Finding happiness at this stage of her life might feel like an impossible goal for your aging family member. She may feel as if her best times are all behind her, but that doesn’t have to be the case.
Assess Her Current Needs
Look at what your elderly family member currently needs from you and in general. Does she have trouble driving or has she been staying home more than usual? These situations can clue you in about specific needs she may have right now.
Learn as Much as You Can about Her Medical Situation
Your senior’s health is going to dictate quite a bit about the rest of her life. If you’re not already in a position to be familiar with her health issues, you might need to change that. Get to know as much as you possibly can about your senior’s current health and about how that’s likely to change.
Keep the Focus on What She Can Do
Part of what keeps seniors feeling displeased with the current state of their lives is often that they’re concentrating on what they’ve lost or what they can no longer do. That’s naturally going to be a more negative focus. Do what you can to keep your elderly family member’s attention on what she can still do. Accepting the here and now for what it is helps so much.
Modify Activities to Match Her Passions
Your senior can likely still do a lot of what she loves to do, just with modification. One of the things she might have to adjust to is allowing other people to help her as she does what she loves. She might also find that letting go of some things herself can help her to have the energy to do what she loves. Senior care providers can handle the laundry, for example, leaving her to be better able to make art or to have the energy to exercise.
Help Her to Do Something a Little Different Every Day
Help your senior to find something a little bit different to do every day. When every day starts to look exactly like the days before it, your senior can easily become bored and frustrated with her existence. That can suck the joy out of life in a big way. Running a small errand or finding other reasons to get out of the house every day can help.
Keeping your senior engaged in life is so important. Otherwise, she might start to isolate herself and give in to depression. Talk with your senior about how the solutions you’re implementing are working for her so that you have an idea whether to change things up.
If you or an aging loved one is considering senior care in Loudoun, VA, please contact the caring staff at Assisting Hands today. (703) 982-0050.
