In my conversations with home-care agencies, residentialcare facilities and hands-on family caregivers, I hear an almost universal challenge: family members who are in denial about their senior loved one’s mental, physical or emotional health.
“Dad has never been violent,” says the son whose father with dementia punched the female caregiver in the chest.
“I visited Mom last week and she seemed fine to me,” says the daughter who’s been told her mother is taking and hoarding the possessions of other residents.
“I think you’re exaggerating,” says the brother who lives hours away after being told by his sibling that their father is ready for hospice care.
According to the Mayo Clinic, “Denial is a psychological defense we use to reduce our anxiety when dealing with a stressful situation.”