Tips To Help You Stay Out Of The Hospital

October 12, 2021  | Valerie Hayes  | Health & Wellness, My Story, Thoughts & Ideas, Valerie Hayes, View All Articles & Photos

The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” has always been pretty good advice. Prevention is all about staying healthy, in particular having a healthy diet, combined with fresh air and exercise. We all know the drill.

We all get sick from time to time regardless. As we age, the chronic diseases, cancers, heart disease, stroke, and accidents top the list for what could put us in the hospital (aside from covid, flus, and various other respiratory infections).

We simply do not have any guarantees in life. I might not be here tomorrow for all I know. I have managed to stay away from doctors and hospitals for the most part, with the exception of working in hospitals. As things unfold with covid, and health care becomes less reliable, I am more determined than ever to steer clear.

If I fail in my quest to stay alive and drop dead, there might be some finger pointing, and dire warnings “See I told you so”. Maybe I will plan to wear a pink sequinned mini skirt to my own funeral (very bad) so the tongue-wagging could have some bling in the orbits of the obits. What a place to end up when the party is over! Notice how older people take very few selfies? They add at least seven years to your life!

One of the things I cannot comprehend surrounding privacy and confidentiality in health care, is why they allow media into the ICU’s now, to take pictures of people who are critically ill, or on their death beds. Especially when you consider they will not even allow family to visit. Are all those cameras, tripods, and lenses sterile or even clean? Where else have they been?

I really do not think anyone should consent to that kind of macabre voyeurism. We are not getting out of this world alive, and we certainly don’t need to be used as covid mascots when we are at our most vulnerable. Those ICU pictures published in the newspapers, are intended to scare people into compliance, when no one knows the history or various other factors that put them in ICU.

People ended up on ventilators in ICU long before covid came along, yet we never allowed media into a hospital room. Now if you end up in ICU, it’s a reality TV show with a biased slant, at a time when you have no hope of defending yourself or your reputation. Vanity aside, privacy in health care is being eroded faster than an unstable embankment, without any roots to hold it in place.

I would far rather go out of this world dressed up, than tied and bound up in tubes on a ventilator, at the mercy of mobile hazmat suits, with people you could never recognize outside the place. So when people say, would you forgo medical care if you need the ICU? I always think – Sure I would. Faith and fate are part of life. Give it your best shot, and then fall out of the tree. Nature is what it is.

It has come to the point where it is simply safer to stay away from doctors and hospitals if at all possible. They are understaffed and overwhelmed as it is, and things appear to be getting worse. They don’t want us there.

The chances of medication errors, diagnostic errors, and a lack of advocacy – makes hospitals increasingly formidable. There are many good people who work in hospitals, but inadequate staffing levels can lead to inhumane treatment. Plus people are under a great deal of stress right now. Many people who work in hospitals have strong opinions about what is happening, yet they are not free to speak what they believe. The idea of facing the financial crisis that comes with loss of income, or worse yet the license to practice your profession, for people in mid career with families to support – is a huge stressor. The strong differences of opinion cause conflicts, mistrust, and instability in the workplace. I am so glad to be out of it.

Hospitals do have a fair bit of drama, and each experience is unique. For example, if a person is post op with a big abdominal surgery, has had the catheter removed, and cannot urinate – they will get a full bladder pressing on a fresh incision, and be in a great deal of pain. If they let the nurse know they are in extreme pain, and she does not palpate or notice the distended bladder, she might give sedation without alleviating the cause. She might not get back to the patient for another two or three hours. It is a very long time to be in that much pain, steadily increasing, as the IV is running, and the bladder becomes fuller.

The same thing can happen if there is internal bleeding, or a big clot pressing on the incision or other organs. The nurse may be inclined to give more sedation without recognizing the post op complication for several hours. Oftentimes it is a family member who acts as a patient advocate, and will seek help when they see something is not going well.

But if family is not allowed to visit, the person has no advocate. People can quickly become too weak to ring a call bell, especially if there is a post-op bleed. I truly wish there was a way to maintain a support person as a patient advocate, for every person who lands up in the hospital. From a staffing perspective, it is very helpful to have someone at the bedside who can give sips of water, adjust pillows, make sure the person is rousable, etc. Most nurses are not intentionally neglecting patients. It’s just too busy sometimes.

When a person lands up in ER, or is admitted to the ward, the treatment is in the luck of the draw. You might go in during a quiet period and get treated quite well. You might happen to get sick when a really good team of doctors and nurses are working. Or you may get a dud for a doctor, and nurses who are burnt out and beyond caring. The consistency of care is compromised by an overworked system.

Accidents and the resulting traumas, make up a percentage of tragic hospital admissions. In addition to car accidents, this includes falls within and around your own home. If you are over fifty and fracture your hip, the chances of dying within a year is very high. Falls can lead to brain injuries, and/or lifelong disabilities.

Therefore, assess and minimize your chances of getting injured before taking any risk. When indoors, use a stable two or three step ladder with an arched handle to get things out of upper cupboards. Never grab a bar stool or some other unstable piece of furniture to stand on, even for a minute. The same applies to all ladder use, inside or out. Always hold railings on stair cases. Use proper body alignment when lifting things.

For every project, create a safety filter, whether it is chopping vegetables, cutting frozen tuna, fixing things, using glues and chemicals, decorating, painting, gardening, lifting, and loading things. The notion of physical invincibility starts to wane at about age fifty five. If you add insult to injury, it hampers healing, and could lead to chronic pain, arthritis, and dependency on pain medications.

All injuries, like illnesses, need rest and healing therapies. Massage, water exercises, stretching, elevating, and application of warmth – will aid healing. Whether injured or ill, always keep your circulation flowing by moving around, changing position, deep breathing, rotating your ankles, tightening up your calf muscles, and stretching. Many people will develop pneumonia, just from not moving enough. Moving also helps keep the circulation flowing, which is especially important to prevent blood clots from developing in the lower legs.

We should not blame ourselves if we do get sick or injured. It’s bad enough to have to deal with a health crisis, without beating ourselves up even more. But even so, it is wise to do an objective evaluation of the cause, to help us recover, heal, steadily improve, and then make the necessary changes to boost our overall health.

To take responsibility for our own health, we have to gain some confidence and basic knowledge. One of the best ways to gain confidence is to overcome the fear of death. If we are living in fear, we are easy to manipulate and control. If we go for every pre-screening option available, we are bound to get diagnosed with something. Once that happens, it is much more difficult to back out of the treatment plan laid out for you. It is the same with prescription drugs. If you go to a doctor with any problem at all, you are likely to get a prescription of some sort.

I believe we all get inflammation, cancers, infections, and autoimmune diseases of varying degrees, sooner or later. Wellness is a lifelong journey, and many times, it is an uphill battle. A battle of self-discipline, will power, getting a proper balance in life, managing stress, getting enough sleep, solving problems, overcoming childhood trauma, addictions, and so on.

Years ago I was quite taken by a nutrition based self-help book about emotionally induced illnesses. The author claimed 80% of illnesses are emotional in origin. It seems excessive, but at the same time quite believable. During the years I worked as an RN, I could certainly see plenty of evidence to support those claims. Almost all frequent flyers presenting in ER departments are riddled with emotional pain, addiction, and an over arching physical complaint. Being referred to as a frequent flyer was a negative thing, with the undercurrent of what was then termed as “drug seeking behaviours”.

It is not simply a matter of thinking positive, although a decision to be happy, with an optimistic outlook, can help a great deal. You cannot stay positive if you have constant struggles, and never-ending problems to deal with though. So the key is to do what you can each day to solve the problems, in bite size pieces. Once you outline what you can do each day, then the problems can be broken down, without casting a complete shadow over all the positive things in life. If you have a hundred pounds to lose, you cannot lose it overnight anyway. It has to be a day by day, and step by step action plan.

In many cases we land up in a cycle of some sort. If it is negative and swings to the extremes, it means there are patterns to break and restructure. We have to ask ourselves what we might be doing to contribute to our own bad luck or instability.

Sometimes it is a matter of “to thine own self be true” but you end up getting punished for the decision. Other times, it is a pattern, a coping mechanism from another era. Sometimes it is interlocked with a co-dependant or destructive relationship. It is hard to be objective when you are in the thick of it. You have to get free first.

In a similar way, if you have a raging addiction, it will not be cured in a day. It takes abstinence, followed by a day to day plan with the objective to get feeling better. All addiction, depression, poor diets, chronic illness, etc. require a dedication to improve energy, stability and vitality. The dopamine levels, serotonin levels, gut biome, and methods of stress management must be sorted out. For some, healthy living has been fairly easy to make into a lifelong pattern. For countless others though, optimal wellness is burdened with, or snuffed out by emotional and psychological baggage.

