A Prayer for Ukraine - Amazing Grace

The Effectiveness of Inpatient Treatment for substance use disorder

Yesterday, I attended the webinar and I won’t be talking much about it because they will be sending me the video and slides. I will post the video. Should you want the slides email me and I will forward them to you. Dr Basedown, Psychologist was the speaker and she talked about various assessment and diagnostic tools. The in-house treatment take 600 patients a year and she talked about their self reporting outcomes. One thing of interest is that of a study of 708 patients in British Columbia they found a higher level of addiction and psychological dysfunction in females compared to males. However, Females had a greater reduction in addiction symptoms and improvements in emotion regulations compared to men. I should be getting the video two weeks at the latest and will post it here for you. Have a good weekend.

The continuous bombing of Ukraine is demonstrating our inhumanity

When I was in undergrad, I remember a prof showing slides of the animal kingdom and he stated that we in the animal kingdom are the most dangerous. All other creatures do not kill unless there is a need to. As I reflect, after hearing the news I hear the echo of his words. I mouth we do not kill only for food, we kill for sport, for control etc…. We kill. This morning while reflecting and enjoying my morning coffee, I watched my pets enjoy their meal and the squirrel on the deck munching on his apple slices. I thought of how I enjoy watching nature at work. I heard the birds chirp as spring awakens with new beginnings and new hope. I am quite pleased with myself. I accomplished all my goals plus. I am content with life. However, I have concerns for the future of my world. I think back to a cartoon of my youth where Donato a cartoonist for the Toronto Sun who retired had drawn a picture of our planet and a devil arrives and states we are not ready. Then another drawing of the planet depicting wars is shown and again the devil states we are not ready. Finally, at the last drawing of our planet shows complete devastation and the devil states we are now ready. I found it very interesting and meaningful at the time. I loved his cartoons and was sorry to see him retire though it was well deserved. I don’t have access to many cartoons these days because I have pretty well stopped getting the paper. We seem to be entering another stage, though I think we need to find a way to maintain independent news. We need that to keep democracy. We see how Russia is being kept from the news which Putin has complete control of. As we watch the massacre of civilians in Ukraine, Putin tells his people it is only fake news. Again, it is a projection of himself being the fake. What comes to mind often is Shakespeare's, “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” As I watch Ukraine suffer and die, I think of our passion for reality tv and this is the ultimate horror reality tv. We have taken away Putin’s and his cronies toys, their yachts, their mansions, their finances etc….He has said that Biden is not welcomed in Russia, nor our Prime Minister, etc….And all the while, Putin barely human at this point using hypersonic weapons travelling faster than five times the speed of light to bomb children, civilian women and the elderly. Just today, a 95 year old man who survived the holocaust of about four different camps died at the hands of Putin. He was bombed. As you watch children being dismembered and killed, Putin claims it is all “fake.” What a complete and utter fool, and this is the man and I use the term loosely, who has the world in a standstill. We are watching this all being played out as we stand and watch. Oh yes, we are helping. That is the least we can do. We had a street sign put up where the Russian Consulate is stating free Ukraine. If the Russian Consulate move, then the sign will move with him. There is humanitarian relief which Putin now doesn’t want the Ukrainians to have access to. Children are dying from dehydration. He bombs and bombs and bombs and will not negotiate. Surrendering is not a negotiation. We have just stood by and watched one man destroy, destroy, destroy and control. What does that say for us? Today my sympathies also go to the families of the 132 souls who crashed in China. On a lighter note, the sun is shining here in Toronto. It is brisk but warmer air after some more snow is in the horizon. I am looking forward to spending as much time as possible outdoors. I can do paperwork outside as the birds sing to me as I move my fingers on the keyboard. I am also looking forward to watching movies in my backyard. Today my focus will be doing my income tax. Yup, I am doing it myself, since I don’t want to experience last years disaster. I have already re-done my psychotherapy business (redigondapsychotherapy.com) about three or four times. They don’t send out guides anymore for businesses and finding it all on line is too consuming. I believe in the motto of “kiss” (keep it simple stupid). So I now do my book business which should be more simple (www.silvaredigonda.ca). Then I will do the general taxes which I received a guide for and so that should be easy. I have saved today to get all that done hopefully with minimum interruption. Is that possible? What do you think? 

