Bustan (2015) Psychophysics […] suffering [involves] long-term implications of pain associated with threat, loss, potential damage, and impending harm for the self [and is] the combined display of several distinctive negative emotions. Cassell (1982) Medical ethics […] suffering can be defined as the state of severe distress associated with events that threaten the intactness of … Read more
We all have experienced this phenomenon even as children. If a 4-year-old trips and falls, the other children would probably giggle, ignore them or tell them off for being clumsy. The handful who don’t react in these ways might feel they are the odd ones out; unpopular, different (read weird) and hence wrong! Clearly if … Read more
Communication is a skill. The ability to respectfully articulate our thoughts and emotions in a clear and effective manner without degrading or humiliating others is assertive communication. However, even when we try our best to be mindful of others and convey our thoughts and feelings with respect, others can take offence or become aggressive towards … Read more
‘It happened to me and I was fine, surely it can’t be that bad for them. They just need to toughen up, get on with it.’ ‘My father always went out if my mother started to talk about something. He wasn’t the talking sort, you see, so my mum stopped trying too. I don’t get … Read more
Somewhere along the line, we have started to pursue goals as a destination and not the journey. The destination, in my opinion, is not a tangible thing and creates an illusion of a dream that we all need to keep striving for, yet will never achieve. Getting married, having children, owning a house, cars, building … Read more
Do you wonder if we’ve improved management of physical pain but have forgotten how to recognise and manage emotional pain? Our children find it okay to cry, ‘bear’ the pain when they fall down and scrape their knees and elbows or get hurt in a match, but if they don’t come top of the class … Read more
The modern world with all its advances and improvisations has taught us to do most things at a quicker pace. I do wonder if in this desire to be quicker and hence more effective, we’ve actually forgotten some basic skills that we intrinsically possess. Do we listen closely anymore? Do we listen without getting distracted? … Read more