Over the years, I will readily admit my own shortcomings in handling emotional stress in a healthy way. I allowed coping mechanisms from early childhood to rule. In hindsight, I wish I would have known then, what I know now. When things go wrong with our health, we feel awful. We don’t have the energy to get our work done. It is difficult to feel happy and optimistic while feeling physically ill. In a similar sense, it is difficult to feel physically well, if we are emotionally stressed, downtrodden, or over burdened, and without the resources to deal with things.

One of the core values I have developed, is to avoid most medications, non-herbal drugs, and alcohol. They might be needed for a brief period, but dependency on medications or chemical mood elevators, means masking symptoms, and creating a roller coaster of mood instability. Eventually the (self) medications do not work as well, or else they cause intolerable and cumulative side effects. Alcohol and many prescription medications are addictive, and can cause severe withdrawal when stopped suddenly. Benzodiazepines require a very careful tapering, which can take many months.

The main objective is to stay stable, regardless of what is going on around you. This means having surety in your decision making abilities, forgiving your own mistakes, and doing your best each day. Keep stable routines, stable diet, stable home life, and keep working out the priorities and details. If there are major changes, don’t add more, just deal with what is tangible. Any time something is threatening to spiral, pull it back to the baseline.

As far as physical health is concerned, the principles are similar. Pay attention. When there is a problem developing, evaluate it, research it, and trust your intuition. If you feel unwell, often rest is the antidote. Some people panic if they see a tablespoon of blood. Apply pressure. If you have an arterial bleed, or an injury that won’t stop bleeding, you do need medical attention. In such a case, there will be a significant amount of blood. Some things do require a 911 call, but often people tend to over react.

Many people get scared if they get short of breath, or if they get a positive mammogram result, or told they “might have this or that”. Ask yourself how you feel, what is different, when did it start, what might the cause be? No one knows your medical history better than you do. It helps to become dispassionate for periods of time, while we make an assessment, as it increases objectivity and rational thought.

From my own perspective and experience, diet, exercise and adequate sleep, make up the basics of maintaining health. If you feel ill, it means you need rest and some early therapies. Things that are therapeutic, and contribute to helping the body heal, are steeped in old fashioned remedies. Therapies are basically comfort measures with healing benefits.

Yes home made chicken soup and lots of clear fluids, in between resting, will help you get back on your feet in a few days if you catch a cold. It is worthwhile to study up on the use of essential oils. They have many well documented health benefits, and contribute to a sense of well-being. Most of them have antimicrobial and anti fungal properties as well. Aromatherapy is pleasant, and full of olfactory flavour. You do get your favourites among them. My favourites are rose, jasmine, cypress, thyme, marjoram, and juniper. Some people love the mints, and others prefer the citrus essential oils. Once you get into it, there is an awesome range to choose from, and become familiar with.

You have to research the usages, carrier oils, and dosages of essential oils carefully though, especially if you choose to use them medicinally. It is fine to use them in aromatherapy or the bath without concerns. But anything taken internally, or even put onto the skin, must be done with caution. Some of them cannot be taken internally at all. Others can be taken in very small amounts depending on the concentration.

It is wise to keep in mind, there are many healthy and natural remedies, including the overuse of some foods and spices that can be toxic. Some food examples with potential for toxicity are cinnamon, Brazil nuts, nutmeg, green potatoes, and large amounts of leafy greens.

Essential oils, nutraceuticals, and supplements must be evaluated and researched based on what ailment they are directed at, before using them medicinally. They need to be managed as carefully as any other kind of medication. You have to include them in a list of medications you are taking if you do end up in the hospital. Some of them can lead to bleeding disorders, or can react with other medications. Steroids and anticoagulants are especially high risk for serious drug interactions when taken in conjunction with certain herbs or supplements.

I was surprised to learn the upper limit on cinnamon is a teaspoon a day, and Brazil nuts, must be limited to less than five nuts a day. Normally a person could not consume too many leafy greens, since you would have to eat a very large volume for it to be toxic. But now with the popularity of smoothies, a person could get toxicity, if they consume too much spinach and kale, if they assume the more you consume, the better. Moderation is always the key.

I do see many health related YouTube videos telling people they need multiple supplements and trace minerals, often promoting very obscure supplements. Be very wary of adding large amounts of trace minerals, when we are only meant to have tiny amounts, not overkill. We get most of those beneficial trace minerals from a healthy diet. Even if you take supplements that the body can detoxify and excrete, this places an excessive burden on the liver and kidneys. If four or five Brazil nuts has too much selenium, what happens if selenium is packed into a supplement you do not even need?

Clearly, we need to keep our priorities straight. One of the things I noted when working for a few years in large long term care facilities, is that you would often see people who were cognitively intact, but immobile due to knee, back or hip injuries. Another group of them were on the dementia wards, and would have a disproportionate number of very active people. They could walk all day, yet could not remember their name.

One key question to ask ourselves is why we seek a diagnosis for every ailment? We want someone else to fix us. We want a label put onto our ails, so we can find a treatment? Or find a reason for feeling unwell. We have been indoctrinated into believing that we must get an early diagnosis or die. For those with anxiety or fear of getting cancer or diabetes, then by all means seek diagnosis and treatment. Many people credit an early diagnosis with survival. But I think we have become too dependent on quick fixes. If something took years to develop, there is probably not a quick fix.

When I did diabetic teaching for awhile, I had to follow a certain accepted protocol. This involved telling people to test their blood sugars four times a day, and use sugar substitutes like Splenda. The diabetic teaching office would receive boxes and boxes full of free Splenda to hand out, along with the free blood glucometers. One thing most diabetic teaching nurses will notice, is there is a strong correlation between diabetes and depression. I felt like telling them not to check their blood sugars so often.

Why? Because if you are not going to do anything different, why depress yourself over it? It’s like telling an alcoholic to measure their blood alcohol levels when they are drinking. Obviously they are going to be elevated. I think it is better advice to tell people to outline some changes, do them daily, and then check their blood sugars to see if the results are better. Maybe things have progressed since I did the diabetic teaching. I hope so, because there were so many facets of it that I found to be counter intuitive.

Perhaps it is better to make a game plan. What will I do if I get sick? Stay home of course, especially if it is a cold, flu, or communicable disease. Drink plenty of clear fluids, eat soup, and rest. Other self treatments at home can include fasting and hydrotherapy.

As we go forward in our technology based world, we are simultaneously going backward in health care. It makes me think we might return to the back-on-the-farm treatments with mustard plaster compresses, and thermofuge poultices. Human beings are amazingly resilient. There is no way of knowing why some are more resilient than others.

As far as making the grand exit in a pink miniskirt, there is really no chance of that anymore. If I had a choice in the exit costume, I would substitute the sequins for a calf length green silk tea dress with a full skirt. Then spin off into the sky, and blend in with the aurora borealis. But alas, little does it matter what we are wearing when we draw our last breath on this earth. When we leave our bodies, we not only leave our clothes behind like in the movies, but the body itself will be abandoned, clothes and all. At least that’s how I see it.

When people over a hundred years old are asked to share their secrets of longevity, the answers are widely varied. Some smoked and ate ice cream every day, while others ate spinach, and walked five miles a day. But the one common denominator, is most of them are quite cheerful and grateful. That’s probably the crux of it. So cheer up, and have some ice cream with that spinach!

Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Can You Imagine A World Without Deception & Lies?

October 4, 2021  | Valerie Hayes  | Health & Wellness, My Story, Thoughts & Ideas, Valerie Hayes, View All Articles & Photos

Is there anyone who knows the truth? We live in a world where knowledge has increased exponentially in the past fifty years, but finding the truth is getting more difficult by the day. Deception clouds almost all information now, leaving us dumbfounded and scratching our heads.

It is not really about stupidity, since even the brightest people can be deceived. When smart people are deceived, things just get more complicated. Making things convoluted is one of the key features of deceptive practices. Or better yet, pick complicated subjects, and those who are inclined to lie, can have themselves a heyday.

In my own experience with lies and delusions, there are certain truths that are irrevocable. Some of the most clear-cut truths are things registered with the Department of Vital Statistics. Births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and adoptions – are all part of the vital statistics in Canada. People may want to deny or invent alterations surrounding these basic societal standards or facts, but it does not change the truth of what has been recorded.

You may wish you had not married someone, but if you did – it becomes an incontrovertible fact. You may want someone to be your daughter (for some strange reason), but to claim an adoption that never happened is an outright and brazen lie. Or else it could be classified as a mental illness or delusion. It is no different than some nut claiming to be married to Madonna. It is in the same genre of falsehoods, and wishful or delusional thinking.

The importance of vital statistics cannot be under estimated, since this information is part of the record keeping surrounding every person’s existence, genetics and lineage. Otherwise we would be blotted out of our own family tree for all eternity. Just as people should not be stolen, nor should they be erased. A person might get away with stealing a child, or claiming ownership when they objectify another person, but anyone who attempts to erase another human being, is a murderer at heart.