#Freezing Order, A true story of Russian money laundering, Murder and surviving Vladimir Puttin's Wrath

It continues to be painful to watch what Putin is doing in Ukraine. Ukraine's President and people continue to gain the respect of the world, while Putin, well, how much lower can he sink? It does not take an investigation to determine this person is a war criminal and I am wondering where The Expendables, Rambo and James Bond are? On a lighter note, I was very interested to hear Bill Browder, Author and CEO of Hermitage Capital speak on CP 24 yesterday about his new book which will be released shortly. I already have a hold on one. Browder described Putin as a pathological, murderous dictator who kills without any remorse. (I think that the world has been watching this live). Bowder continued that he watched this with his own eyes. He continues, "I was screaming from the roof tops about needing to contain this man. You need to stop him. You need to punish him. Now the world has woken up. I think we woke up a little to late, unfortunately!" Bill Browder was one of the largest investors in Russia's stock market. He said we in Canada need to close the loop holes for the Aligards. Putin has threatened him with death; with kidnapping. "It's a full time job to stay alive." The book will be available 12 April 22. I am looking forward to reading it.

Ethics - Theology notes cont…..Ethics

Knowledge is always partial. It requires humility. Collaboration effects are necessary. Dialogue (both learning and teaching) when talking gently and with respect - may influence the other. Problems of urgency and of extreme slowness: Embryonic (stem cells) - Let’s slow down. We have an obligation to heal. We won’t kill embryo, but stem cells not embryo is ok. Therefore we need to avoid the urgency of things. Found that stem cells were better than embryonic. With Vatican 11 onwards there was a leap in theology. Rules, Natural Laws X feeling - intuition. Values are learned - social - within the context of the community - in between it is. Intuition - world view, experience - justify. - Community wisdom. You need to know the facts and values. You need to know medical facts a. regulations b. living. Moral Discernment begins with the right question. Jesus never commands, he only invites. Sources of Christian Ethics - Scripture, tradition, reason and experience. Sacredness of life, sacredness of all present. You need to understand the facts to understand the values. How do I get out of my relative values here? Put it in the paradigm of wisdom. Where does natural law go here in this chart? The Church said there is a criteria if you go to war. John Paul 11 almost moved to a pacifist stance. Almost not quite. We could not justify war on the criteria we had. Did the teaching a just war change? No. Church teaching doesn’t change. It still holds the notions of just war, but cannot have rule is in place but it may change. Eg. Saudi is wrong - The wisdom of the ages arise to rules which are differently understood. Sanctuary of life. Life is sacred so only God’s to take. However, the Church is in its experimental wisdom. Then over time people begin to take in account the psychological. Cannot be buried (before) on sacred life. However, over time we have come to understand psychology better. They may not have the psychological freedom. Suicide - life is sacred. Object and subject. Natural Law - If people really think about this and discern, one of the principals of creation is that we should preserve life, not take it. Sin-can say it is a sin. But, sin is freedom and suicide is not freedom, so intuition. How do we inform our conscience? We want to go to a variety of things. We go to the experts. We are given the wisdom of the community. We go back to the sources of morality - go back to reason. If I’m thinking of pulling the plug on someone. The informed conscience. What is my reason is telling me? - what is my experience telling me? St Thomas Aquinas - ultimately consciously prevails but first has to go through - the Church is not without compassion. Number 16. Vatican 11 (which I am presently reading at leisure) Natural law - Deep within his conscience which is not himself, but he must obey. Natural law - do good; avoid evil. Go through the process - Catholic teaching. Am I denying what is true wisdom? If I end up going through the process and I am still confused, I should be according to the Church, because it has years of wisdom. To be continued with Image of God.

For Love Of Country - Military Policewoman https://www.silvaredigonda.ca

PROLOGUE The final banquet – a time to say goodbye Bill Jamison looked so much the part of an announcer, as he held open the decorated blue binder to read aloud the goodbye messages from across Canada. He stood tall, and though he supported a heavy build, it only enhanced his masculinity. I knew that this man was quite self conscious about losing his hair. I also knew this man had a gift for working with wood, had two lovely children whom he adored, and was most suited to life in the country, though he blended in wherever he was. This man with startling blue eyes and hair a shade of red or brown (depending on his mood, I’m sure) was a loyal friend, so it was appropriate that he was reading my farewell. ” Excerpt From: Silva Redigonda. “For love of country : military policewoman.

