What Older People Really Need During The Coronavirus Pandemic — Lessons They Can Teach Us
What is it like during this pandemic for those of us over 65 and, in particular, for those of us in our eighties?
Frightening coronavirus headlines blare that 80% of the people who have died in this pandemic so far are people over 65. While only 17% of Americans are 65 or older, nearly a third of the coronavirus cases are people over 65. They account for 45% of hospitalizations and more than half of ICU admissions, according to the Center for Disease Control’s March 25, 2020 report. Yikes!
This last week, even though I have been sequestered in my retirement community, I have been talking with a wide range of people in their eighties to learn how they are faring. I am observing the state of the world through my usual lenses, of being a psychotherapist and social psychologist. And, of course, also as a grandmother who is 85.
What are we feeling?
Older people feel a growing sense of fragility and vulnerability during a national epidemic. Many know of someone who’s been diagnosed with coronavirus. When we cough or sneeze, we fear we are coming down with the virus. News stories tell us daily that we will be the ones to die. Some of us scurry around and double our efforts to make our environment sterile. Others clear up some of the clutter around…
