A 79-year-old white male tells a nurse, "I have felt very sad lately. I do not have much to live for. My family and friends are all dead, and my own health is failing." The nurse should analyze this comment as:
a. normal pessimism of the elderly.
b. evidence of risks for suicide.
c. a call for sympathy.
d. normal grieving.
ANS: B
The patient describes loss of significant others, economic security, and health. He describes mood alteration and voices the thought that he has little to live for. Combined with his age, sex, and single status, each is a risk factor for suicide. Elderly white males have the highest risk for completed suicide.
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M.E.'s husband asks, "How did she get Alzheimer's? We don't know anyone else who has it."
How would you respond? What will be an ideal response?