No matter how many times a lie is repeated, it does not change who begat who. This kind of record keeping goes back to Biblical times. In ancient times – stealing people was a real problem. I have read in various places over the years, that the eighth commandment “thou shalt not steal” was originally written as a warning not to steal people. Of course it also refers to stealing material things, copyright, and all other forms of theft. Stealing people has to top all other forms of chicanery though, as far as being a thief is concerned.

Other truths are fairly straight forward based on what we can see, observe, learn, and accept as being true. We can check the weather report and compare it to a thermometer outside. We don’t dispute wind, rain, heat, or snow – because we can see, feel, and hear those things. We know a dog is a dog, and an onion is an onion, just based on learning a language.

It gets much trickier to discern truth from fiction when it comes to religion, science, and politics. These are areas that are rife with misconceptions, propaganda, and intentional deceptions. Some day we will find out – how wrong we have been on so many topics.

I certainly don’t have the answers when it comes to overcoming deception, but I do know it is important to seek the truth. Even so, we can easily be deceived. We have to ask ourselves some key questions in the process of seeking the truth. Whatever we end up believing, is part of an individual journey. Truth cannot be forced. It either is – or it is not. Ultimately, it is up to the individual to accept or reject the truth. The same holds true for accepting and rejecting lies. The choice is ours to make. Our fate is embodied in the choices we make.

We might chuckle at the frequently quoted “hell is other people” by Jean Paul Sartre, and see it as being an intellectual or philosophical truism. However this bit of sardonic wisdom was excerpted from the play “Huis Clos or No Exit”. The plot was based upon three people who were trapped in hell, and began confessing their sins to one another. As a result, they became involved in a bizarre love triangle. They soon found out they were not alone, but under the scrutiny and tongue clucking judgement of the other people who were in hell with them. So you can see how the “hell is other people” quote came about. The outlook is a bit different, if you read it within the context of the story and intended meaning.

To begin with, we can question why someone might be motivated to lie, or set up a con and repeat it many times. The more a lie is repeated, the more likely it is to be considered factual. If we delve into the story lines, the history, and the context, the motives are not always clear. But profit motive, self-protection, avoiding detection, and self-exaltation – all contribute to the galaxy of crossed motives that drive human behaviours.

We cannot deny the fact there is much deception in this world. In my own life, a high school teacher, in collusion with my older brother, cooked up an adoption con when I was close to graduating. It is easy to prove there was no adoption. Yet they used brute force to establish the lies, and then repeated the adoption lie for more than forty years. Every single time I tried to refute it, they retaliated and punished me. In fact, it remains that way to this day.

So how do we deal with deception, delusions, and outright lies? I can only respond in hindsight, but I should have found a way to put a stop to it at the onset. What can a teenage girl do when up against that kind of abuse of power? I repeatedly said no to the teacher, but after I was pounced on and stifled, I just shut up about it as a matter of self-preservation.

If I was ever asked about it, I would pointedly reply, “I don’t care what they say – it did not happen. I was not adopted, nor I was I ever up for adoption”. I was stymied by the lies because I actually thought everyone already knew I was not adopted. I had siblings, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins in that small farming community. I barely knew the teacher. He was a young new grad new to the town and school, and very much the hotshot super religious tough guy. Try to imagine the absurdity and isolation for me, spending my whole life with this background saga, trying to prove I was not adopted by the dick head teacher?

Most people get to leave their teachers behind, whether they like them or not. At least that is the way it should be. Imagine your worst teacher nightmare from your school days? Then think about that person claiming ownership over your life, your family life, your spiritual beliefs, and your career. It is like trying to lift yourself out of the swamp, to scrape barnacles, and green slime off your soul.

My voice was repeatedly silenced, and was not loud enough to begin with. I was silenced because of the fear of more attacks, threat of violence at the time, shaming, blaming, scapegoating, nightly brain washing sessions, threats of expulsion from my own family (the biggest one), and accusations of being mentally ill. I had no real escape route.

Over the years, every time I dug in my heels, and announced I wanted nothing more to do with the teacher and his faux adoption claims, I was immediately called “mentally ill”. They have used the “either you go along with it, or you will be declared mentally ill” stick since day one.

My older brother reverted right back to enforcing the mentally ill claim, when I finally made it crystal clear – I was not prepared to put up with the teacher con, or allow the guy to be glommed onto me, for one more minute of my life. That was in 2006 after enduring more than thirty years of the oppressive and damaging con. Since then it has been an uphill battle, and a downward spiral, as far as the attitude toward me is concerned. I can thank big brother for that.

It is clearly not over yet. That is the nature of cons. They just add layer upon layer. How does a person prove their sanity? I will readily admit this has caused me endless strife. All I have ever done to defend myself is to speak the truth about it all – and write about it, to try and get some help or support to get the teacher out of my life. I did not do anything unlawful, or untruthful. It made no difference back in high school, and it still makes no difference. They will not listen.

There is not one organization that will be held accountable for the teacher damages, to include several Ministries in Alberta, the Warburg School, the school board, the Alberta Teacher’s Association, the RCMP, a dubious class action law suit, and Ledcor – the big company that has exalted and promoted my older brother all these years. They could care less if they destroy someone’s life. That is what they intended to do. Don’t be a fool. We are all disposable and dispensable. Some of us are considered to be more throwaway than others. It depends on whether or not you are surrounded with muscle or money. If not, you are less than nothing.

There is no accountability for those with power, when it comes to truth telling. Is it any wonder people become mistrustful, angry, and don’t believe governments or media? I have no doubt that politics, medicine, and religion does have elements of truth, along with many good and honest people in those professions. But they get clouded out in the murky haze of all the deception. Clearly, not all people are honest, and many fall into corruption, for the sake of profits and career climbing.

In my experience as a victim of a con or conspiracy, the first lie was the facade surrounding “what is best for Valerie”. I remember thinking, “Why is this teacher so obsessed with me?” What makes him and my brother think they know what is best for me”? Then I would hear my sister-in-law and her mother crowing about the adoption con, and how the teacher was such a “wonderful Christian”. I now know beyond a shadow of a doubt, they were conspiring to do what they thought was best for themselves, not me.

There are many signs to indicate if something is a con. We are wise to pay attention to those signs. When faced with acknowledging or stopping damaging lies, they will not listen to the victim – even if it is a member of their own family. The imbalance of power between my older brother and I means there is no way of gaining any ground, any truth, or any admission of wrongdoing. The teacher is the family godfather, and I am the outcast. Truth has no relevance whatsoever.

The orders given to all those within this circle and cycle of corruption, is to believe the lies, or get punished. No wonder people in the community, or members of my own family never had the courage to stand up to these lies. My brother is like King Kong. Everyone is afraid of him. He does not intimidate people by accident. He does it on purpose. It is guys like him who are influencing the politicians and control the media. The politicians in my opinion, are either naïve – or in cahoots.

Now more than ever, I do see a burgeoning level of deception in this world. Of course this makes me a “conspiracy theorist”. However, the lifelong subjection to a debilitating con makes my own conspiracy theory a fact, not a theory, because it is easily proven. Obviously, Mr. McNamara did not adopt me six months before I graduated from high school. They can keep lying through their teeth, but it is not going to change the truth, or make them less culpable for their pack of lies.

When it comes to lies, regardless of where they come from, we can do our level best to seek the truth and state it, or set the record straight, but that’s about it. We cannot stay steeped in anger. We cannot get any sort of justice in this lifetime it seems. I will readily admit to getting angry over it all. When I realized how much influence my brother has politically, I was really angry. But now, I know there is no point in being angry. It is futile and a waste of energy. They want to cause emotional distress, so the anger just plays into their hand.

It is almost inconceivable for me to imagine a world without lies. After being subjected to a lifetime of the teacher’s religious indoctrination, how can I disprove any of those cultish religious lies? In reviewing thousands of YouTube videos on various religious beliefs and end times eschatology – my conclusion is that most of it is false doctrine, or mistaken interpretations of the Bible.

Do we find truth in science and medicine? Sure we do. But to think there is no deception, in my opinion, is pure folly. Where there is greed and profit motive, there will be deception. It is as simple as that. There is nothing wrong with making a profit. It is only a problem if the motives are pure greed, combined with deception.

So how do we navigate a world steeped in deception? We can’t argue using facts. Facts only work if those with power choose to acknowledge them. We can’t argue by citing the laws. Liars could care less about the laws, if they have the power to evade them. Everyone knows teachers are not supposed to stalk and chase teenage girls using a faux adoption claim to cover their crimes. But that is exactly what happened, with many witnesses, and a lifelong con to prove it. So what? Who cares? No one does.

