Pushpa
Caring from afar Note · 4 min read
When your parent always says “I'm fine”
Parents protect their children too. Why they play things down, and how to talk so they tell you what's really going on
The Pushpa team · 3 sources
Parents protect their children too. Why they play things down, and how to talk so they tell you what's really going on
The Pushpa team · 3 sources“Sab theek hai, beta.” Most of us have heard it on a call when everything clearly wasn't. Parents don't want to worry children who live far away, and many fear something bigger: that admitting a problem means losing their independence. Research reported by AARP found that older adults resist help mainly out of fear of losing control, becoming a burden, or no longer being able to live their own way
The Family Caregiver Alliance suggests a reframe that works surprisingly often: explain that accepting a little help will make you feel better. Letting you worry less becomes something she does for you. It also helps when the suggestion comes from her doctor or another person she respects
How Pushpa helpsParents often tell a patient voice on a quiet evening what they won't tell their worried child. Pushpa listens on every call and notices when the same complaint comes up again, so “I'm fine” doesn't hide a knee that has hurt all week
General information, not medical advice. In an emergency in India, call 112
Report sent to the family
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