How to Emotionally Support Your Aging-in-Place Senior

Addressing the emotional needs of your aging-in-place senior can help them feel their life is meaningful, while helping them avoid depression or feelings of isolation and loneliness. The home care team at Avila Home Care believes that the emotional health of seniors is just as important as physical health in creating a rewarding aging-in-place experience, and so provides tips for emotionally supporting an elderly loved one.

Help Ensure Their Safety

Everyone deserves to feel autonomous, but also safe and secure, in their home. An aging-in-place senior may feel some anxiety over living alone; support your senior by taking extra measures to encourage their safety while enjoy their aging-in-place experience. Implement and practice escape plans in the event of a fire or emergency. Have additional locks and a spy-hole installed in the door to ensure security. An emergency call button, often placed on the wall of a highly-trafficked area or on a device worn around the neck, can help a senior call for help in the event of a fall or medical emergency.

Foster and Encourage Relationships

Staying social can help reduce feelings of isolation while aging in place. Encourage visits from family members and be sure to call, write letters or email regularly. Pictures and photo albums can be a great way to help remind them of happy life events and family occasions, so that they feel connected to the people they may no longer see on a regular basis. A home care professional, such as the ones at Avila Home Care, can also provide companionship to their senior clients, which can be especially welcome for seniors who live far away from family and loved ones.

Provide a Sense of Community

Working in and developing relationships in the community can help a senior feel connected and important. Encourage your senior to engage in volunteer activities, church groups and clubs or groups for people with shared interests (book clubs, knitting groups, etc.). Order your senior subscriptions to local newsletters and magazines that discuss their interests. Involvement in volunteer activities can help your senior meet new people and develop a sense of purpose.

Promote Recreational Opportunities

Consider what activities your senior used to enjoy and tailor them to their needs. Provide large print books or magnifying spectacles to allow them to continue reading their favorite books; if they enjoyed baseball games or other sporting events, plan for a trip to a game or a gathering to watch the game from home with family. Local community centers often hold events for seniors, such as potlucks, movie nights or bingo nights—check the local newspaper for information about these events. Helping seniors get involved in exercise clubs or fitness classes serves a multi-pronged purpose: it helps to get them involved in the community, provides an opportunity to develop new relationships, improves their health and provides a plethora of recreational opportunities.

Make Your Elderly Loved One’s Aging-in-Place Experience Rewarding with the Help of Avila Home Care

The opportunity to age in place is an exciting and rewarding one, and seniors should be provided the resources and assistance necessary to make the most of the experience. At Avila Home Care, our caring and friendly home care providers are committed to serving their elderly clients in whichever capacity they require, whether as a housekeeper, meal preparer, errand runner or even friend. For more information about how Avila Home Care can help your beloved senior, contact us today.

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