If laws and facts cannot disprove a con – what can? The media? That’s almost laughable these days. So how can people discern truth in order to live their best life? The harsh reality is that if you really are committed to truth, you will have many struggles in life. Truth seeking makes for a rocky road. It is much easier to go along with a con than to buck the system. It is much easier to accept the rewards and dodge the punishment. I too, have to admit to being a compliant coward for many years.

When we are told to trust our gut, or pay attention to our intuition – that is probably the best advice ever given. I believe every single one of us is deceived in more ways than we can conceive of. We might have swallowed lies surrounding religious doctrine. This is a very important lie to overcome since it defines what we believe about God. We might be faced with religious indoctrination with no basis in truth, set up on a false foundation. We might be betrayed by the people around us, or deceived about science, medicine, politics or climate change.

No one has the answers to the problem of deception and fraud. The minute you think you have the answers, there is punishment and backlash if you do bring forward the truth, even about your own existence. There are millions of ways to deceive people. In most cases deception occurs with a mixture of truth and lies. If a document is sprinkled with a combination of truth and lies, people are more inclined to believe all of it, including the lies. If a wolf in sheep’s clothing looks and acts somewhat normal, and flourishes under the cloak of religion, many people will believe him without further questioning.

If a plan is based on foundational lies, it means every building block added to the original lies, is built on a crumbling foundation. If the media is not reporting news, but instead tells us what to believe, and then shames those who don’t believe it, that’s not news. It is propaganda. The news articles are at the point of contributing so much deception in the world, they contradict and expose themselves all day long. If you quote last week’s news, you will be accused of spreading misinformation. One critical difference between truth and lies – is that truth is constant. Lies change every time the wind blows. Lies evolve to suit the deceptive narrative and dispel objections. Truth has no such agenda.

We are living in an era of increasingly complex layers of lies and strong delusion. Conspiracy theorists are considered to be nut cases, but if that is true, anyone who thinks conspiracies don’t exist, must have fallen into the deepest pit of delusion. How can anyone not be a conspiracy theorist? All of history points to endless examples of conspiracies, trickery, traps and deceptions.

What is the value of our lives? Jesus was betrayed for money. Shouldn’t that tell us something? Our lives are like the half-cent sparrows. When it comes to deception, we are worthless, or more aptly put – we are only worth what they can get out of us, what they can use and exploit us for. After that, we are discarded. To top it off, they expect us to be filled with gratitude for their schemes.

Truthfully the nature of deception – is the pathway to destruction. In the end we implore – who will it destroy? Will deception destroy the truth-seekers? Or will it destroy the liars? That too – depends on what you believe in. For me, trying to imagine a world without lies, is like imagining a world without night or darkness.

I look forward to the day we are free of lies. There will be no more arguments, no more false accusations, no need for conflict, and no more punishment for speaking the truth. The shoe will finally be on the other foot.

Those with power, the people stealers, the health deceivers, the religious con artists, the corporate masters, and the media propagandists – will all be exposed some day. They really hate the concept of accountability. But as sure as the sun rises and sets, as sure as there is order in the cosmos – so too, there will be a time when lies go by the wayside, and truth will endure.

Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

How The Beaten Down Will One Day Say “We Won”

July 9, 2021  | Valerie Hayes  | Health & Wellness, My Story, Thoughts & Ideas, Valerie Hayes, View All Articles & Photos

Years ago I watched a poignant show about the story of one young man’s life. He and his younger sister were homeless and destitute during the depression era in some dust bowl, remote, flat and forsaken, North American prairie location. He was about seventeen and his younger sister was eleven.

They came upon a small country store owned and run by an elderly man. The young boy went into the store, looking around in awe at all the food on the shelves. He asked about the possibility of getting a job. His sister waited outside in the scrub brush about forty yards away.

The elderly shopkeeper was not kind to him at all. He harshly told him he was nothing but dirty trash. He ordered him out, and told him not to come around his store or property ever again. To place emphasis on the point he was making, he turned around to pick up his rifle.

When he turned his back to get the gun, he left the cash register open. The desperate young boy saw the cash in the open drawer. He impulsively grabbed a five dollar bill and ran, breathlessly and excitedly, telling his sister to run too.

The elderly man had zero compassion for the young boy and his sister. He called the authorities, and both the boy and his sister were promptly caught. The boy was given a harsh prison sentence. His sister was sent to some kind of religious orphanage. They were never allowed to contact each other.

During the next several years, one tortuous thing after another happened to him. He was disabled mentally and physically, due to the torture and beatings he endured in various facilities. They imprisoned him for years over the original theft. It was like he was a throwaway, without family or any resources – so he was stuck there. The more he got beat, the more disabled he became. He was labelled as a nutter, drooler, retard, crazy etc.

Finally, there was a lawyer who learned about his history. The little sister grew up, and started looking for her older brother, thinking he must be out of prison after all those years. She contacted a lawyer who was mortified over the story of his life, and his fate. She set out to make compassionate efforts to help him.

The battle for his release went on and on. It took about two years for the lawyer to even manage to improve his conditions in prison while they waited. He was picked on just for the fun of it.

Finally, there was a letter from the courts to pardon him for the original theft. He was overjoyed. It was the most incredible victory he had ever known.

Sadly, he never did make it out of prison. He was so physically weak, vulnerable, had a speech disorder from blunt force trauma to his head, and was targeted by the prison bully one last time. He had no way of defending himself against such attacks. The final attack occurred shortly before his release date.

He was found face down in the dirt outside in the prison yard. He was already dead when they rolled him over. But before he died, as he lay there bleeding, he scratched his final message in the dirt beneath him. It said “We Won”.

When people are downtrodden and marginalized to the point of no return – this is one of the most powerful messages I have ever heard. He was absolutely right – in more ways than one!

Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Self Care ~ Some Tips For Surviving A Heat Wave

July 3, 2021  | Valerie Hayes  | Health & Wellness, My Story, Thoughts & Ideas, Valerie Hayes, View All Articles & Photos

Given the weather conditions we just experienced, and the number of fatalities during the heat wave, we have to prepare ourselves, especially those who live alone in condos without air conditioning.

In my opinion, any time we are ill or faced with something that can rapidly make us ill, hydration is critical. One of the most important things to maintain and be aware of is fluid balance. You have to keep track of your intake and output. If you cannot do that, you need someone to look in on you. You need to drink twice as much water or more, and if you are not voiding clear straw coloured urine, you need to drink more water.

If the fluid balance is not properly maintained, you become dehydrated very quickly. The blood becomes sluggish and the kidneys can shut down. The electrolytes can get out of balance, which can affect the organs, and chance of survival. Dehydration also increases the risk of stroke and heart attack. The skin is actually the bodies largest organ. As we age, we may not perspire as much or as readily, but even so, if well hydrated, we have a much better chance of getting through it.

Signs of dehydration are seen in a reduction of skin turgor, but that is more difficult to assess in the frail elderly. Sunken eyes, dry mouth, very dark coloured urine, headache, and reduced alertness, are all discernible signs of dehydration. Also if a person normally has visible and palpable veins in their hands and forearms, if there is a change or flatness in those veins, it can signal dehydration. The minimal safe urinary output is 30ml per hour, and may vary if you are on diuretics or certain other medications. It might be a good idea to discuss with your doctor, whether or not certain meds should be stopped or withheld during a heat wave.

Do not make the mistake of over hydration by drinking water non-stop. Although it is uncommon to do so, some people might make the mistake of going overboard, which can also upset the electrolytes. Again, it is all about maintaining the proper intake and output. If a person is acutely ill and in hospital, accurate intake-output records are considered to be very important. We should keep that in mind, in order to care for ourselves and others, and recognize early signs of trouble. Ideally, you want to measure and match the intake with the output. No one should die simply because they need a bolus of fluids.

If faced with vomiting or diarrhea, you will need IV fluids. If you vomit once, and can keep sipping and keep it down, you are probably ok. But if you keep vomiting, it is serious. Usually you have to go to a hospital for IV fluids in that case. Hopefully this heat wave will cause the health care system to develop travelling IV teams. They could send out more home care nurses who can start IV’s, and put in a saline lock, which is a small IV cathlon in the vein. With the cathlon in the vein, you can get a bolus of fluids. The cathlon is left taped in place, until you are drinking well. If you start vomiting in a heat wave, you need medical attention very quickly.

Wear loose fitting light clothing, made of natural fibres, so the skin is free to perspire. Cotton, linen, and silk are best in my opinion. As much skin surface as possible needs to be free to breathe, and perspire.

There is probably no better time to learn about, and appreciate your skin. It truly is a miracle organ, and can save your life. In 2017 when I had a full blown episode of anaphylaxis in the middle of the night, I had third spaced so much fluid within a short time, I did not have enough blood pressure to stand up without blacking out. In the end, every pore on the surface of my skin opened and poured out that toxic fluid. I was quite amazed at how much the skin can contribute to saving our lives.

