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Op-Ed: Never Read the Comments Section

It is a well-known “rule No. 1” in social media engagement: never read the comments section. Many an unsuspecting academic has innocently posted or been quoted about a controversial topic, and then received a torrent of abuse for their position. I have been abused for my position on vaping (am killing people), a psychiatry colleague who after talking about COVID healthcare worker stress “should be grateful she had a Job #$*%,” and the list goes on….

My essay on the 13 deaths in one week was posted on MedPage Today as an op-ed. I went to have a look at the comments and apart from some suggestions to use ivermectin and questions about why I was surprised that so many patients died on ventilator, I discovered some great comments including a Charles Dickens quote: “It’s always something, to know you’ve done the most you could. But, don’t leave off hoping, or it’s of no use doing anything. Hope, hope to the last.”

But what really struck me was Fred Cowan’s comment about being broken: “How could you not be broken? After awe for your and your team’s service I can offer only one small and humble consideration. In my military service before becoming a research scientist I trained under Colonel James Nicholas ‘Nick’ Rowe who escaped captivity during the Vietnam War and later developed U.S. Army Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training program. I asked him once ‘Did they ever break You, Sir.’ His answer: ‘Yes, a dozen times, but just because you are broken does not mean you have to stay that way.'”

Wine glasses, plates, and coffee cups generally stay broken. Cars, walls, and fences are generally repairable. Broken bones generally, provided they are given the opportunity to rest and have the necessary support to “stay still,” will heal too. We as humans have an amazing ability to take abuse, be broken and yet not remain broken. The countless stories of prisoners of war, political prisoners, young children in abusive families becoming “unbroken” reminds us that staying broken is not a fait accompli.

While becoming unbroken is also not guaranteed, there are certain ways people, including healthcare workers, can work toward healing.

What is required is resolve, support, rest, and time to recover. “How much?” and “How long?” are the two factors that are unknown in the unbreaking process. Each and every person is different and will require differing amounts of support, rest, resolve and support. For each person the time that it takes to become unbroken will be dependent on how much support, rest resolve and support you require – and obviously how much unbreaking is required.

It is far too early to talk about bones healing and “being stronger than before,” or that the lessons learnt will “stand you in good stead” for the future. They belong on a Hallmark card and presently provoke a strong urge to vomit. It is not, however, too early to talk about becoming unbroken and what is needed for that process to happen. For some, having been broken will result in a long-term limp, for others a disfiguring scar, for some a permanent lump unseen under the skin. I am not sure that becoming unbroken is ever a process that will remove all scars, lumps or limps. It is a process whereby the brokenness dissipates and the scars and experiences became part of who we are. They shape our future and mark our past, but will always be part of who we become. And to quote Po from “Kung Fu Panda,” “Scars heal.”

So sometimes it is worth reading the comments section, most often not – but in the process of becoming unbroken, kind words and support, go a long way. But time and rest are probably equally important. Healthcare workers must keep this in mind at present, as we look to recover from the current COVID-19 crisis, and in the long-term for future challenges.

Richard van Zyl-Smit, MD, PhD, is the head of the Lung Clinical Research Unit at the University of Cape Town Lung Institute in South Africa.

Last Updated February 19, 2021

Source: MedicalNewsToday.com