In relation to the advert, been meaning to say this for a while…
After at least a decade of not watching much TV, my circumstances have now changed and I find myself quite fascinated by it. I’ve noticed that daytime telly repeats the same adverts over and over, even within the same hour long programme. ‘The Long Goodbye’ is one of those, along with others designed To tug at the heartstrings by the various charities who are promoting them. Many people with dementia may spend a lot of time watching day time telly so I can well understand how distressing this repetition must be. Even I have found myself switching off the endless misery of the abused donkeys, the abandoned puppies and the cancer sufferers desperately waiting for good news that can apparently only be provided if public contributions are increased.
Which brings me to my next point: we seem to be living in a world where we are saturated with dreadful news on a daily basis. Wars, atrocities, gross injustices, tragedies that could and should have been avoided. We are all on sensory overload and not in a good way. What makes it worse is the knowledge that we can do little to either prevent or influence the outcome of any of these things. Is it surprising that the older we get, the more we switch off from the horrors of the world and try to take comfort in small , everyday pleasures that make life bearable, while avoiding issues that would keep us even more awake at night than we already are? I know that I will happily trade a worthy report on the grim realities of life in Ukraine or Gaza for the joy, care and kindness of ‘The Repair Shop’.
So is it any wonder we are apathetic, numb and insensitive to campaigns about our health or social care? We know that our donations may well make a difference to the plight of mistreated donkeys, but will not make a jot of difference to how our loved ones are cared for. Only our governments can do that and they have shown over and over that they are not willing to. (I am speaking as a U.K. resident here, but I’m aware that we have forum members from elsewhere in the world and their experiences may be different).
Before dementia entered my life, I think I thought of it as something I would deal with when and if I had to and didn't concern myself any more than that. I think most people probably have a similar attitude. Educating the public (and the medical profession!) is a necessary and worthy thing to do, but how you achieve it successfully, I simply don’t know. An advert purporting to show a person ‘dying’ over and over with no immediate explanation as to what is going on and no obvious resolution other than a promotion of the Alzheimer’s Society is going to make little difference. Sorry, AS and sorry for the long post. Bit of a rant.
After at least a decade of not watching much TV, my circumstances have now changed and I find myself quite fascinated by it. I’ve noticed that daytime telly repeats the same adverts over and over, even within the same hour long programme. ‘The Long Goodbye’ is one of those, along with others designed To tug at the heartstrings by the various charities who are promoting them. Many people with dementia may spend a lot of time watching day time telly so I can well understand how distressing this repetition must be. Even I have found myself switching off the endless misery of the abused donkeys, the abandoned puppies and the cancer sufferers desperately waiting for good news that can apparently only be provided if public contributions are increased.
Which brings me to my next point: we seem to be living in a world where we are saturated with dreadful news on a daily basis. Wars, atrocities, gross injustices, tragedies that could and should have been avoided. We are all on sensory overload and not in a good way. What makes it worse is the knowledge that we can do little to either prevent or influence the outcome of any of these things. Is it surprising that the older we get, the more we switch off from the horrors of the world and try to take comfort in small , everyday pleasures that make life bearable, while avoiding issues that would keep us even more awake at night than we already are? I know that I will happily trade a worthy report on the grim realities of life in Ukraine or Gaza for the joy, care and kindness of ‘The Repair Shop’.
So is it any wonder we are apathetic, numb and insensitive to campaigns about our health or social care? We know that our donations may well make a difference to the plight of mistreated donkeys, but will not make a jot of difference to how our loved ones are cared for. Only our governments can do that and they have shown over and over that they are not willing to. (I am speaking as a U.K. resident here, but I’m aware that we have forum members from elsewhere in the world and their experiences may be different).
Before dementia entered my life, I think I thought of it as something I would deal with when and if I had to and didn't concern myself any more than that. I think most people probably have a similar attitude. Educating the public (and the medical profession!) is a necessary and worthy thing to do, but how you achieve it successfully, I simply don’t know. An advert purporting to show a person ‘dying’ over and over with no immediate explanation as to what is going on and no obvious resolution other than a promotion of the Alzheimer’s Society is going to make little difference. Sorry, AS and sorry for the long post. Bit of a rant.
