There have been a lot of horrific events on the news over the past year. I am thinking of Newton, and Boston and even the Oklahoma tornadoes. Television stations play the coverage of these events continuously. I find myself wanting to shield both my young children and the senior population from the endless barrage of bed news and terror. My children, we just don't watch the news at home, and we try to completely shield them from seeing any of it. The boys are young and can't understand, and question and worry and have bad dreams. The know there are bad guys in the world, but I don't want them to worry that someone will shoot them at school. They aren't looking at the world through rose colored glasses, but they don't need to be exposed to everything yet. There is plenty of time for that.
At work, some of the older people need to get away from all the negative drama. I often ask the staff to turn off the TVs whenever possible and not talk about it with or in front of our resident with dementia. These residents can not always distinguish between their own reality and what had happened elsewhere in the world. They may worry about their children and their safety. Other residents just need a break as well. Watching negative TV all day can be very depressing for anyone. We always encourage people to turn off the TV and to say a prayer for the people and for the helpers and first responders. We try to channel their worry into something positive. Its OK to encourage residents to turn off the TV and get out of their rooms. Plan a fund raiser to help. Anything to help them turn the negative into a positive for them and let them feel that they are somehow helping make things better. Because really, isn't that what we all want to do?
