2 Life Lessons From Joan Didion

This week, on December 5th, Joan Didion, literary journalist and novelist, turned 79. One of the greatest American essayists (and memoirists), she walked a long path of life, leaving her reflections, thoughts and experiences within her works. Almost eight decades spent on the Earththere must have been plenty of raw material for good stories. Extreme mix of optimism and nostalgia, grief and pleasure, past and future, which is shown in her stories, was not created for pure entertainment. There are many important lessons one can learn from Joan Didions novels and articles, and the most valuable two are about attitude towards the past. Do Not Forget About Your Past In one of essay collections by Joan Didion, entitled â€Å"Slouching Towards Bethlehem†, there is a short sketch called â€Å"On Keeping a Notebook†. It might not be the most famous of her works on memory-collecting and the ideas in it, may not be relevant to what people are used to reading in her essays. In this short piece Didion muses on what a personal notebook is. According to her, writing thoughts, ideas and feelings down might help you always remember, who you, your goals and values once were: â€Å"I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the minds door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends.† Do Not Let Your Past Consume You Joan Didions best-known novel was published in 2005 and was called â€Å"The Year of Magical Thinking†. In this novel the author reflects on the grief she experienced after her husbands death. â€Å"The magical thinking† term refers to the famous philosophical concept that, if acting positively, a person can avoid the cruelties of fate. When losing something (or someone) precious completely and irrevocably, we, nevertheless, always try desperately not to let our memories go. We gather everything we can find things, clothes, scents, notes, colors, photos (totems, as Didion states) – and, putting them altogether, try to pretend that these are not just dust and ashes. Clinging to our memories, we lose the valuable moments of present time. And perhaps this is where writing things down works. If to seal your grief and pain within written words, it might be easier for you to let hard feelings go. You will not forget a thing, but you will not live in your past anymore.

The Global Initiative For Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease...

Yet another system significantly impacted by COPD is the musculoskeletal system. Especially in patients with COPD and emphysema there is a high risk for osteoporosis. The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (2017) explains osteoporosis can occur for several reasons. For example, individuals with emphysema expend a high amount of energy and calories to breathe; which can lead to weight loss, muscle wasting, and decreased in bone density. Furthermore, individuals who experience a COPD exacerbation are usually treated with systemic corticoid steroids; which greatly increases the likelihood of osteoporosis (p. 117). Despite this concern GOLD does still recommend systemic corticoid steroid use for exacerbations because†¦show more content†¦58-62). Albuterol is a short acting, and intended for use only in acute episodes of breathlessness. Duncan (2015) states â€Å"only 1 in 10 patients with a metered dose inhaler uses the correct technique† (p. 175 ). Therefore, especially with Albuterol HFA, it is important to teach both patients and their support persons the proper technique in using this inhaler with a spacer. Furthermore, it is important this teaching takes place at a time when the patient is not having an acute episode of breathlessness to ensure information is understood. Teach back, where a patient repeats back what they have just learn, is an effective method for ensuring correct inhaler technique. Fluticasone Propionate/Salmeterol Xinafoate (Advair Diskus 250 mcg/50 mcg) is an example of a combination long acting inhaled corticosteroid and a long acting bronchodilator. Turkoski, Lance, and Bonfiglio (2010), state the corticosteroid Fluticasone Propionate promotes â€Å"vasoconstrictive and anti-inflammatory activity [in the lungs]† ( p.799) These authors also explain Salmeterol Xinafoate â€Å"relaxes bronchial smooth muscle by acting on beta2receptors† [in the lungs] (p. 1618). Davis et al. (2017) f ound that patients in their study who did not adhere to long acting inhaled corticosteroid and a long acting bronchodilator therapy had significantly higher rates of COPD exacerbations; and subsequently much higher healthcareShow MoreRelatedChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ( Copd )807 Words   |  4 Pagesrevealed hyperinflated lungs and a flattening of the diaphragm, consistent with COPD. Question: What are the treatment options available to patients with COPD, and how are individualized assessments used to determine the most effective therapy? Generate: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a respiratory illness that progressively worsens over time. As seen in Mr. Adam’s case, symptoms include dyspnea, wheezing, and an occasional productive cough,.1 Emphysema and Chronic Bronchitis are theRead MoreChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ( Copd )1730 Words   |  7 PagesOver the years Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) has been a vastly under-identified and under-treated, causing the World Health Organization (WHO) to undertake increased worldwide awareness concerning the disease. Thus the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) was created in order to educate the world and set standardized practices.1,2 COPD is defined by the chronic obstruction of the airway relating to inflammatory diseases of the bronchial tubes. The restrictiveRead MoreThe Causes Of Non-Communicable Diseases ( NCD )1117 Words   |  5 PagesNon-communicable diseases (NCDs) are diseases that result from a combi nation of physiological, genetic, behavioural or lifestyle and environmental causes (WHO, 2017). 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In this paper, theRead MoreChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease3277 Words   |  13 Pageshospital with a chief complaint of difficulty breathing; diagnosis includes congestive heart failure exacerbation (CHF) with pneumonia (PNA). He has a full code status. Past medical history includes congestive heart failure, COPD, peptic ulcer, chronic kidney disease stage 3, anemia, and hypernatremia. Patient is a widower who lives with son and consumes no alcohol or illicit drugs, he has is an ex-smoker with a 70 pack year history. Patient is a retired mechanic with no fam ily medical history on file;Read MoreThe Use of Home Mechanical Ventilation to Manage Chronic Ventilatory Failure 3944 Words   |  16 PagesHome mechanical ventilation (HMV) has been used as long-term ventilation for over 70 years to manage chronic ventilatory failure. In the United States, the first introduce of mechanical ventilation was by the use of the iron lung which used with polio victims (Tobin, 2006). Iron lung was the only way available that time to ventilate Poliomyelitis patients and injured army soldiers (Goldberg, 2002).In 1950s, the use of intermittent positive-pressure ventilation with mouth piece have began ,and inRead MoreChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Case Study1659 Words   |  7 PagesChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) occurs in the trachea and bronchi of the lungs. In a healthy, immunocompetent patient, flora, including viruses, are not usually present in the lower respiratory tract. However, Streptococcus spp., H. influenzae, Moraxella ca tarrhalis, Corynebacterium spp, Pseudomonas as well as others, can colonise in the lower respiratory tract.1 Gary has a past history of COPD and presented with increased cough and shortness of breath. These symptoms are consistent

