Sometimes, 'Reaching Out' Can Be a Threat

Even if you do something with good intentions,

if the other person cannot understand that intent,

it may be perceived as fear or a threat.

When dementia is present,

I feel that this tendency becomes even stronger.

An incident from when I was still working night shifts

During a night shift,

there was a scene where a male resident accidentally tried to enter a female resident's room.

I don't think anyone would disagree with the night shift worker's decision itself,

to try to stop that from happening.

However, the problem was that the call out at that time,

came from behind the resident.

The male resident,

was in a state where he did not know where he was.

Then,

suddenly, from behind, he was addressed with a negative word in an unfamiliar voice.

Naturally, confusion and fear arose.

The male resident became agitated, and when he turned around,

he grabbed the night shift worker's name tag.

As a result, the tag's lanyard got caught around their neck,

A temporarily dangerous situation occurred.

After a while,

it was understood that the other person was a staff member,

and the male user, in tears,

"I'm sorry. I did something wrong."

apologized, it is said.

You must not isolate the action alone

If you look at this event,

only by the action itself,

it might be perceived as 'wandering' or 'violent behavior'.

However,

when someone is lost,

or feeling afraid,

if they are suddenly called out to from behind—

being surprised and reflexively trying to protect oneself,

I do not think that is unnatural at all.

It is not exactly a case of 'both parties are to blame,' but

we carefully reviewed the situation,

and shared information to prevent a recurrence.

'Calling out' alone is not enough

In the field of nursing care,

the phrase 'speaking out' is often used.

But what is important is,

when, from where, and in what situation you speak to someone.

Beyond just the voice,

・Positioning yourself within the other person's field of vision

・Maintaining a distance that feels safe

・Creating an environment that is easy to understand

Including such considerations,

it was an event that made me realize once again,

that this is what 'speaking out' truly means.

Introduction / Pinned Post