One thing I found very interesting about health care communication ethics was the difference between hope and optimism. I always thought of these concepts as the same, but this book elaborates a lot on how they are different which I found very interesting. I always strive to be as optimistic as possible but this book really sheds light on why that sometimes is not good. "the demand of optimism is expectation"(192). With constantly having high expectations for any aspect of life you end up being disappointed some of the time when you do not reach those expectations. With this being said sometimes it is better to have hope where you are hoping for the best, but also preparing for the worst.
One memory that stuck in my mind when reading this chapter was my uncle. He passed away from cancer about 8 years ago. "Optimism fades when faced with the reality that life does not grant one's demand"(192). Early on in his process of overcoming this disease I was very optimistic about what the future would hold for my uncle and that he would make a full recovery. When things started to turn for the worst, my optimism started to fade and was met with the harsh reality of the situation and that my expectations were not going to be met. After this I started to become more hopeful of the situation, hoping and praying for the best but also preparing for the worst.
When discussing hope, responsiveness was another topic that was very important. It's good to take care of yourself and your health but its also important to take care of others and be responsive to their needs. An important quality that makes us human is empathy towards one another. When helping others to the best of your ability it allows you to be more hopeful towards the situation that is happening. One thing I do as an example for responsiveness is asking my friends how they are doing and giving good advice to help them in their time of need whether it be small or big things affecting their life.
I appreciated this post Tyler as I think it speaks to the chapter clearly and then also the overriding topic in class, which is communication.
ReplyDeleteI myself have lost close friends and a few family members to cancer and it makes me feel vulnerable at times, "How would I be as a patient? How would I find hope and the good, among a scary diagnosis?" I would like to think that I would be like your uncle and try and be optimistic until it was clear that nothing could be done, yet I think of my personality and how emotional I get and I wonder if I could be patient and wait for results and good news.
I think that your friends are lucky to have you as someone to check in and ask about them and be sincere in your care and concern. It is important to feel that people care and that you matter, you doing that is "being the good." The compliments that I hold closest are ones that say I am a good mom and ones that say I am a good friend. You never know what you mean to someone.