Aging and Dignity

So often when we talk with and about older people and the challenges faced as they have to make decisions, we talk about loss of independence or grief.

We rarely talk about dignity. Last week a lady I knew had to face the upcoming separation of her and her husband as he could no longer care for her with her increasing dementia. She is in an in between kind of stage where she knows something is wrong, but she can't quite figure out what. But she still has her dignity, and that is what she struggled with--how to face her understanding that somehow a change is necessary and still feel okay about herself.

Mirriam-Webster Dictionary defines dignity as " the quality or state of being worthy, honored, or esteemed." The concept of elder used to have this as an inherent part. How did we lose that?

How do we get it back?