ScienceFocus: Resilience: What it is and how to build it

[mopinko]

1. this is great. in hospice they taught me

that my job was 'holding space', to create a safe place where ppl could talk, and i was to be an active listener.

ppl didnt often talk about their grief. or necessarily the person that was dying.
sometimes we talked about dogs, since my bully, biff, was part of the team.
many liked hearing me talk, and tell them about my farm. or where i grew up, or about my family.

sometimes i would ask them to tell me about their loved one. they would usually be happy to do that, and it usually meant a smile.

unlike shrinks, at the end, i often asked if they wanted a hug. i usually at least gave a pat on the shoulder unless i got a clear signal they didnt want to be touched. that was rare then, but...

damn do i miss those hugs. still amazes me how many ppl wanted hugs from a stranger.

but, for anyone reading this in stress-