In our regular mental health and wellbeing spot, a few thoughts on visiting people in hospital, and some of the unsaid things.
Hello and welcome to the spot on the Film Stories site where we pause for a minute to chat about mental health, wellbeing and more. Just the things that that go on in life that it’s useful to sometimes talk about. We’ve been running this column for years now, so there’s a big back catalogue of articles. Hopefully, there’s something in there that’s of some use to you.
This week, a few words on visiting people in hospital. It’s something that’s been a little bit close to home of late, and I’ve had reinforced to me a few things as a result. Just some of the stuff that’s not often said out loud.
First up: it’s lovely when people want to visit someone in hospital. Not everyone gets a visitor, and given how long days spent in hospital tend to be, having someone pop by can be a lift, and break the monotony too.
However, it’s worth keeping one or two simple things in mind.
For the person lying in bed/sat in the chair by the bed, they’re in hospital for a reason. It’s really easy to lose track of days when in for a period of time, and given how difficult it can be to sleep overnight in a hospital given the number of disturbances, sleep patterns can be all over the shop.
As such, whether there’s a visitor present or not, the most important thing inevitably has to be the patient’s wellbeing.
There can be the feeling that they treat the visitor as a guest, and that they need to somehow entertain them. I know of people who’ve felt guilty that they were falling asleep while they had a visitor. It can’t be like that. The reason to be in hospital is to get better, and that has to take top priority.
Visitors can’t be offended if the person they’ve come to visit is having a crappy day. It’s not because they’ve fallen out or anything. It’s the obvious: it’s been a crappy day. Often as simple as that.
For the person visiting, it’s hard to read the room sometimes. But just being there is sometimes gold dust. Even if there’s not much conversation, just being present matters.
Hospitals are full of wonderful people who commit their life to caring for others. But still, with the best will in the world, few people really want to be there. Visiting, on both sides, can be exhausting, but it really matters. Be open, if you’re the visitor be willing to ask if they’d rather you let them get some rest. Just cover the basics. Oftentimes, you don’t need to do any more than that.
Thanks as always for reading, folks. This column will return next week.
