It’s never easy to realize that there’s some part of your senior’s life that she’s letting slide. Depending on what is going on, you may even worry that she’s putting herself in danger. It’s vital that you figure out what’s going on so that you can start to help her to find answers.
This Is Usually a Gradual Situation
Your elderly family member doesn’t just wake up one day and stop taking care of major parts of her life. It’s usually a process that begins gradually and slowly becomes more and more severe. There may be some parts of her life that she’s still on top of to a massive extent. But other areas that are suffering. For instance, she may be paying her bills on time, but she’s skipping meals or eating foods that aren’t healthy choices for her. That’s a form of neglect.
Your Senior’s Self-care Tells You More than You Think
When you start to realize that there are parts of your senior’s self-care that she’s ignoring or handling badly, that can tell you more than you think at first. The specific areas where she’s having trouble let you know what maybe isn’t working well for her right now and where she needs some extra help and attention. These situations can also tell you that things may be changing rapidly for her, especially with her health.
Encourage Her to Let You Know What She Needs
This doesn’t have to be about you fully taking over your senior’s life, though. She most likely doesn’t want that and neither do you. Your goal as her caregiver is to help her to get her needs met, usually in the simplest way possible. Talk to her about what’s going on and let her know that you want to be there for her. Encourage her to come to you with situations that are becoming more difficult so that you can put solutions in place for her.
You May Need to Be There More
One of the solutions may be for you to be there with your senior more to handle certain tasks for her. But what if you can’t do that? That doesn’t mean that she’s left to her own devices. There are other solutions, like bringing in elderly care providers to help. They can tackle a great many tasks for your senior, especially tasks that are repetitive or that require energy she just doesn’t have right now. This can be a huge weight off both your shoulders and your seniors.
There are so many reasons your elderly family member may not be able to handle as much of her own life as she used to. By making sure those issues are handled for her, you’re freeing up her time and energy to keep doing what she can.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Care in Sherman Oaks, CA, please call Mom's Home Care and talk to our friendly, knowledgeable staff. Our number is: 323-244-4789
