Senior Independence

It’s easy for older adults to slip into spending too much time alone, which can lead to senior social frailty.

Not so long ago, we were all taking precautions to protect ourselves and loved ones from the spread of COVID-19. For older adults, who were especially vulnerable, this meant isolating at home and avoiding social interactions. While these measures were necessary for safety, they created a new norm of solitary living for many seniors—one that has persisted long after the height of the pandemic and is causing a condition known as senior social frailty.

If you suspect senior anxiety in someone you love, help is available.

Does an older adult you care about seem more withdrawn, restless, or forgetful than usual? While these changes may appear to be part of aging, they might actually indicate something deeper: senior anxiety.

Anxiety is more than just occasional worry or stress. In older adults, it can manifest in subtle or unexpected ways, including:

Persistent, obsessive thoughts
Recurrent nightmares that disrupt sleep
Repetitive behaviors, like checking and re-checking that appliances are off
Physical symptoms, such as sweating, dizziness, or a racing heart
Overreactions to otherwise manageable stressors

What Contributes to Anxiety in Aging Adults?

Aging brings unique challenges that may contribute to anxiety, including:

Side effects from medications
Chronic illnesses or reduced mobility
Grieving the loss of a loved one
Concerns about declining independence or financial stability
Unresolved childhood trauma

These factors, combined with changes in … Read More »

Use these six essential tips to improve dementia care for someone you love.

Caring for someone with dementia is one of the most meaningful yet challenging roles you can take on. It’s important to remind yourself regularly: You are doing your best. You are making a difference. A little self-affirmation goes a long way, but there’s more to consider when caregiving gets tough. Enter the Six Rs of dementia care—a framework designed to help improve dementia care and better manage the complexities of the disease.

What Are the Six Rs of Dementia Care?

The Six Rs offer a practical, compassionate approach to navigating difficult dementia-related behaviors. By following these steps, you can create a more peaceful, supportive environment:

Reassure
Dementia can make familiar routines and environments suddenly feel intimidating or strange. Loud noises, changes in lighting, unfamiliar visitors, or even … Read More »

A temporary assisted living stay can be less overwhelming and more comfortable with these tips.

After a hospitalization or surgical procedure, the doctor may recommend a temporary assisted living stay before the person returns home. This is typically a short-term time of intensive therapy to promote healing and recovery. However, the thought of moving into a nursing home or assisted living facility even for a matter of weeks or months can be extremely difficult to accept.

Try these Parkinson’s communication tips to enhance your ability to connect with someone you love.

Imagine trying to share your thoughts, feelings, or even a simple idea with someone you love, only to feel as though your words are getting lost. Now, consider how isolating it must be if this were an everyday struggle. For someone living with Parkinson’s disease, this is often the reality. Communication becomes increasingly difficult as the disease progresses, creating frustration and emotional strain for both the person with Parkinson’s and their loved ones, making it crucial to know effective Parkinson’s communication tips. It begins with understanding how communication can be affected by the disease.

Improv is one creative dementia care strategy that can be both effective and fun.

Creativity, adaptability, and a healthy dose of lighthearted fun are some of the top ingredients to healthy and effective dementia care. It stands to reason then that a spontaneous activity like improvisation is a great way to connect and engage with someone struggling with cognitive challenges. Not only does it allow you to pivot and embrace unexpected plot twists, but this creative dementia care tactic helps you to learn more about the person in your care.

Learn the pros and cons of daily bathing for seniors.

Sinking into a warm, soothing, bubble bath at the end of a stressful day, and stepping into a hot, invigorating shower first thing in the morning are daily pleasures for a great many of us. However, it is possible to have too much of a good thing in regards to bathing habits for older adults. You might want to rethink daily bathing for seniors, for a number of reasons:

Purposeful living for seniors opens new doors to health, happiness, and fulfillment each day.

What exactly is it that gets you out of bed every day? If you’re part of the sandwich generation, providing care for both older and younger loved ones, your list is probably quite extensive! As the nest empties, however, it becomes important to redefine our identity and learn new ways to bring meaning to every day.

If you’re encountering family denial of home care needs for an older loved one, these tips will help everyone come to a place of agreement.

When you begin to notice the red flags that care in the home is required for someone you love, it’s very common for that individual to resist the idea. After all, acknowledging the need for assistance is not easy, especially for somebody who prizes their privacy and independence. Yet what do you do when you encounter family denial of home care needs for an older loved one? When you’ve reached an impasse within your family in regards to the need for senior care, there is one potential culprit to consider: denial.

Why Would a Family Member Deny the Need for Care in the Home?

Denial is a coping mechanism employed to protect against … Read More »

When a loved one is approaching the end of life, every moment becomes even more meaningful, but it can also be a time of great emotional difficulty. One of the changes you may notice is their decreasing interest in food and drink, which can be especially distressing. Watching someone you care about stop eating can leave you feeling worried, helpless, and unsure of how to help. However, understanding why these end-of-life eating changes happen and focusing on providing comfort rather than nourishment can ease this challenging time for both you and the person you love. The goal shifts from ensuring they eat to making sure they are comfortable and at peace.

Why Eating Changes Occur at the End of Life

As a person’s body prepares for the end of life, their need for food and drink diminishes. Metabolism slows, … Read More »