Imagine being faced with your greatest fear every time you took a step. For older adults who have fallen, they are terrified of falling again. Therefore each time a change of position is necessary, the older adult visualizes the worst condition possible; falling to the ground and breaking a hip or hitting her/his head. Paralysis by analysis....
This fear of falling cannot be "shrugged" off or simply forgotten. In fact, this fear becomes a serious condition when it begins to interfere with one's activities of daily living. At first, the older adult does not expose herself to situations that may increase the risk of an accidental fall. In the short-term, this is ok but in the long run, this limited activity does more harm than good because the less a person does, the weaker she becomes. The less a person does, the less confident she is in herself.
The result? A vulnerable older adult who is terrified of falling and thinks this is part of growing older. They believe that weakness is unavoidable and limited to no activity is the only answer. Suddenly they have a serious case of the "I can'ts"... I can't do this, I can't do that. The power of thought is undeniable and the person becomes what she fears...
The good news? DON'T OVER-THINK IT, YOU CAN DO IT. YOU CAN CHANGE!
I have been teaching fall prevention exercises to older adults all over Sacramento and it is a beautiful thing to see a participant shatter the "I can't" belief system. The most common "I can't" that people have overcome is getting out of the chair. After consistent strength and balance training, older adults gain skills necessary to get up from a chair without assistance.
A participant asked me how she was supposed to get up. I told her that she could do it, she's done it before, she knows what to do, she knows how to do it. Don't overthink it... and up she went. Once up, she smiled ear to ear and said you're right, I'm not going to overthink it; I can do it.
