SAFE FALLING

By Dr. Jim David

We live in a retirement village. The average age is 84. We older folks fall frequently. We break our hips and fracture our wrists. We know younger people fall and injure themselves also, but probably not as frequently as us older people.

In our retirement village we have many resources to reduce our rate of falling. We have balance classes, awareness training, personal trainers. We have an Orthopedic Surgeon who has specialized for many years in educating the general public about fall prevention.

Most of us have heard or read many positive suggestions to avoid falls. For example, use grab bars; get rid of throw rugs, etc. We also repeatedly hear or read what we should be doing to eat healthy and to exercise regularly. But, do we discipline ourselves to adhere to all we know about falling, eating, and exercising?

SAFE

The SAFE program is designed to remind you of some key essentials in avoiding painful, incapacitating, despicable falls. On a personal note, I am a professional (highly experienced) falling down person. I have advanced Peripheral Neuropathy. My sensory and motor nerves are essentially inoperative, and my autonomic system is deregulated. In the SAFE system, I am sharing with you what works well for me. Here are four ingredients.

STRENGTH: Some of us, not all, seem to avoid strength training. When we start to fall, if we don’t have strong legs, arms, fingers, et cetera, we will not be able to stop our falling. I start to fall numerous times daily. The Surgeon General of the United States prescribed 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. Because I exercise, I have the strength to stop many of my falls before full completion. Regardless of our age, we can build new muscle and stamina through exercise.

AWARENESS: This is really the heart of the SAFE program. When we live in awareness or mindfulness or the NOW, the present moment, focusing on each step we take, we will most likely NOT fall. Every time I start to fall, it is because my attention has shifted from the walking I am doing to some external or internal focus. I am readily distracted from the walking I am doing. I joke about my age-related Attention Deficit. Hyperactivity is foreign to me.

To strengthen your living in the NOW, take time daily to meditate or contemplate in silence. Countless resources are available for free to start you on the journey of living in awareness. Read “The Power of Now,” by Eckhardt Tolle or “Awareness,” by Anthony de Mello, or other mindfulness books.

FEARLESS: This is probably the most difficult part of the SAFE program. Fearless means to go with the fall when you reach the point that you know that you have no other choice but to fall. When you tighten and resist the fall at the last moment you are more likely to break one of your bones. This entails absorbing the shock of the landing with your body instead of extending your arms, hands, or extremities to stop the fall, which will not be stopped. I know this is easy to say but very difficult to put into practice. I was an Army paratrooper. What I am telling you here is what I learned about landing with a parachute. I realize, all comparisons limp!

EVENING: This refers to any aspect of your day that has you more vulnerable to falling. It could be nighttime, nap time, or turning. We all have a particularly dangerous time or event.

SUMMARY

Building strength is a nonnegotiable necessity. Regardless of our age, we can increase strength in our arms, legs, and core. Awareness is the crucial ingredient. Getting distracted causes us to stumble and fall. Fearlessness may require professional help to increase your confidence in avoiding falls and surviving inevitable falls. Evening entails reflection on those times and events you know are dangerous for you, and then being extra cautious.

Use SAFE to reduce falling down and to fall gently when you do fall. As we know from experience, falls are unpleasant, painful, and ignominious.

Dr. Jim David is a retired psychotherapist in Silver Spring, MD, who adheres to positivity in all areas of life. Email at [email protected].