People feel helpless when they no longer believe that they have the power to alter their environment and the terms of their existence. For the human species, caring for others creates meaning and meaning gives us the power to resist the abyss of helplessness. We push Elders toward helplessness every time we confuse treatment and caring. Genuine human caring is a selfless thing. The caregiver seeks to understand and meet the needs of the person or thing being cared for.
Treatment is a selfish thing.
When professionals prescribe treatments, they do so by carrying out an objective and impartial process of information gathering and analysis. When treatment is the dominant form of caring in a culture, Elders become bundles of diagnoses requiring specific bundles of therapies. We can help Elders hold helplessness at bay by providing them with meaningful opportunities to give care. An Elder with a reason to live is an incredibly rugged organism. On this occasion, you should use the discussion time to reflect on and discuss the following pairs of ideas.