For this reason it might be comforting to massage the skin with coconut oil infused with essential oils. Many essential oils have healing, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. Even if you don’t believe they are medicinal, they do offer comfort in the bath, or for massage. Just be cautious not to get them near your eyes, or full strength on the skin. They need carrier oils, or else to be infused into the air. I tend to use them more on the skin than in the air. The fragrances are really just awesome. Many are woodsy and earthy smelling enough, to feel like you are going camping.

Staying out of direct sunlight is an obvious bit of advice. If you do need to go out in the sun, keep it to five or ten minutes. Keeping a bath tub full of cool water or quick showers will temporarily cool you down. You can also place a fan behind a basin of ice and sit in front of it. Also ice packs, cold compresses, and anything that cools you down.

Conserve energy. If there is a heat wave coming, get the groceries and prepare some food ahead of time so you don’t have to cook. If you have to exert yourself, keep it brief and rest often. Do not treat it like a normal day. The day before it started, I made a big pot of vegetable chicken soup with lots of shiitake mushrooms, and froze half of it for later. It was a great staple during the heat wave and helped to maintain nutrition. We lose our appetite when it is hot, but at the same time, it is not the optimal time to fast, since our body needs less food, but still needs good nutrients. Watermelon, and all fruits are good to snack on.

Rest frequently, but don’t stay completely still for long periods. Walk around a bit, stretch, tighten your leg muscles to help venous return, and do things here and there that test your memory, like login to accounts and remember passwords, bank numbers etc. That way you can test yourself to make sure you are staying cognitively with it.

Reduce any additional stressors that might be around you – if you can. The heat stress on the body is enough to deal with. Avoid arguments, loud noise, and set aside anything you are worried about. Deep breathing, aroma therapy, flowers…are all good. You have to keep your flowers alive too! Even listening to the sound of flowing water is helpful. They have all kinds of youtube videos with soothing sounds, like waves lapping on the beach, or the sound of rain, which can be a nice diversion. Sounds of water are actually probably really good for the mental health during a heat wave. Water is the antidote. Drink it, douse yourself with it, and listen to it.

Shade, shutter and siesta like they do in places like Belize, Greece, and other very hot countries. They close all blinds at around noon, and all is quiet for several hours. People do their work and errands in the morning, and end up eating late in the evening.

Like all conditions in life, we need water, food and shelter as priorities. Importantly, there are some key things to avoid:

Don’t go anywhere in the wilderness where you risk the possibility of breaking down, getting stuck, running out of gas, or getting heat stroke trying to walk out. Like in a blizzard, hunker down in a safe place, and stay put.

Don’t ingest anything that clouds your judgment – to include pain pills, sleeping pills, or alcohol. If you do take these things, make sure you set timers to wake yourself up to drink water, and stay oriented. Maintain contact with someone who can check in on you.

Avoid processed foods high in salt since they are more likely to cause fluid retention. Elevate your legs and check your feet for edema, especially pitting edema. Edema is most often seen in the feet, and signals fluid retention. It is common for pregnant women to develop edema of the feet. Many older people also get some edema during periods of heat, inactivity, or long periods on their feet. Pitting edema is when you push the skin around your feet and the indentation stays.

Most often people are advised to elevate your lower legs, don’t cross your legs, and do not wear constrictive socks or clothing. But if the swelling is accompanied with shortness of breath, or becomes excessive, it can signal congestive heart failure. It is probably a good idea to check your own pulse several times a day. If it is weak, thready, or irregular – especially if combined with weakness, dizziness, shortness of breath, or chest pain – it means you need medical attention.

Avoid the higher risk of falls. The heat tends to throw us off balance, or increase postural hypotension, which is a drop in blood pressure, leading to dizziness when you stand up. Older people should sit at the side of the bed for a couple minutes before standing up. If you are prone to postural hypotension, or naturally have a low blood pressure, give yourself time to adjust when you stand up, before walking. Also avoid climbing on ladders, stools, etc. Be extra vigilant about the increased risk of falls due to dizziness, misjudgement, fatigue, a drop in blood pressure, etc.

Keep a phone, or a fitbit watch, or panic button with you at all times if you are in poor health, ill, or getting sicker. Once you fall, if you are alone and cannot get up, you could lay there for hours, if you have no way of calling for help. If you do feel very faint, the best thing to do is sit down, and get your head down, below the level of your heart. That way you can stay conscious and think for a minute. If you feel very faint, and have to walk to get to the phone or door, make sure to avoid cracking your head on a counter, or hard object if you do fall. Keep your centre of gravity low, in case you black out.

During the anaphylaxis experience, I did collapse on the floor trying to get to the phone. But I knew that if I stayed flat on the floor, I would probably go unconscious, convulse and die. So the only way I could stay conscious was to get up, get seated and get my head down. It made me realize why so many people who are in respiratory distress struggle to sit up. I had to sit up, yet I could not sit upright for more than a few seconds without blacking out. And I couldn’t really get a breath without leaning forward a certain way. The position was a critical factor in that case, and probably varies, depending on what the cause of emergency is. One bonus thing about that whole event, was it took away my fear of death – completely.

It was such a close call, I accepted death, and will never forget the drama of going through that alone. It was like going down in your own private airplane crash. I could not get to a phone and even if I could have, my hands were swollen like baseball mitts. I could not do anything but try to get each breath and stay conscious. There was no way I could speak, use a phone, or walk.

Other ideas like taking a baby aspirin a day, or loofah scrubs to help your skin function more efficiently, are things to consider. Others might put some fresh sheets in the freezer for awhile before going to bed. Anything for some relief! I am sure people came up with all kinds of innovative ideas to stay cool, so this bit of advice is just a drop in the bucket, so to speak.

This heat wave has caused a staggering loss of life. The situation for the people in the small town of Lytton is so close to us, yet almost impossible to fathom having to flee like that on a moment’s notice. It must have been terrifying. I hope they can account for all people soon, as it must be agony for those who do not know where their loved ones are.

Whether or not we believe climate change is man made or not, we are facing drought and wild fires in today’s reality. More than anything – we need to focus on water. Just like we had to drink water to cool and replenish our bodies during the heat wave to get through it, the earth needs water, and needs to focus on water, as a number one priority. Storing water, conserving water, creating energy with water, distribution of water, recycling water, heating with water, cooling with water, and irrigating with water. Our attention should be turning to water, in every innovative and imaginable way possible.

It sure seems to have been a fiery time frame – almost like, okay here we go with a bigger emergency than ever. After all the covid fears, this does seem more catastrophic and perilous. It sure makes us wonder – what is next?

Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The Goal To Walk 10,000 Steps A Day

May 3, 2019  | Valerie Hayes  | Health & Wellness, My Story, Thoughts & Ideas, Valerie Hayes, View All Articles & Photos

The 10,000 steps a day became a popular marketing platform a few years ago when it was the rage to use pedometers. Now there are watches and a variety of wrist trackers that record all activity, resting pulse rate, increase in pulse rate with each activity, hours of sleep, calendar alerts, fitness goals, calories consumed, etc. You can download all of this information onto your computer or phone each day, in order to set up a sophisticated training program.

So the pedometers have been surpassed by more comprehensive fitness trackers. But the 10,000 steps a day should not be left in the dust, or in the drawer, with all the other dusty old-fashioned gadgets. They can still help you track your steps, and increase them incrementally as per your goals. According to most fitness recommendations, one should aim to increase the number of steps by 500 per week. There is so much to see.

There are benefits to setting goals and for most people, it is motivating to track those goals – whether it is for fitness, counting calories, or both. Some websites claim that for many people 10,000 steps a day is not realistic. But considering most people walk 2000-3000 steps a day anyway, it is not the least bit unrealistic to increase it to 5,000 and then over a period of time, to 10,000.

Depending on a person’s stride, 10,000 steps is four to five miles. A shorter walking stride measures out to 4.4 miles. A ten kilometre run or walk, is six miles, which most people can manage, especially if the terrain is flat. The objective is to not only do those 10K walks for fund raising events, but to make it a habit at least five days of the week.

The other factor is time. It takes time to walk five or six miles a day. If you are a brisk walker, you will need to spend about ninety minutes out walking, and for slower walkers, a couple of hours. Considering it is healthy to get at least two hours of fresh air each day, setting the 10,000 steps as a goal, includes a daily dose of sunshine and fresh air.

Recently I have been walking the Rotary and Vedder River trails in Chilliwack, after living and walking on Haida Gwaii, and then in Vancouver for many years. After living on West Broadway and walking the Broadway corridor in Vancouver for several years, it is a breath of fresh air to be walking the river and dyke trails, with the river on one side, mountain views, and lush farmland with horses, goats, cattle, ducks, herons, on a well kept trail network. It is a walkers dream paradise!

