‘How do you age intelligently?’ If I were to ask you that right now, how would you...
Read MoreSurrender
I spent the better part of 2007 in an ashram near Bangalore, India, trying to figure out how to surrender – without a lot of luck. When I returned to Canada, I did not feel much closer to even understanding what surrender meant, much less accomplishing it. Now, eight years later, from personal experience, I have a working definition and a modicum of experience and appreciation of the process. From the understanding that I have gained, I also have an appreciation – awe almost – of the healing magic that surrender can bring to one’s life. But before I get to all of that, perhaps we...
Read MoreOsteoarthritis and Reflexology
If you have arthritis and joint pain, the season shift into fall likely has you feeling especially achy. Here is a handy link to current weather conditions in Victoria, though you can change cities. The site also suggests how arthritis is likely affected, in real time. The Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, defines osteoarthritis as, “the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people worldwide. It occurs when the protective cartilage on the ends of your bones wears down over time. Although osteoarthritis can damage any joint in your body, the disorder...
Read MoreWhy Teens Use Drugs
Understanding why teens use drugs is key to preventing addiction. Despite the best efforts of parents, educators and awareness groups, drug abuse remains a core problem for young people. While most who try drugs once or twice don’t go on to develop substance addictions, those who do may suffer from life-long problems. These problems have never seemed more pressing, amid fears that heroin addiction is on the rise in Vancouver, particularly among the city’s young people. In particular, this stems from a recent rise in the number of teens abusing prescription opiates, and the fear...
Read MoreMeeting In The Middle
Last month, I went through a profound shift in the way I view my relationships. I have recently been certified in Access Bars®, a healing modality that facilitates a release of blockages by gently applying pressure to 32 specific points on the head. Every one of these points corresponds to some aspect in life (control, creativity, awareness, etc). Since being introduced to this in April of this year by a dear friend, I have had the most amazing revelations about the way I have been conducting myself in life. When I was 17 years old, I met my future husband. It was love at first sight – a...
Read MoreControlling Your Own Happiness
In our last column, The Relationship to Happiness, we wrote about the main contributing factors to happiness, from an “interests” point of view, and how we use these factors to support a happier experience for our senior home care and home support clients. This month, we’d like to focus on what scientific research suggests controls our happiness from inside. This information comes from a relatively new and modern branch of psychology, called ‘positive psychology’, which uses scientific research and intervention to aid in the achievement of a satisfactory life – rather than...
Read MoreGetting To The Heart Of Things
It has always been a mystery that has caused frustration and anger as one wonders why women have always been treated differently regarding heart attacks. The diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of women has been far inferior to that of men. Everyone knew it, but nobody seemed to know why, and by and large, the difference appeared to be ignored. Fortunately it was not being ignored. Two women doctors are now leading the way in the better diagnosis and treatment of women suffering heart attacks, right here in British Columbia Their amazing accomplishments are featured in the article below, which...
Read MoreSigns The Body Is Giving Us
Why are so many people experiencing anxiety and panic attacks? What is it that our body wants to tell us? Something is affecting our spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health. There has to be a reason. Recently I heard an explanation by Rabbi Jacobson, author of “Toward A Meaningful Life”, that made sense to me when I thought of people struggling with anxiety: ’’All fear, all anxiety, all stress comes really from a sense of being focussed on yourself and your feelings and whatever happens around you. People who are able to transcend it do not allow that situation to define...
Read MoreForgiveness: The Key To Healing
“Resentment is like drinking poison and expecting your enemy to die.” Nelson Mandela “Forgiveness is not something we should do to be “good”, but as a crucial skill in pursuit of a healthy, fulfilling life.” Megan Feldman Bettencourt Most people think of forgiveness as being magnanimous enough to look past a grievance or fault. Let’s say, for example, that you and your friend John are supposed to meet for coffee at a trendy café at 1:00. He shows up 25 minutes late without offering an apology, and sits down as if nothing has happened. You are seething inside because you feel...
Read MoreAn Aromatic Dream Come True
It is 6:30 am on Saturday, April 25 and I can hardly breathe. You see, I have waited 12 years to meet renowned aromatherapist John Steele, and this is the first day of his workshop. This is a man who is not only an aromatherapist, but also an archeologist specializing in linguistics. I need to get there early for a front row seat! As the noise in the room comes to a dull roar, I notice that he appears nervous. Here is a man who is a pioneer, has given several presentations, written scholarly papers and has the respect of his top peers. My first thought was how graciously humble and accessible...
Read MoreGuatemala’s Banana Project
Bananas really are amazing. They are the perfect nutritious snack food wrapped in their own sanitary packaging. They have 110 nutrient-dense calories and are pure and safe enough to be a baby’s first solid food. Bananas are low in fat, cholesterol-free and a good source of potassium, dietary fibre and magnesium, as well as Vitamins B6 and C. The residents of Chuk Muk, Guatemala are incredibly fortunate that this power food grows in their sub-tropical climate. If the village had a slightly higher altitude and was not situated on a lake, they would not be able to grow bananas. In Chuk...
Read MoreAffordable Prescriptions For All
With the federal election looming, Elizabeth May is proposing affordable prescription charges with a national pharmacare system. Currently millions of Canadians, mainly women and children, cannot afford to cash their prescriptions which is a national disgrace. The following article appeared recently in the Times Colonist. Trish Summerhayes Owner/Publisher Island Woman Greens aim for affordable prescriptions with national pharmacare Andrew Duffy / Times Colonist July 28, 2015 02:54 PM Elizabeth May served notice in Victoria Tuesday that the Green Party plans to...
Read MoreA New Line In The Sand
Wow … what a week. I had experienced some unpleasant energy over the last week and thought I would check in with others to see if I was alone. I wasn’t. Many people I knew, including myself, had experienced something fairly unpleasant and yet indefinable at first tinder. As the flame grew and then dampened, it became clear what the common thread was. Boundaries! No matter how old we are, how many experiences we have had or how clear we believe we are, there is always a need to revisit and redefine our boundaries. Personally and professionally, these change over time. New...
Read MoreThe Relationship To Happiness
We love making our senior clients happier! One of the main reasons that we offer home care and home support to seniors is to keep seniors healthy and happy where they want to be – at home! But it’s more than just supporting their goal of aging at home. Outside of the basics like living conditions, safety and health, there are some additional components indicated in modern literature as cornerstone pieces for happiness. Among the most prominent are growth and learning, practicing gratitude, travel and adventure, and relationships. Growth and learning are ever popular, even somewhat trendy....
Read MoreSaving Lives Every Day
If someone had told me a year ago that I would be helping to save the lives of Canadians on a daily basis, I would have never believed them. Yet, here I am a year later, and that is exactly what I do. Three months ago, I became the Vancouver Island Volunteer Resources Coordinator at Canadian Blood Services. I am responsible for recruiting and training new volunteers, as well as managing the nearly 500 existing volunteers on Vancouver Island. It’s a tall order, but completely worth it. Every day I get to go home knowing that my contribution helped get the gift of blood to patients in need....
Read MoreShame On You?
Growing up, I didn’t have much. My parents did the best they could, but I had second-hand clothing that never fit and was not in style. I wasn’t permitted to wear makeup or have my ears pierced as most girls did. Children and teenagers can be really mean – I was often made fun of and as a defense mechanism, I developed a keen sense of humour and often pointed the humour away from myself. Thankfully, it worked for me, but not everyone has coping mechanisms in place. Lately there seems to be a rampant use of shaming (sexual, pets, drought, wealth, poverty and affiliation). Why on earth is...
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