Robert Gray Free Essays

Composers often manipulate their chosen form of text to explore their concerns within the world. Throughout the poem The Late Ferry by Robert Gray the type of journey is seen to be long-term, emotional, confronting and challenging for individuals. Shaun Tan’s The Red Tree uses journey as being long-term, personal, confronting, emotional and mental. We will write a custom essay sample on Robert Gray or any similar topic only for you Order Now These are recognized by the usage of symbolism and metaphors. Robert Grays The Late Ferry contains a large amount of symbolism through the duration of the poem. The symbolism is what gives the audience an idea of what the journey itself is and what type of journey it may be. In the 1st stanza we see this symbolism as a mother watching her child leave her and enter the real world on their own â€Å"The late ferry is leaving now; I stay to watch from the balcony as it goes up onto the huge dark harbor†. This is exploring journey through the child leaving their mother and getting about on their own now, therefore for the child it is a journey of coming of age. Robert Gray can uncover journey to the audience by using light and darkness to juxtapose each other and showing what are the positive and negative times for the individual in this journey. The colour orange in stanza 4 is a symbolism for an element of hope. Hope that this individual will get used to be on their own and finding their way around through life â€Å"And out beyond the tomato stake patch of the yachts, with their orange lights† juxtaposed to the darkness symbolised in stanza 6 â€Å"the longer white feel nervously about in the blackness† this is also symbolic of a negative time as the person is nervous in a dark world trying to find the light to turn their world positive again. The technique shown in these quotes can be symbolism, juxtaposition and the re-occurring motif of the colour. This shows the audience when the journey can be great or when the journey can be tough. This is a way of Robert Gray showing his notion of journey in The Late Ferry. Shaun Tan and The Red Tree uses also uses symbolism and metaphors to create knowledge to the reader by clearly showing what journey they are on and what sort of journey it could be for the individual in the text. On the page where the girl is bottled up on a beach we can see what is happening in her life and why she is feeling this way. The writing on the page says, â€Å"no one understands† by it stating this and the picture of her to go with it we can see that the technique being used by Shaun Tan is social distance; she is distancing herself away from everyone, as no one understands her feelings she is going through. We feel as if she has been dehumanized and left to suffer, we show sympathy towards her. The notion of journey is being explored by Shaun Tan in this as we get so many emotions and right away we realise it is a personal, emotional journey. In The Red Tree we also explore journey through the image in frame 4, we are exposed to the idea that journeys can offer a change in perspective, ideals and behaviors. She is experiencing an inner emotional journey that is displayed through her being in a bottle and the message is on the shore instead of being in the bottle. This is represented through the dull colours- dark blue and black. These are symbolic of the type of journey she is on. We give empathy to this girl as we get the feeling that no one wants to talk to her and no one likes to her their emotions all bottled up. Through both the texts The Late Ferry and The Red Tree journey is explored and depicted by the usage of symbolism and colours. Although both composers are using the same techniques the type of journey is completely different to one another. Ultimately both composers clearly display in their text what is happening throughout the whole time of this experience for the individual. How to cite Robert Gray, Essay examples