Until I got out of the city, I did not realize how many things you have to watch out for when walking in the city. Right turning cars will often approach the intersections without stopping, while simultaneously looking to the left. Many of them ignore the fact it is a green light for the pedestrians, so you have to pay attention and wait until you know if they are paying attention.

A similar situation occurs when vehicles stop or pull forward to get a better view of traffic, and block the crosswalk on a pedestrian green light. Often, your only choice is to walk behind the vehicle. However, left turning traffic may not see you coming out from behind a truck or SUV when they take that twenty second window when there is a break in the traffic, to make a left turn.

The worst and most hazardous in my opinion, though – are the cyclists on the sidewalks. It’s not so bad if they are considerate and go slow while illegally riding on the sidewalk. But many of them do the opposite. They barrel down the centre of the sidewalk expecting people to get out of their way. And worse yet, will cycle down the Broadway corridor like a bat out of hell, weaving between pedestrians, dogs, strollers, people with walkers – and you or I – who might just be side-stepping or veering away from something on the sidewalk at that moment.

Each time a cyclist narrowly misses running into you from behind, you cannot help but think how crazy and unsafe it is for an adult to ride a bike very fast, down the middle of a sidewalk. There have been countless pedestrian injuries as a result. For those cyclists who think it is safer, hitting a pedestrian, a plate glass window, a bus stop, a dog on a leash, or getting thrown into oncoming traffic – defies logic.

As a matter of fact, many city cyclists will go from the sidewalk to the road or the road to the sidewalk without warning. They will cycle on the pedestrian crosswalks even if they are crowded. At the Kits beach crossings, they often will not even stop when they are cycling on the road and there is a red light, once again, narrowly missing or intimidating pedestrians who are trying to cross the road on a walk light.

If you walk a fair bit in Vancouver, you will soon realize that some cyclists are considerate and obey rules, while many do not. Therefore, you have to keep a wary eye to anticipate what they might do next, since there is no rhyme or reason to the way they operate. Some of them have attitude, like everyone but them are lard asses, and burning fossil fuels. They got their lard asses, ass backwards somehow!

A far-out country trail network, happens to be ideal for cyclists, horse back riders and pedestrians. I would have expected way more cyclists to be riding the trails out here. But so far, not one of them has dominated the trails, or come up fast behind me without warning. Trail blazers of all types, are much more polite, even though, in this case – they have every right to be on the trails. Oddly enough, I guess it makes some “less wobbly” sense – and might tie into stories describing the differences between the city mouse and the country mouse.

The same goes for horses. I have not had to condition myself for being startled by a horse either. And when I see them coming – I don’t want to startle them either! It works both ways!

It just goes to show you – we can’t take those 10,000 steps for granted. Every worthwhile goal has its hurdles. I suppose when it is salmon season, there will be bears along the riverbanks too. I actually think they are safer than city cyclists on the sidewalk – since being in the country tends to make us both shy away from close encounters! After all, common sense dictates we must avoid hazards, if we are going to stick to the goal of reaching 10,000 steps a day!

The Quest For Mental Wellness ~ Is All About Balance

April 3, 2019  | Valerie Hayes  | Health & Wellness, My Story, Thoughts & Ideas, Valerie Hayes, View All Articles & Photos

Recently I was chatting with a neighbour in Kitsilano, who was telling me about some of the changes her 93 year old mother was going through. She was still living independently, and spent most of the year in Vancouver, and the summers in the Okanagan. The big change was that she was selling one of her properties and starting to plan for assisted living.

A few years ago, this dynamic lady began to have problems with her balance, so she started using a walker. Her habit has been to get out there with her walker and walk the seawall three times a week. She also makes a point of getting up, dressed, and getting out every day to run errands. It is an inspiration to hear the testimonies of people who manage to stay balanced into their nineties!

Another person in the community, who is in his eighties now, is finally ready to retire he said, but he still kept some of his tools, because he will always have work to do. In spite of getting injured in a fall, he made a full recovery, has an excellent memory, and is looking forward to the future. I joked with him about going swimming to stay in shape. He scoffed and laughed at the suggestion. He said he is going to start swimming in the afterlife. Although he is fairly active, apparently swimming in this life, is not for him.

Physical balance and athleticism is something many of us take for granted when we are young, because we have good innate balance. However, many things can affect our balance. Aging, obesity, drugs, certain medical conditions, and alcohol are the top culprits that can have an adverse effect on our balance.

Every one of life’s struggles today is viewed as a mental illness. Those who are too fat or too thin – are considered to have a psychiatric disorder (eating disorder). Substance abuse – addictions to nicotine, alcohol and other drugs sickens 30% of the population. Grief is now considered a mental health disorder, along with all symptoms of depression. Insomnia, anxiety, and social withdrawal are also on the disease list.

Internet use, gambling, phobias, active children, and hundreds of other thoughts and behaviours, are now added to the rap-sheet of mental health disorders. They even go so far as to say there are unknown and hidden mental health disorders. In the absence of destructive and disruptive over behaviours, no one should be accused of being mentally ill. The false accusation has been used to punish, control, gain assets, and destroy lives. Greed and pharmaceutical profit motive has caused the system to go off the rails. There is no balance when it comes to making people sick, who were not sick to begin with.

There are now a walloping 347 mental health disorders, when not that long ago, there was less than 50. The field is literally inventing and adding new diseases all the time. Since there is no real diagnostic criteria for these diseases, there is no curtailing this madness. It used to be that the practitioner had to list abnormal and disruptive behaviours, in order to make a diagnosis.

But now they simply pull a diagnosis out of their hat, which would not be so alarming if it was not immediately accompanied with coercing a person into taking toxic medications. It is based on pure profit motive – and has nothing to do with compassion, therapy, healing, recovery or a treatment plan. They are blowing it, when it comes to the Hippocratic Oath – “first do no harm”. What a sick joke.

Their very first inclination is to do harm, and they do so knowing it will become a crippling and debilitating downhill slide for the person. After all – making people sick and drug dependant, is what keeps people coming back (and keeling over). How many lives have been destroyed by an ever increasing chemical soup, fatal adverse drug reactions, life altering loss of cognitive function, and often permanent movement disorders – along with a myriad of other side effects. For what?

In fact, every human condition related to emotions, conflicts, victimization, aggression, selfishness, difference of opinion, setting boundaries, etc. are subjected to the disease, and the motivation to medicate for profit model. In actual fact, healthy boundaries are a central requirement in maintaining balance. So what does a person do when an aggressive and self-centred person will not accept a boundary? It is not the victim of such behaviours who is sick. Power imbalances, scapegoating and victim blaming is rampant, and very difficult to overcome.

How do we overcome this imbalance of turning every struggle into a disease? One of the methods to increase dopamine in our brains, as well as to reduce anxiety, is to create to do lists. This makes sense because those daily lists equate to actions and habits. Like physical well-being, mental wellness includes daily to do lists in order to keep balanced. It is relatively easy to get unbalanced, or develop bad habits that affect our health.

The value of a healthy whole food diet and daily exercise cannot be underestimated. Nutrition and exercise probably have the greatest influence on increasing dopamine and serotonin levels. Whole foods are loaded with micro nutrients and do not have the mood altering additives that are in many packaged foods. Exercise and whole foods help keep our weight in a normal range, and also keeps us fit, so we can manage whatever heavy lifting we are faced with in every day living. The discovery of the second brain in the gut reinforces the importance of keeping the gut bacteria healthy. I once read a quote that went something like this: “If you want to know if your brain is getting flabby – feel your legs”.

For some people maintaining balance is not too difficult, because a percentage of people came from loving supportive families. Many people have been cared for their entire lives, and have not had to struggle financially, or with childhood trauma. It doesn’t mean they will never get depressed or have to deal with grief – but if the system is balanced, it is easier to return to balance and stability, as opposed to spiralling out of control. It is interesting to note that at least half the people with serious addictions describe having come from loving, supportive families. Clearly there is more to it all than meets the eye.

On the flip side, experiencing trauma, poverty, grief, trials, and tribulations make us better equipped to deal with difficulties when they do occur. If we are able to get through them intact – we know we can deal with difficulties again. The experiences can increase our resilience. It is similar to those who stay in good physical shape, and then have an injury, big surgery, or gain weight in later life. Even our muscles have memory, and all that prior exercise benefits us throughout the process of recovery and/or weight loss.

The individual is the one most responsible for maintaining health and well-being. This is not to say illness or accidents are the fault of the individual, but the autonomy of the individual is paramount to any recovery. Although many people do need help from time to time – there is no one else who can make the adjustments that lead to a balanced lifestyle. For all changes and adaptations we must make throughout the course of our lives to remain healthy – the locus of control must come from within. This fact does not undermine the spiritual aspects of prayer and surrender. It means that personalities, decisions and choices are highly individual, and change starts from within.

