Medically Clear #20: Zen is Simple
Ahhhh. It’s my favorite time of year. March Madness followed by the NBA playoffs. For basketball fans like me, this is ball-pounding bliss. Just stand near a television long enough and you’ll likely hear exultations of awe and admiration.
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“Stephen Curry from waaaaay downtown…a clutch three!”
“Cold-blooded shot! She’s got ice water in her veins.”
“Thompson stepping up to the line to calmly sink two huuuge free throws.”
Of course, it is not just basketball players who must compose themselves when buried in the metaphorical pressure cooker; we all have to do it in our professional and personal lives. How does one prepare?
I’m sure that you’ve heard of the benefits of visualization. Picture yourself giving a great presentation, nailing the interview, or catching that wave and you’re probably more likely to actually do it. Besides, if you’re like me, you like to plan things and feel under control. Planning helps us feel safe. But, accidents and the unplanned happen, and one day any one of us could find ourselves in an emergency situation. Can we use visualization and planning to deal with the unknown and unexpected?
I think so, and with this in mind (and with the research assistance of my neighborhood YMCA Zennie who goes by the name Myoun has and can perch one-legged on a Bosu ball for hours), I’d like to provide some Buddhist wisdom to assist in an unforeseen and unpleasant situation. Such a situation could be a ten-car pileup, a building evacuation, or, and this is particularly in my wheelhouse, any trip to the emergency department (ED).
If it is the later, the framework below may help manage not just your injuries but also your psyche.
“Resistance to the unpleasant situation is the root of suffering.” — Ram Dass
We are constantly judging our experiences as either good or bad — and if we deem something “bad,” we want to get rid of it immediately. But, in an emergency, we need to accept what has happened and recognize that judging it as “good” or “bad” does not matter. Recent work out of Carnegie Mellon University suggests that the act of mindfulness — in particular, the acknowledgment of pain, suffering and stress — may actually decrease stress hormone levels for up to four months and perhaps even change neural wiring. Now, a trip to the ED may not be the ideal time to launch into your first mindfulness exercise, but if you already have some training or experience in the practice, it would be a perfect time to deploy it.
“Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free — stay centered by whatever you are doing.” — Chuang
Take some deep breaths, really deep, and calm down — you are having a unique experience — your own safari. A safari is not just a chance to photograph large mammals, it is, literally, an adventure with an unknown outcome. This may not have been the journey you planned for, but it presents unique opportunities for bringing together family and friends, channeling empathy for others who may be in a similar situation, and committing to healthy lifestyle choices for the future (like quitting smoking for good!) Perhaps there is even an opportunity to find a nugget of joy in the situation — like the fact that the ED offers pre-warmed blankets — and acknowledging this can help down-regulate the stress response going on in your brain.
“Zen is simple — stop choosing.” — Buddhist quote
In the ED, chances are that you will have to make some choices; to receive a pain medication or not; to undergo further testing or not, or even to go home from the ED or not. The days of paternal medicine are long gone, and we now recognize that patient choice is vitally important. But, while choice is important, a fixed model of it may not always be helpful. Choices should be dynamic — affected by additional information and change in clinical status. Here, the Buddhists would caution patients from making decisions about their care before having all the relevant information (“I came here for an x-ray, and gosh darn it I am going to get an x-ray!”) By processing and accepting each choice as it comes, you will be in the best place to make the right decision. And never be afraid to ask the ED staff to give you and your family a few minutes to discuss options before making an important decision about medical care.
Some basketball greats believe in visualization as a tool for success. Others, like Myoun, believe that one can improve shooting by mental imagery alone just as easily as by physical practice. I am skeptical of this particular claim, but I do believe that how we prepare and train our minds can help us immensely when stress and anxiety cross paths with the unexpected. I hope not to encounter you in such a situation, but if the unlikely occurs, I suspect that such preparation will do us both some good.
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Next up A Quick Dose of Clarity #20: Chris Ballard from Sports Illustrated
