Suggestibility

[Jo Sutton]

Has anyone else found that their PWD is extremely suggestible? I'm thinking particularly in terms of what they absorb from what is happening around them.

I have to be very careful what Mum watches on TV, as it sometimes becomes part of her life. Some of them are funny, such as the time she told me that she had difficulties in her marriage to my father because he was jealous of how much time she wanted to spend with giraffes. You guessed it ... she was watching a wildlife programme on the African plains at the time.

But others are more worrying. If she's watching the news and an item comes on that has anything to do with economics, global or personal, she immediately thinks her money and house are at risk, even if it has nothing to do with her, and panics about it for hours. Generally I try to switch over now if the news is due on, as so much of it worries her.

But there are other, silly things. If we watch a programme about dogs, she will spend the whole day asking me where her dog is (he died when I was a child) and worrying that he hasn't been fed etc. The list of subjects to avoid is getting longer by the day, but sometimes it's something I never would have thought would cause a problem.

She spends most of her time in front of the TV and I'm just feeling the pressure of trying to second-guess what programmes won't set her off. I'd love to hear your funny stories and to know that I'm not the only one contending with this ...

Hugs

Jo

 

[WORRIER123]

Well my dad has been in westerns a lot. I try to leave it on sky arts for music but came home and he was glued to the screen said this is great. I thought what is he watching and it was The Joy of Se* he's 86 !!!

 

[LynneMcV]

Hi Jo - and yes, I can absolutely understand what you mean - particularly where anything to do with money is concerned.

In fact there is very little we can watch now which doesn't have an affect on my husband.

He loves his sport but it now causes anxiety because he thinks he is part of the team and likely to be called on to play, whether it be football, golf, swimming, rugby, ice skating, gymnastics or motor racing. He then worries because he has never learnt to drive, can't swim, has never played a round of golf etc etc.

The Olympics are always an eye-opener and we have spent many a day searching for tennis balls, javelins and various sporting personalities who have left the tv screen and must have entered the house.

He loves his quiz shows but I must always sit with him to remind him that he is not a contestant and hasn't just won a pile of money (he can take a bit of convincing on that one!)

He loves things like Antiques Roadshow and Bargain Hunt - but I have to sit and watch them too, as a sign of support, because he thinks he needs to buy the stuff and knows he doesn't have enough money to do so.

I change channel every time a cookery programme is on because if he watches one he expects to eat the prepared food at the end of the show ( I am not a bad cook but definitely need to up my game!)

As for news, I constantly have to change channels to avoid it so he does not worry unduly.

Basically the rule now is that he doesn't get to watch tv alone, we make sure either I, son or daughter is watching with him to reassure as and when needed.

 

[WORRIER123]

Hi Jo - and yes, I can absolutely understand what you mean - particularly where anything to do with money is concerned.

In fact there is very little we can watch now which doesn't have an affect on my husband.

He loves his sport but it now causes anxiety because he thinks he is part of the team and likely to be called on to play, whether it be football, golf, swimming, rugby, ice skating, gymnastics or motor racing. He then worries because he has never learnt to drive, can't swim, has never played a round of golf etc etc.

The Olympics are always an eye-opener and we have spent many a day searching for tennis balls, javelins and various sporting personalities who have left the tv screen and must have entered the house.

He loves his quiz shows but I must always sit with him to remind him that he is not a contestant and hasn't just won a pile of money (he can take a bit of convincing on that one!)

He loves things like Antiques Roadshow and Bargain Hunt - but I have to sit and watch them too, as a sign of support, because he thinks he needs to buy the stuff and knows he doesn't have enough money to do so.

I change channel every time a cookery programme is on because if he watches one he expects to eat the prepared food at the end of the show ( I am not a bad cook but definitely need to up my game!)

As for news, I constantly have to change channels to avoid it so he does not worry unduly.

Basically the rule now is that he doesn't get to watch tv alone, we make sure either I, son or daughter is watching with him to reassure as and when needed.

At least it's not just my dad. Yes all the things he loved sport quizzes and antiques. He thinks he has to pay for all the things and I can't put any property programme on
It's getting harder and the adverts like PPI well .... I can just about get dad to like Andre Rieu and Frank Sinatra still