I was instantly drawn to my patient as I always find it inspiring when someone has been married to the same person for decades, nonetheless, 65 years, as it isn’t all that common anymore. My patient was an 85-year-old female who was recently widowed and had also recently moved into an assisted living facility shortly after the passing of her husband. I had the pleasure of meeting her as she was placed in the psychiatric unit I was working on. She was placed there with the diagnosis of major depressive disorder as evidenced by a suicide attempt with melatonin related to the recent death of her partner. I was saddened to hear that she had tried to commit suicide, I had sympathy for her and I understood her motive behind the attempted overdose. Some may say that she still has her boys to live for but they have now grown into men and share their lives with other people, striving to have the same connection that their parents had.

I can only imagine the loneliness she is feeling being a widow after 65 years of marriage with the same person. I don’t believe there is a lot of acknowledgment of the physical and emotional dependency that grows between people when spending a lifetime together.

I believe my patient to be in the depression phase of grief. The emotions that my patient is feeling are a normal part of the death and dying process. She is able to speak of her husband in the past tense and but doesn’t discuss the cause of his passing. She doesn’t become teary-eyed when speaking of him but I bet she does when she’s alone.

She would benefit from education regarding the grieving process and the normal mindsets that come from it. For the risk of convenience, I would not allow her to continue to have free access to OTC medications as there are much more harmful agents than melatonin that can be accessed over the counter. Unfortunately, she has crossed a line and therefore any trust that she may have had at her facility is gone. I fear she may experience more of a loss of autonomy than she had when she first went into assisted living.

 Nursing interventions would include ensuring that the patient is in a safe environment and does not have access to objects with which they can harm themselves or others. Inform the patient on the therapeutic use of prescription medications to help facilitate the coping process. Educate the patient regarding the harmful effects of negative self-talk (believing she is better off dead) and its impact on self-esteem. Finally, be available, apply active listening, and let the patient freely express their emotions and feelings