What happens when elderly suffer emotional abuse

By Sunil Saxena

Do you know which form of abuse the elderly suffer the most or who inflicts it? It is emotional abuse, and is inflicted by the immediate family if the elderly lives at home or by the health caregivers if the elderly lives in an old age home.

Unfortunately, such abuse is rarely reported, and the elderly suffer it in silence. Sadly, even the family members who witness such abuse often look the other way.

Emotional abuse, also referred to as elderly psychological abuse, can be of two kinds – intentional and unintentional. In the first case, the intent of the family members is clear. They knowingly want to hurt the elderly because they feel angry or resentful towards them or have a poor relationship with them.

In the second case, it can be an angry or frustrated reaction form a stressed-out family caregiver.  In either case, the suffering is intense. The elderly goes into a state of emotional distress that leaves deep mental scars.

How does this emotional abuse happen? Generally, the abuse is verbal. The immediate family will yell or scream at the elderly.  Some may even try to ridicule the elderly, call them names or treat them in a way that is demeaning. What really hurts is when such verbal attacks happen in front of outsiders. The elderly go into a shell. They feel helpless and defenceless.

Emotional Abuse can also take the non-verbal form. In such cases, the family members may threaten to cause physical harm or restrict their movement. They may even deny the elderly the food that they like or place them in unhygienic conditions. The worse is restricting their movements. They are not allowed to meet friends or relatives or to dine with the rest of the family.

The result of such abuse manifests itself in excessive anxiety, depression and withdrawal and a loss of interest and enthusiasm. If such abuse continues for a long time, then it may lead to behavioural changes. The affected person may start suffering from loss of appetite, insomnia and an overall decline in well-being. There may be a loss of self-confidence and low levels of physical activity.

The elderly may even start shunning group activity, avoid eye contact and prefer to stay silent.

Single parents, elderly women and seniors with mental or physical impairments are most vulnerable to emotional abuse. This is also true of the elderly who find it increasingly difficult to carry out their day-to-day activities, such as changing clothes, taking a bath or going to the toilet.

Further reading: Understanding Elderly Emotional Abuse and Its Preventive Measures

Also read: Since it goes unreported, elder abuse has become a major social evil