For example, you can put a person on suicide watch, which may avert a crisis temporarily – but it will not alleviate the person’s suffering. People cannot be constantly watched or monitored anyway. Even those who face involuntary admissions, cannot be detained longer than 48-72 hours. You can force a person into drug and alcohol treatment, but in those cases, relapse is around 90% However, if you listen to those who overcome addiction and severe depression, they will attribute it to a spiritual awakening, combined with a conscious decision to change. Self control means exactly that. No one else can be responsible for another person’s self-control.

From my own perspective and experiences, I have concluded that all psychoactive substances can interfere with balance, in more ways than one. Years ago, while working in long term care, it was clear to me that those who were on the most psychoactive drugs, were also the most out of control, with loss of dignity and outrageous behaviours the daily norm for them.

But incoherent, antisocial, and aggressive behaviours – such as public defecation, physically attacking others, screaming uncontrollably, and repeatedly falling down, are not normal for anyone. I would often wonder, “How on earth did they get like this? How rapid was the decline? What were they like before?” In going through the charts, I learned one of the common denominators for most of the people in locked units, involved prior and often long term use of harmful substances – such as antidepressants, neuroleptics, benzodiazepines, opiates, barbiturates, sleeping pills, and/or alcohol. Often these drugs were started when the person was in their forties or fifties, or younger.

What is the difference between a 93 year old woman walking the seawall three times a week, and an 78 year old in long term care, who is completely out of control, even though he or she is chemically restrained with multiple psychoactive medications? Surely those medications are not helping them. In fact, the one most notable thing in long term care is that the most stable and cognitively intact, are also the ones who do not take psychotropic medications. However, few can escape them once admitted to a facility, because the pattern is to over medicate.

There is a very sad program on Youtube called “Seattle is Dying”. The program honestly and candidly places drugs as being the primary cause of the homeless epidemic. In fact, many of the behaviours and loss of balance seen in locked psychogeriatric units is now evident on the streets. The average age of the street populations is tragically between 30 and 40, a time when people are supposed to be in the prime of life. They are subjected to the same drugs, and in fact often behave the same way, as those who are in locked psychogeriatric units.

Who but journalists, advocates, and sincere (honest) health care professionals are going to help with this drug crisis, once the people completely lose cognitive function? This chaotic loss of human potential is affecting families, communities, businesses, health care, policing and politics.

When are they going to make greed the number one collective mental health disorder – a profit driven addiction with the greatest potential for harm, societal breakdown, and human suffering? Oxycontin is the opiate of choice, even on the streets. Where do they get it? From prescriptions.

Almost all people addicted to opiates start with, and prefer prescription opiates. They turn to fentanyl laced heroin in later stages, when they can no longer obtain a prescription for, or afford the pills. Many young people in the large US cities who give interviews about their addictions – claim they could get hundreds of pills by offering cash to a doctor. Some of those doctors have been arrested, but who knows how many continue to trade cash for prescriptions?

The correlation is clear to me. Drugs cause a loss of balance physically and mentally. Drugs and alcohol also decrease motivation, with the only to do list entering a person’s mind, is how to get more drugs in order to chase the high, and after awhile, just to feel normal. Another eye-opener is when we look at the conditions on some of the First Nations reserves. Anytime we see squalor and chaos, we know people are being adversely affected by drugs and/or alcohol. 50% of First Nations people are on ten or more pharmaceutical drug classes. Who can sincerely say these drugs are helping them and their communities?

But what is normal? It is not normal to feel nothing. Nor is it normal to be sick and in pain all the time. Opiates start out being prescribed for pain. What is overlooked by doctors prescribing opiates, is the fact that many people suffer from emotional pain too. They will readily start self-medicating emotional pain, and will quickly become addicted. This brings on a whole new set of problems, as it totally throws the entire system off balance.

There is no magic pill or answer when it comes to achieving balance or normalcy in life. In the mental health field, psychiatrists have more than double the rates of suicide and in the US, the stats are that 25% will sexually assault patients, and more than 75% will diagnose simply for profit motive. Even the field of psychiatry itself is calling it fraud, pseudoscience, and drug induced harm inflicted upon innocent people.

Regardless of what our struggles are in life, central to maintaining balance is self-control and motivation. We can move past difficult situations, since most in-depth healing is rooted in love and forgiveness. Our bodies and lives include our spiritual beliefs. Emotional and mental health healing and cleansing involves freeing ourselves, not only of toxic memories and relationships – but also of toxic drugs, and habits.

I watched a young woman give a talk on the inspirations she gained in being a hospice volunteer. She herself had a massive stroke as a child due to a congenital anomaly in her brain and then another life threatening stroke as a young adult. She went on to obtain a Master’s degree in the field of death and dying, and obviously had more than a theoretical basis for the development of her beliefs.

This amazing young woman described the tasks of dying. They are found in forgiveness – first to seek forgiveness for ourselves and also to forgive others. Love and the power of love is also one of the central tasks. The other is in letting go and saying goodbye. In so many ways, these same principles apply to living as well. Love and forgiveness is crucial to overcoming our demons of the past. And if we are to have hope in accomplishing that – we often have to let go of and say goodbye to certain habits and relationships as well.

Maintaining balance is about stability, self-control and motivations. If we can manage those – we have hope for the future regardless of what happens to us. We can achieve the intrinsic balance and self control by taking care of our physical and emotional balance, mostly through diet, exercise, motivation, meditation, fresh air, and music – and avoiding toxic substances. Following that – we will soon find that serving others in an honest and humble way – is the best way to get joy and purpose out of life.

The yoke of slavery, whether it is to a substance or life’s circumstances can be lifted and removed once and for all. The ensuing freedom is what enables us to serve without feeling trapped. Sickness does not need to be a life sentence. Yet human suffering is real – and those of us who overcome, can be compassionate and supportive when others are going through trials and tribulations. It is delusional to think all people who face trials are sick forever. If that were the case – not one of us would escape the disease and sickness trap.

As long as we remain functional, we all have the capacity to heal and overcome difficulties, at every stage of life. Not one person achieves balance, or anything for that matter, without some form of help and support. It has already been poignantly pointed out many times – there is a fine line, with more similarities than differences, involved in the tasks surrounding both living and dying.

To keep things in perspective – death, or a serious illness or accident with a complete loss of cognitive function – will immediately change a person’s reality. Whether we want to admit it or not – every single one of us is “hanging in the balance”.

Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2019). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

A Sobering Snapshot On Seniors & Prescription Drug Use

March 26, 2019  | Valerie Hayes  | Health & Wellness, My Story, Thoughts & Ideas, Valerie Hayes, View All Articles & Photos

Over the years working as a Registered Nurse in British Columbia, I must have given out a million pills. Now they are administered in blister packs and do not have to be pre-poured, but during the years prior to blister packs, it could take hours to pour medications in a large facility. Since we had a responsibility to know what we were administering to people, I also learned a fair bit about the drugs, and listened to people describe side effects and adverse reactions.

In long term care, there was a great deal of coaxing required to get people to take their medications. Often they would spat them out, no matter what they were mixed with. It was about the only reaction that warranted a notation of Ref. (for refusal) on the medication sheet. Nurses were expected to give them – and patients were expected to take them. End of story.

Since we are all aging and either looking toward retirement, or else have parents or grandparents who are seniors, it is a topic worth learning something about. The other thing for middle aged people to be aware of, is how to approach those coveted retirement years without the need for a dozen classes of prescription drugs to hamper your lifestyle. An ounce of prevention during middle age is worth a pound of cure down the road!

First of all, why so many drugs for seniors? We are told it is because seniors are prone to chronic disease. This is due to lifestyle factors and cumulative stressors on all systems of the body. I tend to think more than half the problem is due to prescription drugs. They cause more problems than they cure. If they cured anything, the prescription rates would be trending downward, not upward.

To give a few Canadian 2016 stats on the prevalence of over-prescribing; 65.7% of seniors were prescribed five or more different drug classes per year. 26.5% were prescribed ten or more drug classes, and 8.4% took a walloping fifteen drug classes.

It leaves me scratching my head, because although I took those percentages from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) – it actually adds up to more than 100% (100.6%), which must be due to rounding the numbers. How is it that no one escapes being prescribed drugs after a certain age? How is it that (according to the stats) no one is prescribed less than five drug classes after the age of 65? If the Canadian health care system does collapse under all this pressure, maybe it would be the best solution for seniors after all. But, how would Big Pharma let such a thing happen anyway?

