A Nurse Makes Up Her Mind to Start Exercising, Stop Smoking, Go on a Diet, and Start Meditating
For the past twenty-nine years Vicky has been employed as a nurse at a small rural hospital. As a registered nurse, she surely knew what to tell her patients regarding their health difficulties and concerns but in her off-duty life away from her job, then again, she infrequently practiced what she instructed others to do.
What were some of Vicky's misgivings in her private life? She avoided any physical exercise whatsoever; she was more or less forty pounds heavier than her optimal weight; she allowed her high-stress position to negatively affect her health; she smoked just around three packs of cigarettes on a daily basis; she regularly drank in a careless and dangerous way; and her diet consisted mainly of high fat, high sodium, high cholesterol burgers, fried chicken, and French fries.
Vicky Gets Into An Automobile Accident, Fails A Field Sobriety Alcohol Test, and Goes to the Municipal Jail
One Thursday afternoon on her way to the hospital to start her shift, Vicky was driving too close to the truck in front of her. Sadly, when the truck driver slammed on his or her brakes, Vicky crashed into the back of the truck. Since her speech was garbled when she talked and due to the fact that the traffic accident was her fault, the arresting officer administered a breathalyzer test. As per standard law enforcement policy, when a person is involved in a motor vehicle accident and tests positive for a breathalyzer test, the person has to spend at least twelve hours in the community jail. As much as Vicky hated this, due to the fact that she failed her alcohol test, she had to spend the entire afternoon and evening in jail.
Vicky is Ashamed Of Her Automobile Accident
To no ones surprise, Vicky felt extremely ashamed of her motor vehicle accident. What made matters even worse, however, was the disgrace she experienced due to the fact that the traffic accident was her fault. What really broke the camels back, on the other hand, was the embarrassment she felt because she was driving after she had been drinking.
As Vicky calmed her nerves and thought about her circumstance, however, she knew that things actually could have been much worse because at the hospital, when a urine, saliva, or breath alcohol test is given and failed, the person has to go to compulsory alcohol therapy and counseling and automatically gets placed on non-duty status without pay. This was for all intents and purposes one of the realities at the hospital and there was not much that the employees could do to change this policy.
Vicky's Embarrassment About Her Motor Vehicle Accident Forces Her To Go Over Her Life and Make Some Significant and Beneficial Modifications
Fortunately, the humiliation Vicky felt regarding her automobile accident encouraged her to reconsider her life and make some relevant and healthy modifications. First, she was going take an introductory class in meditation so that she could better manage the stress in her life. Second, she was going to go on a strict diet. Third, she was going to begin exercising. Fourth, she was going to stop smoking. Fifth, she was going to quit drinking in a careless and immature manner. And sixth, she was going to enroll in a cooking class so that she could learn how to make healthier, better tasting meals.
As upset as Vicky was about her motor vehicle accident, she used this distressing experience as a catalyst for beneficial change. Moreover, she used her negative experience as a source of realization that she had been disregarding her own health while telling others how to live a healthier, more stress-free life.
And last but not least, Vicky eventually saw the hypocrisy in her daily life and decided that she would live her life as a positive and healthy example for the patients she consulted at work.
Denny Mitchell writes about the physical effects of alcoholism, severe alcoholism, the alcohol rehab clinic, pyloris and alcohol, and drinking problems. For more info please visit alcoholic behavior.