How it is possible that atrocities such as the Holocaust, Al-Anfal, or Halabja could ever occur? How is it that innocent civilians can be brutalized by law enforcement? Mass displacements of refugees? The Yazidi genocide in Northern Iraq? The Rohingya genocide in Myanmar? Is it because some human beings are intrinsically evil? Many would argue that refugees are nature’s making, no different than natural disasters and not of a man-made catastrophe, such as war. However, throughout history, the majority of atrocities and suffering brought upon humans is at the hands of other humans. So perhaps the opposite of good is not necessarily evil. The opposite of good is our numbness to the pain and suffering we collectively bring upon one another. Numbness is a term described as “dissociation” by the mental health community. Trauma has the power to undermine our sense of connection to our identity, body, humanity, and life as a whole. At its core, trauma is about losing the deep human-to-human a...
When I was the CEO for the SC Pharmacy Association, I would visit about 20 pharmacies a week. As I was waiting to meet with the team at each pharmacy, I watched each member of the community pharmacy team run from one end of the pharmacy to the next to answer the phones that did not stop ringing with calls from patients as well as providers, service the drive through customers, arrange for minute clinics as well as patient counseling, and take care of dozens of patients waiting in line for COVID-19 vaccines and/or testing. Just like other healthcare providers, pharmacists and their team members are under an immense amount of stress, pressure, and demand to serve the needs of their patients. I watched them work selflessly to meet the needs of their patients. Throughout the pandemic, overrun hospitals were often referred to a combat zones, and healthcare workers as frontline soldiers. Research shows that those comparisons were probably warranted. As they faced fatigue, death...
This time I'm reading it at 4:30 pm - but that's me in the photo as I usually look when reading your posts! lol!!
ReplyDeleteI <3 you Andi!
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