A Guide to Preventing Loneliness in Seniors
With the help of a home health agency, seniors can get assistance with their physical needs. However, their emotional needs are equally important. Many seniors struggle with a sense of loneliness that impacts their mental and overall health. To help your aging loved one achieve a greater sense of satisfaction and quality of life, follow some tips.
5 Ways to Help Seniors Combat Loneliness
1. Use Technology
Modern phones and computers make it easier for your loved one to contact and stay caught up with you and other friends and family members through social media and video chatting. Other inventions are helpful as well, such as weighted blankets, which use gentle pressure to alleviate stress and make a person feel hugged and comforted.
2. Encourage Pet Adoption
Whether furry, feathery, or scaly, an animal friend would provide your senior loved one with consistent companionship and affection. Feeling needed and appreciated abates loneliness in both people and animals. Many pets are available through local adoption centers, pet shops, and independent breeders and sellers.
3. Support Development of Interests
Your loved one likely has a hobby or several they'd like to learn or further develop. Many other people in their area may feel the same. Look for clubs, organizations, and classes that teach lessons or host activities centered around their interests. Not only does it nurture mental and emotional enrichment, but it lets them meet more people and make friends. A home health agency can assist in finding someone to help with transportation, if necessary.
4. Find Volunteer Opportunities
Sometimes, the best way to help yourself is to help someone else. Work together with your loved one to find local volunteer organizations that need more people. With the assistance of a caregiver from a home health agency, they can attend meetings and events for these organizations. It could also be another opportunity to form new relationships with other volunteers.
5. Organize Quality Time
Nothing replaces time with you. Collaborate with your loved one's home health agency assistant to decide on a regular schedule for meeting with your loved one to share a meal or do something fun you both enjoy. Listen to and learn from them. Let them know they're needed and not forgotten. When meeting in person isn't possible, call or send letters and cards.
For more advice and assistance from a reputable home health agency, contact Harmony In-Home Healthcare Inc. Based in St. Louis, MO, they specialize in providing compassionate and personalized disabled and senior care for anyone over 18. Whether your loved one needs help with meal preparation, running errands, hygiene and self-grooming, or other everyday tasks, their health care specialists are glad to oblige. Get started by calling (314) 752-4444. You can also message them online.
