Category: Mental Health

Just one of the many issues that seniors can face as they grow older is the impact of both depression and isolation on their mental and physical health. Ignoring these feelings when they crop up doesn’t help your senior to get what she needs. In fact, not resolving these issues can cause much bigger problems down the line. Home care assistance can help you and your senior to find the tools that she needs in her unique situation.

What Happens When Seniors Experience Depression and Isolation?

Depression is a common condition among seniors and can be caused by a variety of factors, such as a loss of independence, chronic illness, and the loss of loved ones. Depression can also be caused by chemical changes in the brain and body, so talking to your senior’s doctor is a good idea. Symptoms of depression in seniors can include feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a lack of interest in activities they once enjoyed. Isolation can lead to depression, which is a big reason to try to find solutions that help your elderly family member to avoid isolation. Some of the causes of isolation include mobility problems, health issues, and lack of support systems.

Hands-on Help When Your Senior Needs It

If your elderly family member is experiencing a lot of difficulty with daily tasks, mobility, or other concerns, home care assistance is an excellent solution. Caregivers are able to take on household tasks, personal care tasks, and offer help in other ways, like with transportation. All of these solutions offer tangible assistance that your elderly family member may find incredibly useful.

Socialization and Reaching Out to Other People

When your elderly family member spends time with senior home care providers, they’re offering her opportunities to socialize and to engage with other people. They can also help your senior to find it easier to socialize with other people, by helping with transportation or making it easier for your senior to have visitors over. When your senior feels more comfortable letting people into her spaces, she’s less likely to experience isolation or to have those feelings worsen into depression.

Companionship and Emotional Support

Home care assistance can also encourage your elderly family member to engage in activities she enjoys, even if she needs a little help. Spending time with someone while she gardens, reads, or watches favorite movies offers your senior emotional support and companionship that might have been difficult to incorporate into her daily life otherwise. In-home care professionals really get to know your senior, including her preferences and habits, which means that they can offer her the support that she truly needs.

Even though depression and isolation are common for seniors, that doesn’t mean that your senior must simply suffer through these issues. Home care assistance can give your senior the solutions that she needs in order to resolve the underlying problems, thereby reducing the risk of your senior having to deal with those consequences at all. If your elderly family member is experiencing depression, make sure to talk with her doctor to rule out medical causes.

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

How can you tell if your elderly family member might be battling anxiety? Sometimes your senior may not even realize that she’s anxious a lot more than she used to be. If you’re not sure what all is going on with her daily life, senior home care can help you to get a clearer picture of what your aging adult is experiencing daily.

Being More Irritable than Usual

There are a lot of different reasons that your elderly family member might be more irritable than usual, and they can range from health issues to so much more. What matters is that you talk to your senior when you notice that she’s a little more irritable than you’re used to seeing her be. If you can get to the cause, whether it’s a specific situation or something else, that can help you to alleviate what’s making her feel out of sorts. When the cause is anxiety, you want to get to the bottom of what’s contributing to that feeling of being anxious.

Worrying More about Daily Things

Lots of people worry over aspects of daily life. In fact, that’s common for people of all ages. If your elderly family member is showing signs that she’s starting to obsess more about daily concerns, that can be a sign that she’s experiencing a lot more anxiety than usual. Some of the daily worries might be little ones, like whether the doors are locked or if she turned the stove off. Others might be bigger, like worrying that there will be a natural disaster and what might happen if it occurs. If this is new for your elderly family member, you may want to talk with her about what caused these worries to grow.

Behavioral Changes that Are Out of Character

Sometimes anxiety makes your elderly family member change habits or behaviors, occasionally without her realizing it. She might start to have trouble staying asleep at night, for instance. This can cause her to be awake for big chunks of the overnight hours when most people are asleep. Or your elderly family member might start having trouble controlling her appetite, eating too much or too little. These changes can seem small or temporary, but if they’re driven by anxiety, those new habits can be detrimental to your elderly family member’s overall well-being.

Withdrawing and Staying at Home a Lot More than Usual

Your elderly family member’s anxiety may also cause her to withdraw socially. She may find that she rarely wants to leave her home at all and if something does require her to leave, she might experience anxiety that she recognizes. In order to keep those anxious feelings under wraps, she could be withdrawing even more to avoid dealing with the underlying problem.

It’s important that your elderly family member is able to have a safe and happy life on her own terms, and that means getting to the bottom of what’s causing her anxiety. Senior home care professionals can do a lot to help your senior to be safer at home, which can be a big underlying trigger for anxious feelings. Home care can help with anxiety in other ways, too, especially if your elderly family member is finding it more challenging to keep up with daily tasks.

Source
https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/what-to-know-about-anxiety-in-older-adults

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

Sometimes, people can tell if their loved one or friend has mental health issues. However, other times it isn’t as noticeable. If you are caring for your elderly parent or elderly loved one, be sure you watch out for signs of a mental health disorder. People shouldn’t have to struggle with mental health issues on their own.

It can be tough for someone to admit they are struggling with these issues. With this being said, you or elderly care providers should talk to your elderly loved one if you notice the signs mentioned below.

Sadness or Hopelessness

Have you or an elderly care provider noticed that your elderly loved one is feeling sad or hopeless? Occasional sadness or hopelessness is normal. However, if this is something that your elderly loved one has been experiencing for many weeks, it could mean they are struggling with a mental health disorder.

Acting Out of Character

Have you or an elderly care provider noticed that your loved one is acting out of character? For example, are they yelling at their family members more than usual? Are they staying up late at night or spending more money than they usually do? If your elderly loved one is doing things that are out of character, they may be struggling with a mental health disorder. They may need your help.

Issues with Focus and Concentration

Have you or an elderly care provider recently noticed that your elderly loved one struggles with focus and concentration? Maybe you were talking to your elderly loved one and they couldn’t make eye contact. Mayne when your elderly loved one was on the phone with their elderly care provider, they forgot what they were saying. Issues with focus and concentration happen often with those who have a mental health disorder.

Not Coping Well with Stressors

Has your elderly loved one recently had issues coping with stressors? Maybe they used to have great coping skills, but in the past few weeks or months, they aren’t doing so great. If this is happening, you or an elderly care provider might notice your loved one gets stressed or anxious when life throws a curve ball their way.

Conclusion

These are some signs that your elderly loved one may have a mental health disorder. If you or an elderly care provider recognize these things in your loved one, be sure to talk with them. Let your elderly loved one know you are going to be there to support them. Ask your elderly loved one if you can get them an appointment, so they can get the help they need.

Sources
https://medlineplus.gov/olderadultmentalhealth.html

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