Category: Mental Health

According to mental health professionals, a record number of seniors are experiencing loneliness, depression, and anxiety. When seniors don’t get the social interaction that all people need in order to stay happy and healthy, their mental health can really suffer. But it’s not realistic to expect that their children are going to be able to always provide the social connections that seniors need. Having a social safety net of people who can step in and be there for your senior loved one when you can’t is essential to their mental health. A few good ways to do that are:

Bring in Elder Care

A great option for the kind of regular social interaction that seniors need is elder care. When your senior loved one has elder care a provider will come to the house on a set schedule to help your senior parent around the house, talk with them, share meals with them, and more. That’s exactly the kind of routine social interaction that seniors need. And if you can’t visit your senior parent more than once or twice a week because you work or have children or have other responsibilities you can supplement your visits with elder care.

Reach Out To Neighbors

Neighbors can be another good piece of the social safety net for seniors. If your senior loved one is aging in place in the family home there’s a good chance you know some of the neighbors already. Check in with them to see if your senior parent can call them for a chat or if they need something. Offer to be the same point of contact for them if they need it. Then create a list with all the phone numbers for the numbers in large print and put it next to the phone so that your senior loved one or an elder care provider can reach out to the neighbors if they need to.

Enlist Other Family Members

Your siblings or cousins may live too far way to help with the daily care of your senior parent but that doesn’t mean that they can’t provide some social support from wherever they are. Set up a phone schedule so that your senior loved one is getting regular or even daily calls from a different member of the family each time. Checking in with your senior loved one on a regular basis will make them feel cared for.

Encourage Your Senior Parent To Get Professional Help

Getting senior parents to open up to a professional is tough because many of them were taught growing up that they shouldn’t talk to therapists or counselors. But professional psychiatrists and counselors can really help seniors as they struggle to find purpose when they retire and start to get older. Talk to your senior parent and strongly encourage them to get some professional help to help manage any symptoms of depression or anxiety.

Source
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/older-adults-and-mental-health

If you or an aging loved one is considering elder care in St. Louis Park, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.

Some seniors may face difficulties due to the natural process of aging. Although all people anticipate the transition from middle age to old age, some may struggle to adapt to becoming elderly. When you start taking care of your elderly loved one you may be unsure of how to help them. The truth is they may need more professional help than you can give.

Seniors will likely face various health issues, financial burdens, and stress that you are unaware of. Some elderly adults may want to age in place but are unable to thrive on their own like how they used to. This is when it can be beneficial to hire senior home care to help a senior take care of their homes and daily routines.

On top of hiring senior home care, you may need to encourage your elderly parents to try therapy. They may ask you what it will change or how beneficial could it actually be? It’s time for them to start talking to someone about their fears and learning how to embrace their senior years. This is truly a chance to live life to the fullest.

How Therapy Can Help Seniors

Older persons who may have trouble with the changes of aging might benefit from therapy in managing their emotions, discovering new sources of pleasure and purpose, and finding new sources of support. It may help individuals confront their fears of death, if they have such worries, and cope with the loss of loved ones.

Family or individual therapy may also be beneficial for family caregivers, as it can help them cope with their emotions and communication challenges — particularly beneficial if an elderly person has dementia. Dementia is strictly a medical diagnosis as opposed to a mental one, however cognitive behavior therapy may be able to alleviate certain dementia-related symptoms.

In greater numbers than in the past, seniors are seeking treatment in therapy for mental health problems unrelated to aging. Depression or anxiety are among the possible mental health disorders that can benefit from therapy. As understanding rises, it seems that views about mental health problems have started to shift. This is great news because the more in demand it becomes the more types of therapies that will emerge.

A senior can choose from one-on-one therapy, group therapy, family therapy, and even things like music therapy to help them sort through different emotions. Senior home care can offer support and transportation to and from therapy sessions.

Many older people were raised during an era in which mental illness was stigmatized and all mental challenges suffered by seniors were attributed to age or dementia. Now, however, therapy is seen by many people as a type of treatment. Research indicates that seniors are often more committed to therapy, aware that their time’s limited, and achieving improvements more rapidly than younger individuals. It’s time to get them the help they need through their final phase of life.

If you or an aging loved one is considering senior home care in Minnetonka, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.

The winter blues are real. Billions of people around the world experience this issue. Sometimes, it starts in the fall and goes into the spring. For other people, it only happens during the winter months. Either way, it can range from moderate to severe. If your elderly loved one is experiencing the winter blues, there are some things you and senior home care providers can do to help them overcome or work through it.

Admitting They Need Help

One of the first steps in managing and/or overcoming the winter blues is admitting that they need help. The truth is that many people find it difficult to admit they are struggling with any mental health issues. Oftentimes, senior citizens find it even more difficult, as they are used to doing things on their own. However, if you or a senior home care provider recognizes your elderly loved one is becoming depressed around the winter, it would be a good idea to talk to them about it. If you can get them to admit they need help, it would be easier to assist them in working through this issue. If they won’t admit to being depressed or feeling down, there are still other things you and the home care providers can do to help your elderly loved one.

Increasing Physical Activity

One of the ways that you and senior care providers can help your elderly loved one to work through or overcome the winter blues is by having them increase their physical activity. There are numerous ways they can do this including:

  • Going on walks with you or a senior home care provider (you can even do this in the local stores if they weather is too bad)
  • Have them get up and bake cookies with you
  • Dance around the living room with them
  • Have them workout to YouTube videos or other workout programs
  • Get them a fitness tracking watch

These are just some ideas that can help your elderly loved one to be more active. Studies show that being active can help to relieve depression. Encourage your elderly loved one to give these things a try to see if it helps them to feel better.

Doing Mental Exercises

There are also mental exercises that can help your elderly loved one to overcome the winter blues. Some of these include:

  • Putting together a puzzle
  • Doing brain training exercises online
  • Getting activity books such as word searches
  • Putting together a scrapbook with you or their elder care providers

These are some of the best mental exercises that a person can do when they are dealing with the winter blues.

Conclusion

Is your elderly loved one dealing with the winter blues? If so, the sooner you and their senior home care providers can help them, the sooner they can start bringing more happiness and joy into their life.

Source
https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2013/01/beat-winter-blues

If you or an aging loved one is considering senior home care in Woodbury, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.