Nursing home residents count on health care workers to handle many tasks for them. They also count on being able to socialize with their fellow residents. Unfortunately, some residents don’t have the chance to live the lives they deserve because they are dealing with the effects of emotional abuse in the nursing home. This type of abuse isn’t easy to spot, but it can be very damaging to the senior citizens.
One thing that makes this type of abuse so hard to spot is that some of the signs are similar to the symptoms of dementia-related conditions. For example, the person might seem withdrawn. This could be because they are being kept away from other residents, but it could also be due to the effects of dementia.
You can’t rely on the residents to speak up about emotional abuse. In many cases, they are scared that saying something will cause more problems for them. This might be true, at least in the immediate period after the complaint. Some don’t want to feel like a burden on others so they won’t bring it up.
Watching for signs of emotional abuse is also important. You might notice that they don’t seem as happy as they were in the past. They might not socialize with other residents, and they might seem wary of speaking to you. You may also notice that they aren’t participating in the activities that they once enjoyed.
If you think that someone is being emotionally abused, be sure that you speak up about it. The goal is to stop the abuse. If the resident suffered damage because of it, seeking compensation might be in order.
