Approach to Care




WHAT DOES YOUR APPROACH TO CARE SAY ABOUT YOUR DEEPEST BELIEFS, THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS?
Perhaps you are not that aware of how your thoughts, feelings and beliefs influence how you provide care to someone else. Or perhaps you have never articulated them clearly?
Yet if you want to offer the best care possible, they are important to understand. Your values are what you hold dear, your beliefs are what you think is true and your attitude is how your values and beliefs influence your feelings and actions.
For example if you are feeling distracted by wrong thoughts or if you are finding it difficult to be compassionate, you are almost certain to be less aware of the needs of the other, so you may not provide help in the most sensitive way.
I cannot emphasise enough how much, over and over again, it helps to take the time to really understand what the other person is going through and how their illness affects them, particularly if they struggle with interaction themselves.
Always make sure you are not misreading the situation!
When people are very ill or very hypersensitive, or need care in a very particular way your thoughts, feelings and beliefs can have much more impact than you can possibly imagine.
If you have any feelings of misinterpretation, anxiety or doubt they can be a serious block to interaction.
If you feel sorry for someone or if you feel overwhelmed by their circumstances and experience, then this too may incapacitate you.
Being too positive, on the other hand, can have a detrimental effect upon the person who may not be able to live up to your expectations.
At all times, it is vital to see the person you are caring for as equal to yourself.
If you have any thoughts that the person could try harder or that are being difficult or unhelpful or that they could do more than they are doing, then they really do need addressing before they become a problem.
Caring for the most ill requires the greatest understanding, compassion , empathy and acceptance of the person, however they are.
That, though,may not always be as easy in practice as it seems.
A flexible approach around difficult moments can really help.

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