God Encounters

Last year, I operated on my kababayan patient, she was a born again Christian. During the surgery, she said that she saw an Angel on her right side and the devil on her left side while she was on the operating table. All my patients are under local anesthesia, so there is no after effect if you surmised. The patient has full conscious control and can talk freely. I remember that she wanted to spit and I told her its very difficult to this since she is lying down and sterile drapes are covering her. But nurses are a creative lot, so they were able to accede to the request without comprising the surgery. She said that it was this time that she saw the two entity. Honestly, i don't know if I want to believe her or not. It might be a claustrophobic reaction to all the coverings. But I surely wouldn't want a devil in my OR.

Then, two weeks ago, I did cataract surgery on a Catholic Evangelizer. She recounted that during the surgery, she saw Mama Mary's image. She was fervently praying for the success of the operation and upon seeing the image, she felt lighthearted and very confident.

From this two accounts, nobody can deny that GOD's presence is indeed among us.

I thank you, Lord, for all the successful surgeries.

You are indeed the Master of my Work.

Choosing your own death

The World Health Organization projects that one million people will die from suicide this year - a global mortality rate of 16 per 100,000, or one death every 40 seconds.

Suicide is an enigmatic and disconcerting phenomenon. Because of others' inability to directly occupy the mental world of the suicidal, suicide appears to elude easy explanation. This inexplicability is stunningly captured by Jeffrey Eugenides in his novel The Virgin Suicides. In the novel, the narrator describes the reactions of several teenaged boys to the suicides of five sisters. The boys keep a collection of the dead girls' belongings, repeatedly sifting through them in a vain attempt to understand their deaths. (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Ever since a young blogger and well-accomplishment poet chose her own exit, tributes and honors were done in her memory and everyone was asking why she did it but the answers were as mysterious as she is. It died with her, at that, we would never be a party to the whole truth. What is left for us are the innuendos. Because, blaming others for that death will never bring us anywhere to the truth.

Due my disability of occupying the suicidal mind, I googled and there were a lot of sites came up, from the suicide help desks to tips on how to accomplish your own death.

A few misconceptions and its proven counterpart are worth mentioning here:

1. Misconception:
If someone says they want to kill themselves, there is usually no way to prevent it.
Fact :
Most suicidal person are ambivalent, they are miserable but they wish to be saved.

2. Misconception:
Suicide happens suddenly and impulsively without premeditation.
Fact :
Less than 5% of suicides result from impulsive panic-stricken behavior. More often than not, the suicide thought arises as a FANTASY to resolve some personal crisis.

3. Misconception:
Once a person attempts suicide and fails, this minimizes the possibility of a future attempt because he has "gotten it out of his system".
Fact:
Most suicide patients are irrational at the time of their suicidal crisis. This person has ambivalent feelings; they want to live. However, overwhelmed with despair, anxiety, hopelessness, they cannot see any other solution to their problems.

Suicides can be prevented but we must understand and identify the risk factors.

A risk factor is anything that increases the likelihood that persons will harm themselves. However, risk factors are not necessarily causes. Research has identified the following risk factors for suicide (DHHS 1999):

• Previous suicide attempt(s)
• History of mental disorders, particularly depression
• History of alcohol and substance abuse
• Family history of suicide
• Family history of child maltreatment
  
• Feelings of hopelessness
• Impulsive or aggressive tendencies
• Barriers to accessing mental health treatment
• Loss (relational, social, work, or financial)
• Physical illness
• Easy access to lethal methods
• Unwillingness to seek help because of the stigma attached to mental health and substance abuse disorders or suicidal thoughts
• Cultural and religious beliefs—for instance, the belief that suicide is a noble resolution of a personal dilemma
• Local epidemics of suicide
• Isolation, a feeling of being cut off from other people

A surprising number of people who complete suicide do not leave suicide notes. According to Canadian researcher Dr. A. Leenaars, who has extensively studied suicide notes, the percentage of those who leave notes varies from 12 to 37% percent. Here are some example of suicide notes:
Click here : Suicide Notes

Current Read: My fascination with single, angst driven women.