Supporting Your Senior Loved One For A More Fulfilling Life: Three Avenues To Explore

As family members age, you’ll feel a sense of duty to support them as best as you can, and this can be tough. There’s a lot that goes into it, be it managing various health conditions, helping them physically with shopping and getting about, and more. 

With so much to manage, it can be difficult to cope sometimes, and you might often feel like you’re not helping. This isn’t reflective of reality, of course, and you may just need a little help to steer you both onto the right path. 

In this short article, you’ll learn about three avenues you can explore for supporting your loved one to have a safer, more fulfilling life. 

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Sticking to Predictable Routines

Every great care strategy starts with a solid routine, as if you don’t have the basics in place, you can’t hope to address any of the more complicated elements. 

Helping your senior relative establish predictable bedtime routines, proper mealtimes, and well-managed social events helps everything go much more smoothly. You don’t have to baby them, of course, but if their mobility isn’t what it used to be, they might struggle with basic things, so do your best to support them to build habits in a way that works for them. 

Giving Them As Much Freedom As Possible

Helping your loved one live a more fulfilling life is all about the balance between help and freedom. While it’s only natural to worry about them participating in certain activities, you should only step in if there’s a direct safety concern, and be mindful of stifling their independence. 

For example, rather than suggesting they have an at-home helper, consider installing things like handrails and maybe a stair lift – things that will help them get around the house more easily without making them feel like a child. Approach each element of their life with the goal of balance at the core, and you’ll find things go much more smoothly. 

Suggesting Senior Living

Most people have a bad opinion of senior living because they associate it with the horror stories they’ve heard about traditional old people’s homes. 

Thankfully, modern senior living is far removed from those sorts of places. The aim here is to build people up – they’re places to live, not places to deteriorate further. 

One of the best things about them is that they address one of the most important negatives affecting the aging population: loneliness. Senior living encourages friendships and building connections with like-minded people, and is a direct antidote to the feeling of isolation many people feel. 

Your loved one likely won’t be open to the idea at first, but if they’re unhappy at home and they’re struggling to connect with the world, it’s certainly something worth exploring (click here to learn more about independent living).

Wrapping Up

Hopefully, you now feel a little clearer on how best to support your relative moving forward. Take things one step at a time, and you’ll come up with a plan that works for both of you. Good luck!

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