Palliative Care: Your Emotional and Spiritual Health
Palliative Care: Your Emotional and Spiritual HealthIt’s not easy for Angela Valerio to find time for herself. But when she does, she often turns to music.“I listen to rap, and I listen to R and B sometimes depends on my mood maybe I could be a littleemotional.”Angela has had to deal with a range of emotions since being diagnosed six years ago with a painful growth,called a Desmoid Tumor, in her right leg. Though not considered cancerous, cells from the tumor can invadethe tissues around it. To prevent that, Angela has been on Chemotherapy, which has side effects like fatigue,nausea, and migraines. Her disease - and its treatment take not just a physical toll, but also an emotionalone.“There’s stress, there’s depression, anxiety, sadness, um, loneliness.”“Now with the different medicines that you are taking what are you finding to be the most helpful?”Angela is getting relief thanks to Palliative Care, specialized medical treatment designed to help patients andtheir families deal with the physical effects of living with a serious illness, as well as the emotional ones.“We witness a myriad of common emotions and feelings in our patients who have been diagnosed withserious illness everything from profound shock and dismay, to disbelief, to denial.”Some of the most common issues include: Anxiety; Depression; loneliness; Agitation or restlessness thatoften shows up in behaviors like fidgeting, or pacing; Delirium severe mental confusion that can lead toincoherence, memory problems, and hallucinations; Hopelessness; and sometimes even suicidal thoughts.“We are here to support you and your actual family.”Palliative Care Teams include a social worker, who can provide emotional support and counseling for thepatient and family. In addition to counseling, your Palliative Care Team may recommend measures including:medications; resuming some of your favorite activities, as much as possible; and socializing, to help avoidisolation and prevent loneliness; Music therapy; Art therapy; and complementary treatments, like meditation,and acupuncture.“If we feel that our interventions, whether they be Medical interventions or Supportive Careinterventions are not effective enough, then what we often do is we consult psychiatry.”Dealing with a serious illness can also bring up Spiritual challenges. You ask, “why is this happening to me?”Or question your faith. The Palliative Care Team works with you to make sure your spiritual needs are met. Insome cases, this may mean talking with a chaplain on the team, or a faith leader in your community.“The role of chaplains is to really sit with a patient who has been diagnosed with a serious illness, andto see what impact that diagnosis, and the prognosis, has, on the meaning that they attach to who theyare, and the meaning that they attach to the purpose of their life.”For some, the strength that comes from faith can be a powerful tool in coping with a serious illness.“I do believe that you can’t separate mind from body, and from spirit. So, it’s really very important toreach out and ask for palliative care that addresses the whole self mind, body, and spirit.”This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.PRG54651A EN PalliativeCareYourEmotionalAndSpiritualHealth.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 1 of 2Palliative Care: Your Emotional and Spiritual HealthAngela is grateful that she’s received just that from her team.“They don’t just only care about my physical pain, they also care about my emotional pain. Myrelationship with the team, it’s great. It’s more like a family.”This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.PRG54651A EN PalliativeCareYourEmotionalAndSpiritualHealth.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 2 of 2
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