No wonder seniors are using up 40% of the health care resources. But there is a much bigger picture to look at. As soon as one prescription drug is the norm, the very next step is to add another. Why? Because all drugs cause side effects, and in many cases side effects are interpreted as a new condition. So instead of removing the offending initial drug, new drugs are added.

In looking at the distribution of the excess medications people take, it is kind of disturbing too. Women are prescribed more drugs than men. Lower income seniors, and those who live in rural areas are also prescribed more medications than those in urban areas. People who have higher incomes are prescribed fewer drugs overall, but they too, take way more than required. Among First Nations populations, more than 50% are prescribed more than ten drug classes. All of these prescriptions increase with age, with the highest numbers doled out in long term care facilities.

The top drug class prescribed to seniors, is statins for high cholesterol. They are also one of the few drugs that are prescribed regardless of income or location. A staggering 50% of all seniors take statins. Next to statins are the proton pump inhibitors, to treat GERD (gastrointestinal reflux disease), and ulcers. Following that are the beta blockers and calcium channel blockers to treat hypertension. Then there are the thyroid hormones to treat hypothyroidism, and a variety of drugs to treat insulin resistance leading to high blood glucose levels. Opioids are prescribed on a regular basis to 20% of seniors as well. Add to the list of frequently prescribed drugs, are sleeping pills, benzodiazepines, and antibiotics.

What drugs are considered most hazardous, enough to make the list of drugs that should definitely NOT be prescribed to seniors? Psychotropic drugs such as benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and antipsychotics are on the list of hazardous substances, and are to be avoided (at all costs). They have been proven to cause falls, increased fractures, and cognitive impairment, as well as an increased risk of adverse drug reactions. It makes me wonder why more doctors are not getting sued. In spite of the known hazards, these drugs are still commonly prescribed. Who is educating the doctors I wonder?

Apparently several interventions have been implemented to educate doctors and patients (if they still have enough cognitive and decision making functions after being immersed in a chemical soup for a period of time). Obviously the time to start thinking about these things is before you start taking the drugs, not after. Once the body adapts to certain drugs, especially those that interfere with functions of dopamine and the central nervous system, it requires carefully monitored detox to remove them from the system. If there are ten different drug classes to deal with, the complexity of making changes later on, makes it more like a game of Russian roulette than anything else.

How on earth is it possible that 100% of seniors need prescription drugs? Does half the population need statins? I find that hard to believe. But even if a person does have high cholesterol or high blood pressure, can’t he or she make changes in diet and lifestyle before being medicated? Our minds are doctored.

Personally, I do not intend to take any prescription drugs at all. To me – it’s like dodging a bullet. Such an attitude and decision can only be monitored over a long period of time, so it’s too early to tell! But surely the general public should be educated too, for their own sakes, as well as for their loved ones who are seniors. When an adult child of a senior sees a prescription for psychotropic drugs such as antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and antidepressants – they should be warning the senior and someone should be calling the doctor to find out what the heck is going on.

The trouble with the interventions they have implemented to educate doctors and patients on the hazards of all these drugs, the interventions have had little effect on clinical outcomes such as mortality, hospitalizations, ER visits, adverse reactions or health status. Sick eh?

One of the menial things I used to ponder when administering so many toxic medications, was to mindlessly ask myself – “why are so many of them brightly coloured?” They come in every colour of the rainbow, which means they also have an extra dose of something equivalent to acrylic paint thrown in, for some unknown reason. I guess the reasoning is along the same lines as why they make candy and popsicles so colourful. They must brighten someone’s day!

After statins, the next most prescribed drug class is the proton pump inhibitors. It kind of sounds like something a mechanic would do to fix a car, but nope – these are to inhibit the acid in your gut. These drugs are prescribed for GERD and stomach ulcers. 30% of seniors are prescribed this class of drugs. However prolonged use, (more than eight weeks) leads to a high risk of Clostridium difficile infection, bone loss and fractures. But how does a person who needs such a medication suddenly stop taking it after eight weeks? After a period of time, the body relies on the drug to mask symptoms, and the symptoms return with a vengeance once the drug is stopped.

The inappropriate and excessive drugging of seniors has been of increasing concern to practitioners, researchers, and organizations throughout Canada. These organizations include the Canadian Deprescribing Network, the Canadian Foundation For Healthcare Improvement, The Institute For Safe Medication Practices, the Canadian Safety Institute, and Choosing Wisely Canada. What have all these combined organizations accomplished? All the organizations, abstracts, meetings, interventions, analysis, and professional babble on the topic has decreased the overall prescribing by about 2% – which can be taken with a grain of salt.

Clearly the autonomy of the patient, and decision making by the patient while still cognitively intact, must be the first line of defence when it comes to putting a myriad of toxic substances into our systems. Why are people taking so many drugs? Do they specifically ask for them? Or do doctors suggest or push them on people?

The problem is much more complex than we realize. We have been sold a pill of hogwash we are expected to swallow without questioning, along with an unsavoury bill of goods. We are being drugged and merchandised to death. We have been indoctrinated to trust doctors instead of our own better judgement. The other factor is fear. What if I don’t take the prescribed drug? The other motivator or objective is to get relief from unpleasant symptoms. But, we have to start to “listen” to our bodies. Those symptoms are telling us to change something, not to cover it up.

Any symptom we get is a signal for us to pause and evaluate what is going on with our bodies. Many symptoms can be relieved through exercise and diet. We can treat infections with things like oregano oil and garlic. Blood sugar and blood pressure levels can be reduced through diet and exercise. Raw ginger can reduce inflammation. Olives interfere with and reduce histamine reactions, and so on.

All people should be encouraged to do their own research and take responsibility for their own health as much as possible. It is very difficult to challenge the judgement of doctors – yet why shouldn’t we? After all, we are the ones who are supposed to ingest the toxic mix and live with the consequences. Every single drug has adverse effects on the system. Sometimes those adverse effects are not immediately apparent, such as bone loss and early cognitive impairment. Almost all cause dry mouth and changes in digestive enzymes, which in turn alters the biome of the bacteria in the gut. All of them must be detoxified by the liver and kidneys. So the cascading chain of events secondary to these drug classes is beyond comprehension.

Avoiding prescription drugs might be achieved by avoiding going to doctors. Such advice leaves many people aghast. What about your yearly physical? What about mammograms and other screening tests? What about your cholesterol and blood pressure? Learn about it. Research all of it before you turn the rest of your life over to someone who is prone to over prescribing medications.

Keep in mind that this list and description of drug usage does not include over the counter medications. How many people add NSAIDs (such as Ibuprofen) or other OTC meds like Tylenol, Gravol, cough medication, and antihistamines as part of habitual usage? They might be available without a prescription, but they too, pack quite a punch when it comes to drug interactions and toxicity. Add to the mix, an over zealous attempt to include multiple supplements as some kind of method to improve health, when in fact, supplements can be as toxic as the rest of the pills and tinctures we are inclined to self-medicate with.

One of the aspects of opiate usage is in how much they are relied upon in end of life situations. They are sometimes needed for pain. But from experience, I know that nurses are expected to keep dying patients sedated whether they have pain or not. Often this is because of family members wanting to see their loved ones comfortable, and sometimes it is because health care practitioners have not come to terms with death and dying themselves, and therefore are prone to over sedating patients.

I have come to believe that dying patients should not be automatically sedated with opiates, and personally it would not be my choice, unless I was in agony. Many people who are dying sleep a lot anyway. When they do have wakeful periods, if there is no pain, those wakeful periods can be valuable time spent with loved ones.

For those who believe death is a transition, where the soul leaves the body and goes to another location (like the Bosom of Abraham) – who really wants to be drugged unconscious when going through that final adventure, and take the chance of missing the brilliant and beckoning white light at the end of a love filled tunnel? I hope to be wide awake when I die! Some people want to die in their sleep, but I think sudden death (without being overly drugged) – probably wakes people up. Otherwise they would need to send a chariot for us. Swing low – sweet chariot!

Nothing can compete with the natural processes of the body. We have incredible capacity to handle both living and dying without drugs. We have become reliant on drugs, as opposed to trusting our intuition, healing naturally, maintaining our own autonomy – and finding ways to avoid being a statistic on ten or more classes of drugs, before we make our final exit.

Quite frankly – the pharmaceutical companies don’t give a shit what happens to any of us. We have to stop allowing ourselves to be manipulated and used as human market potential to improve profit margins. They are truly making a killing. It’s the new black (force).

Disclaimer – The opinions in this article are my own and not intended to undermine required treatment or medications. The information provided is to encourage research and seek methods of reducing over prescribing for seniors. The Beers list provides a comprehensive list of high risk medications to help inform the public. The link is https://www.guidelinecentral.com/summaries/american-geriatrics-society-2015-updated-beers-criteria-for-potentially-inappropriate-medication-use-in-older-adults/#section-420

Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2019). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.