Compassion and Social Justice Series - Moral Distress, burn out, Compassion and resilience - Covid 19.

Compassion and Social Justice Series - Moral Distress, burn out, Compassion and resilience - Covid 19. As I mentioned last week (Mar 4, 22), I attended a lecture last Friday regarding the mentioned topic. They have sent me the video which I will post for you. I just want to provide you with some information to see if you want to watch it. I do recommend it for physicians, nurses and their families. Nurses have endured much as have all health care workers and I think I have been keeping you updated with that portion. The first part of the lecture was provided by a nurse, Dr Jennifer Gibson, who works in British Columbia. She talked about the history of COVID which of course I found redundant at this point but you may not. The second portion was more of an interest to me. Dr Nadia Khan MD. M. SC provided data regarding her research. She talked about having to tell a family their loved one would probably die from COVID. There was no vaccine at the time. Talked about a patient being alone, not able to speak English and family not being able to come. She described this as examples of moral distress, one of the factors leading to physician burnout. She talks about physicians facing burn out before the pandemic. She talked about who survives and who doesn’t , safety among themselves, colleagues and their families. Physician burn out in one study showed increase in deaths. What she said was that doctors have the highest rate of suicide in Canada. This actually contradicts what I have studied in that older men have the highest rate of suicide. Has this changed? Did I misunderstand? This is one of the problems when attending lectures on line. Though you can ask questions, it is controlled and not all the questions can be answered. When you are in the room, you raise your hand and normally all questions are answered. Dr Khan said the rate of burn out is emotional exhaustion. Her research is based on physicians being asked questions and answering them. The response was 42%. There was a sense of low sense of accomplishment. 11% are considering quitting. Others have already quit. They had few days off to relax. A study in China depicted 40% + of doctors had more problems aside from burnout. Dr Khan stated there is no single solution. How to improve burnout? Thinking shifted to reduce burnout. There needs to be a system change. She said that there is a lot in the way because of bureaucracy. Part of the solution is person coping, self-care, resilience, work hours, reduce paperwork and work more with patients. She said that we knew burnout was a problem before COVID and that became the tipping point. Dr Gibson talked about how nurses from elsewhere went to work where the need was greater. Regarding stigma, though it is better than 10 years ago, there is still a stigma for physicians and so because of that, they don’t seek help. As I have completed writing these notes, my mind goes back years when I heard a lecture stating that physicians, military and police have the highest rate of abusing their partners. I attended as part of my work but I was not a therapist at the time. I wasn’t surprised because all three careers are stressful. We have a better understanding of learning how to cope and it is also being taught much more. Since COVID I have not hesitated to state that I offer priority to Health care workers and emergency response persons. I think back to when I worked as an Intern at a hospital and saw the stress that physicians were under. They were worked to exhaustion and more. Since COVID more hospital staff have been asked to work more and more and more, til the point of where some want to commit suicide. Sometimes, people need to be reminded that they are human, regardless of their profession. They need a unified voice to say enough is enough. They need to make it a priority to help themselves. The public has a habit of placing physicians on a pedestal. I recall when I was an intern for about a month I worked everyday not only at the hospital but because I was seeing clients privately for my hours which was separate. I thought at the time, I could do this, because it is temporary. This hasn’t been temporary for many since COVID. Not only that but in Toronto I was so disappointed to see anti vaccinators block patients and hospital staff from entering. These are physicians and nurses going to work to save lives. These are patients going for treatment. One spoke of having cancer and how the protest made her feel while being taunted. Do sick people need this? All this contributes to the stress already facing everyone. Fortunately they created a law to stop this harassment. Have a good weekend everyone. Please make self care a priority, set boundaries, practise learning to say no, talk to someone. That is only the beginning of change by taking one step at a time. What do you think? Video can be seen at https://vimeo.com/showcase/9323983