“The hardest thing about lacking mobility is feeling out of control”
-Denise, 86
When you lack a sufficient level of mobility and dexterity, even the small things in life become difficult. Denise has the family over for dinner every Monday night. She spends the two days before preparing. She gets to her friendly grocer on Saturday, they don’t have what she needs. That means another trip to the supermarket.
For Denise, this is as much about people watching as it is shopping. She remembers a comment her grandson made at dinner last week: “Employers should look at prospective employees Uber ratings before they hire a person. They can see who a person is when no one is watching.”
Denise struggles to load her trolley and balance at the same time. She carefully plans what she makes for dinner according to which ingredients are the easiest to get off the shelves. Which ingredients are the lowest down. She doesn’t want to ask for help. The supermarket is understaffed as is and they have more important things to do. She usually doesn’t quite get everything and frustrated, she goes home with half her ingredients.
She feels isolated and alone. No one stopped to help Denise. No one stopped to think what was a little thing they could do to make a big difference in someone else’s life. The isolation one can feel leads to other mental health problems including social anxiety. It is up to all of us to make a difference.
Who is watching you in the supermarket? Or rather, who are you not watching out for?
H2H 