Take in Your Surroundings

Upright we have a much wider view of the world around us.

Lying flat on a table in a treatment room hampers your field of vision and your ability to comprehend what is going on around you.  You may hear the clinicians exchanging information, objects being moved, machinery being regulated, or you may hear nothing at all.  Nonetheless, lying flat without visual contact with your clinicians removes you from being able to fully participate in your own care.  You feel less human listening to people discuss your case as you lie right there.     

At the Stanford University Center for Integrative Medicine, one of their Surviving Cancer strategies includes “Adopting a Participatory Stance”. Research has shown that patients who do this are more likely to believe they can make a difference. They may feel less helpless and vulnerable, maybe even more empowered to actively engage with their clinicians. For example, they may ask for clarification when they do not understand a provider’s assessment; question the “why” behind certain treatments and testing, or even offer suggestions to their managed care team from their own research. They may embrace ways of promoting their physical well-being that goes beyond normal recommendations.

In all these ways, by taking in their surroundings and actively participating can strengthen their efforts to maintain the best physical health possible.

Receiving treatment upright can empower patients to be an active part of their treatment by enabling them to be treated sitting upright, partaking in the conversations, the atmosphere, and the environment.  Research suggests that when patients know they are in control, their stress levels drop, blood pressure drops and peace of mind prevails, which may increase the chances of a more highly successful treatment and outcome