Elderly Loneliness - 3 Super Tips to Prevent Loneliness and Social Isolation

Question: I’m afraid of being lonely and sad and isolated.  Right now I have some freedom and I don’t know what will happen to that if I move?

Answer: Elderly loneliness is a common problem across the United States. However, if you think about it, most of us are lonely at one point in our lives. 

Loneliness happens to children, teens, and even to young adults. Therefore, tackling loneliness is not a young or old issue, but one that can potentially affect anyone.

What makes elderly loneliness unique is that most seniors live alone. Also, when a spouse passes away, many seniors opt to remain alone, instead of searching for another partner after their grieving process has ended. Therefore, the loneliness that seniors experience lasts longer, because of the forced isolation that they enforce on themselves.

3 Tips to Prevent Elderly Loneliness and Social Isolation

• Reason for Moving - First, you should explore your reason for moving. Are you moving from your home, because your spouse died? Are you moving out of your family's home, because they can no longer take care of you? Or, are you having difficulties to take care of yourself, and you don't have other family members to help?

If you are moving, because of the death of a spouse, you might want to reconsider. You could always rent a room in your house to another senior, or perhaps, there might be another family member, who wouldn't mind moving in with you. When you remain in familiar surroundings around people that you know, you are less likely to be lonely.

If you are still living with your children or other family members, and they are not forcing you out of their home, you should reconsider staying there if you are comfortable. Sometimes, seniors make the decision to move out, because they feel they have worn out their welcome, but their family still wants them to be around.

• Learn to Accept Emotional and Social Support - It's possible for you to remain independent and have your space when you are supported by others. One key to happiness as we grow older is about keeping socially active and having friends. The same things that kept us going when we were younger can help keep us active when we are older. 

Don't stop doing the things that you loved before. If you enjoyed group activities before, you should continue the same activities when you are older. You cannot stop elderly loneliness if you don't stay in contact with people. Growing old is not a reason for feeling lonely and sad. If you are isolated, it's because you are self-imposing it. Don't do it! Remain active and continue doing the things you like, and find others, who share the same interests.

• Keep Your Independence - No one should be able to take your independence away from you. If you are still able to take care of yourself, you are independent. If you are moving to an adult living facility, you should still be able to keep your independence. 

Most adult living facilities in the U.S. prevent social isolation as much as possible. Most of them have highly trained staffs, and most activities are coordinated in advance. If you see something you like, you can participate in it. If you just want to hang out with some new found friends, that's OK, too. You are always in charge.

Tips to Prevent Elderly Loneliness and Isolation - Conclusion

Most people like to socialize, and enjoy interaction with others. There should not be any reason for you to ever worry about elderly loneliness or isolation. Stay active, and keep old social contacts and develop new ones. Life changes, and you need to learn how deal with those changes, and incorporate them into your golden years.

For more information on senior care and assisted living in Denver, visit Applewood Our House

Coping with Someone Who Has Dementia

Coping with someone how has dementia can be difficult and rewarding at the same time.

If you find out that your loved ones are having difficulties with dementia, you mustn't disavow and imagine that everything will be the same from this point forward. Sadly we don't get a course in school informing us about what to do and how to be useful when an aging loved one shows signs of dementia.

We may not even be clear about what the word implies. It's startling to learn that when a man is 85 years old, the chances of developing Alzheimer's disease are around 50 percent.

Dementia is a syndrome caused by brain cell death. We don't have a cure, and scientists still have much to learn about the disease. In some cases, some treatments can forestall or slow down the progression if caught in time. For others, the condition may be past the point where any treatment would be sufficient.

Open with all the circumstances that involve a loved one with dementia can be challenging and stressful. Here are some things to consider when the elderly have dementia.

Contribute - Make sure your family members are not caring for your loved one alone. It's an overwhelming burden, so offer them some assistance and relief from caregiving when you can.

Take on Some of the Responsibilities - Paying the bills for an elderly loved one with dementia is less demanding than getting on a plane or driving a long distance to visit often. One could oversee the property. Help with accounting, correspond with fundamental individuals involved with caregiving, get prescriptions refilled, or handle errands. These kinds of responsibilities could likely be handled online or by telephone. You can do something, even though you live far away.

Contemplate Things Your Parents Might Appreciate and Offer to Do Them When You Visit - Recommendations for guardians are accessible through guardian associations like the Alzheimer's Association. Plan or schedule a time when it works best for you to deal with your loved one's issues. Make sure all lawful printed material is altogether. There may come a time when a parent is no longer equipped to sign documents.

