Psychological Signs of Elder Abuse

15 Mar Psychological Signs of Elder Abuse

Discovering nursing home mistreatment sometimes requires that you pay attention to your loved one and see if they are exhibiting the psychological signs of someone who is abused. Keep in mind that some of these symptoms can be the symptoms of other disorders, such as depression, anxiety and so forth and that some of them are perfectly natural for people who are living in nursing homes. There are, however, certain symptoms that, when taken together with other signs of abuse, give a rather strong indication that there is some sort of abuse going on.

Withdrawal

It’s not uncommon for elderly people to feel a bit withdrawn. Most of them have already gone through the phase of life when most of their friends have died and those friends who are still alive may not be able to stop by regularly to visit. This can lead to profound feelings of isolation and, in some cases, it can lead to personality changes that are predictable given the sense of isolation. If the change is very sudden, however, it may be a sign of abuse. While psychological changes are normal for all individuals as we age, rapid and unpredictable psychological changes are usually signs that something is causing the individual suffering them great distress.

Anger

It’s also not uncommon for elderly people to become angry for what seem like small reasons. Sometimes this is the result of strokes or other mental conditions that cause them to have less capacity to control their emotions than they did in the past. Of course, you can also be a symptom that someone is hiding something and this may well be the case if someone you love is being abused and doesn’t feel that they can speak about it. Anger can make it very difficult to get closer to a person and, thus, ends serving the abuser’s goals in that it isolates the abuse victim even further from their family and other resources that they may be able to reach out to.

Nursing home abuse attorneys can help you file a lawsuit to recover the costs of dealing with nursing home abuse. If you had to move a loved one suddenly to get them out of the abusive situation, you may be facing significant medical expenses. Contact an attorney to see if they can help you file a lawsuit to pursue compensation for what your loved one has been put through.