Kindness to Others and Mental Health
Claudewell S. Thomas, MD, MPH, DLFAPA, is an established psychiatrist who is currently retired ,, He received his medical degree in 1956 at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine and specializes in social psychiatry, public health psychiatry, and forensic psychiatry. Dr. Thomas was board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry... more
I reported the death of a handsome coyote either from a snake bite or by ingestion of a rat killed by a pesticide. It took three weeks to get the rotting malodorous carcass out of the canyon behind my house. It was finally done by a county animal control officer nearing retirement and who despite his advancing age and declining agility felt sufficiently concerned about the health of two elderly people (my wife and me) to scramble up and down the canyon to cart away the odiferous mess. His name begins with a P and he had less concern about a payday than many of his younger coworkers who delayed the removal.
In today’s world where transactionality is the word of the day concern for others gets short shrift. The news is full of unequal war, trials in progress for sedition and cheating, destruction of traditional sport structures and fan loyalty. Aging in such a world, where the app rules, is particularly difficult for the elderly who can not depend on the kindness of others. On my May visit to San Francisco to receive my second Yale distinguished psychiatric alumnus award was accomplished by hiring a limousine and driver and with help of my second oldest grandson riding shotgun, we were met with courtesy and warmth by Yale Psychiatry and by the staff of the Marine Memorial Hotel. The stress of the travel and the event was still present months later with the coyote incident, so to the elderly at risk of anxiety-depression, try to pass on the good deed. It may rebound to your benefit.