Before a lot of time passes, lead the pack, and see whether your loved ones have legal matters prepared and organized. For example, you can check for a durable power of attorney, a will, or trust, and medicinal service mandates.

Make Sure You Take Care of All Legal and End of Life Matters - When dealing with an ailing parent, the less stress involved, the better. When your legal work is in order, it frees up time, and make things run more smoothly.

Be supportive on the off chance that you or other relatives are on location and doing the diligent work of everyday caregiving. It's important to show support for one another by allowing caregivers to vent or express their frustrations. Caregiving can be difficult and stressful, but it can be more comfortable with a supportive team of family, friends, and other caregivers. Working together can be more useful than you can imagine. Discussing feelings and frustrations can calm the stress in a working caretaker's life.

Senior Health - 7 Thoughtful Tips on Moving the Elderly

Anyone with parents might want some tips on moving the elderly. Senior citizens are some of the most loved and respected people in our lives. If the day arrives when it is necessary to move them to a nursing home, retirement home, assisted living facility, or even to your own home, it can take a lot of planning and loving care.

The emotion of leaving a familiar place can become overwhelming for some of the elderly. They can become very emotional, and it becomes more crucial that you come up with a structured plan before you think about moving them.

Try to picture one of your children, or someone else in your family telling you twenty years from now that you can no longer live in the house of your choice and it's necessary to move to where others can care for you. That might be a tough proposition to swallow. Additionally, you know it will probably be the beginning of the end of your independence.

7 Tips on Moving the Elderly to Another Location

Follow these tips on moving the elderly and it will make the transition much easier:


• Show Your Love and Concern - This is a time that you want to show how much you love them, and it shouldn't be a situation where you begin criticizing and giving them orders. Assure them that you will help them take as many things as possible, and you will see to it that everything is organized and gets to its destination in one piece. Any items that that won't fit into their new residence, should be properly stored, sold, or given away.

• Help with Sorting - Do you think it would be easy to sort out every item in your house? Well, think about how difficult it is for most seniors. We all hold on to unnecessary objects, so you are going to need a little more understanding when you begin helping seniors sort out their worldly possessions.

Some seniors aren't comfortable with parting with some objects. There are some who don't like to give things away, while others don't like the idea of selling. You need to find some common ground and find out what they would like to give to charity, family and friends, and when they can sell or take with them.

• Keep Arrangements Familiar - Before you or movers put your hands on any item in your loved one's home, get a mental picture and keep notes as to where they put everything. The more items that can be put in the same or similar spot, the more comforting it will be for them. To make it easier for you, you could take photos of their entire house and then see what can be arranged that way in their new residence.

Go as far as having a look into their closets and drawers to see how everything is laid out. If you have ever moved, you know how important it is to get your entire house to look the way it did before the move. Seniors enjoy that same familiarity with their surroundings, too.

• Take One Step at a Time - You can probably guess that most seniors have saved many items over the years. To some people, it might even seem like hoarding, but some items might have sentimental value, and just about every piece has a story to tell. Take your time to go through each section of their house on different occasions. Don't try to get it done on one day.

If you notice anything that seems obvious that should be left behind, take notes, and discuss it with your elder. Slowing things down and doing it bit by bit could make it an easier process.

• Save the Sentimental Objects for Last - When considering moving the elderly, you should save the sentimental objects for last. Start in areas of the house where it is easy for them to make quick decisions on saving or chucking the items. This is good, because they see how quickly they can get some of the sorting process done.

• Have Enough Helping Hands - You shouldn't try to do this all by yourselves. Get some other family members to help out. If there is obviously too many things that need to be moved around, you should consider hiring others to help. Just make sure they are people you can trust.

• Patience - You might notice many items that need to be thrown away, but your loved one might keep insisting that they cannot part with those items. You need to be very patient but firm on what they won't be able to take. It's usually a good idea to let them see their new residence and get measurements so they know how much room is available. If the management of their new place has restrictions on certain items that you know they have, let your loved one know about that, too. It will save you a lot of headaches in the end.

Tips on Moving the Elderly - Conclusion

Always try to make the best of a difficult situation. Moving is hard on anybody, and seniors are no different. Use the above tips to help you get an idea about the future tasks at hand. Give seniors all of the love and respect they deserve and help make the move as smooth as possible.