I was walking home from my writer’s group the other day, talking with a group member who’s a former emergency medical technician. “It’s funny how the elderly get infantilized so much. I wonder why that is,” she commented. “I think we do it to them. I didn’t realize it for a few years into working … Read more
Please: Hang my psychology diplomas on my wall, so I’m reminded of my accomplishments. Display family photos, so I feel surrounded by my loved ones. If I have Dementia, label my photos so the staff can talk to me about my family and help me to remember. Put a quilt or bedspread on my … Read more
Occasionally I pull up a chair to sit with the residents in the hallway, chatting and watching the passersby. One thing I’ve noticed is the vast difference in perspective between eye level and viewing from above. This difference becomes most shockingly clear when the aides wheel the shower chair, with their naked charges covered only … Read more
Many years ago, when I was a new psychologist in long term care, I worked with a woman whose Multiple Sclerosis had impaired her memory to the point she couldn’t remember where she was. I gave her an ID holder with her room number to wear around her neck, but she forgot to look at … Read more
97-year old Rosebud, whom I mentioned in my 11/15/08 post, was a social worker, raised two children, and now lives in a nursing home. She would like to share with you the following thoughts about recreational activities: “Old folks know a lot and need to have their minds stimulated. We residents can’t speak back and … Read more
“I need you to see Eddie,” the social worker told me, “He keeps throwing himself out of bed, and you know how the administration is about falls.” Falls were bad. They get reported to the State. “You hear that moaning down the hall?” she asked. “That’s him. He’s driving all the other residents crazy.” She … Read more
I once dated a man who didn’t speak nicely to me. I don’t know when his endearments changed into negative comments, because, frankly, I didn’t notice them until I returned from a solo weekend vacation. “Hmmn,” I thought to myself after he threw a verbal barb at me upon my return, “they didn’t talk that … Read more
I’ve been treating two women who have suffered and survived with Bipolar Disorder all their lives. Sara, in her mid-seventies, has been struggling with deep depression, trying to find her way out of a depressive swing. She sits very still these days, watching the people in the hallway. From a closet full of colorful matched … Read more
Over the years I’ve worked in nursing homes, my sister has come into the building exactly once. That experienced so disturbed her that she subsequently waited outside in her car, phoning on her cell when she’d arrived to meet me. My sister isn’t unique in her reaction. Nursing homes are places we like to … Read more