People Fear That Which They Don’t Understand

By: Peggy Cunningham, MA, NCC, LPC

Director of Therapeutic Services

Mental illness surrounds us every day.  It lives beside us in our friends, family, co-workers, and the people we pass on the street.  Often there are no visible signs that a problem exists and we just greet the person and go about our daily lives.  On the other hand, sometimes we see that person on the street corner carrying on a conversation with a person whose not really there and wonder what is going on.  Another time we see someone walking down the street when it is 108 degrees with a stocking hat on and do not understand the hat keeps the voices away.  On another occasion a family comes home to find their home in chaos.  One member of the family reports that while others were away aliens invaded their home and a war was waged.  There are stories of being able to read people’s minds, television and radio frequencies that carry special messages to certain people and strange communication skills.  There are discussions of hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and thought broadcasting that we avoid and don’t understand.

Elderly, Depression and the Loss of Pets

By: Patty Putnam, R.N., B.S.N., Director, Senior Adult Unit

RPC's Senior Adult Unit admits many patients who suffer from severe depression as a result of life changing events or losses, often seemingly beyond their control. One loss that is frequently overlooked by both family and physicians is the loss of a special pet. The loss of a beloved pet could be due to the death of the pet or due to the patient having to leave their home and transfer to a long-term care facility where pets aren’t allowed. In many cases, the loss of a pet can be an extraordinary pain for an elderly person. This is especially true for the elderly who have already lost many family members, friends, as well as their spouse. In some cases the pet may have been the last significant 'personal' attachment they had in the world.

The loss of a pet in these cases needs to be treated more seriously. Counselors and other care givers must be alert to the potentially dramatic negative response that can occur following the loss of a beloved animal. Without the relationship and bond that comes from having something or someone to care for, as is often the case with pets and their owners regardless of their age, seniors become susceptible to falling into depression and may lose the will to live. If the elderly person is healthy enough, a new pet or hobby should be sought after. 

We have witnessed the loss of a beloved animal be the last straw, the final blow to a senior's emotional and physical well being. Those who are alert to this often overlooked risk can help reduce the negative impact on the individual and lessen the potential for depression and sense of loss that may follow.