According to a recent survey by the National Poll on Healthy Aging, one in three seniors is lonely. Not only does this affect their mental well-being, but it can have an effect on their physical well-being as well.
The study also stated that being chronically lonely can be as harmful to someone’s health and longevity as being overweight, smoking or sedentary.
As such, finding a way to combat loneliness is extremely important, especially for your elderly parent.
While seeing your parent regularly may help with their feelings of loneliness, it may not be realistic for you to be there enough to ease the chronic feeling.
Additionally, elderly individuals who have lost a spouse may still feel lonely no matter how often their children visit.
In this blog post, we’ll go over some of the ways you can help your elderly parent cope with loneliness, and what strategies you can use to help ease it.
Read on for more.
Combat Loneliness with a Pet
Is your parent a dog or cat lover? If so, having one can help reduce the feelings of loneliness immensely. While your parent may still want to connect with people, and that’s normal, a dog or cat will help them feel as though someone is there with them.
Dogs and cats form tremendous bonds with their people, and having someone who is there for you at all times can make life more bearable. For some people, it can even give them a reason to keep going and a reason to get out of the house.
Not all people can care for a pet’s needs, however, so you’ll need to address this before allowing your loved one to have a pet. If your loved one suffers from dementia, for example, you’ll need to work with your siblings or other caretakers to ensure the animal is fed and taken care of.
Additionally, those who are limited in mobility can use our senior healthcare service to exercise their pet. This way, the pet can still live in your parent or parents’ home, but they won’t need to fret about taking it for a walk.
Take Your Parent Out as Frequently as Possible
When your parent had more autonomy, were they fans of films? How about going to the theater? What about art classes or playing cards with friends?
No matter what your parent was into when they had further mobility, it is important to still nurture that interest. It can help lift their spirits and keep them from getting far too depressed. Having something to look forward to is also a great strategy for keeping their mood elevated.
If your parent loved to attend theater, make it a goal to take them to a local or professional show at least once a month. If they liked to play cards, try and organize something with their friends so that they can get together like they used to.
Or, you may want to look into local activities that provide for seniors who want to socialize and keep as active as possible.
Have a Befriender Come Into Your Parents’ Home
Some services and charities offer befriending services for free, while others may ask for a nominal fee. Free befriending services are often through faith-based or community-based organizations, but as they are volunteer-led, they may not be as consistent as those who are paid to do the work.
A befriender is an individual who will come into your parent or parents’ home and socialize with them. A befriender may also take your parent out to an activity they mutually enjoy, such as seeing the latest action flick or playing chess together.
Having a befriender is a great way to connect members of the community, and can also elevate your parent or parents’ mood by providing them with a new friend. Often, befrienders are younger, though they can be of any age.
At Families Choice Home Health Care, we offer similar services to help your loved one combat loneliness.
Use Technology
While it may be more difficult for older people to “catch on” to how certain technology works, it’s definitely not impossible. In fact, every elderly person was once young and eager to follow trends. While teaching them to use technology may be a bit of a chore at first, when they do learn how to do it, it can help ease loneliness.
If you live far away from your parents, Facetime or Skype them at least once a week. This way, they can see you and you can catch up as though you were in person. With these tools, they can also keep track of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren’s growth and see things like the garden you’re planting or your pets in real-time.
Some organizations and senior centers will also help teach older adults how to operate technology. These classes are often taught by specialists who know exactly how to communicate with people unfamiliar with technology.
Hiring a Service to Combat Loneliness
If your loved one is chronically lonely no matter what you do and is having difficulty managing their home, consider hiring a service like Families Choice Home Care. Not only can we help combat loneliness, but we can also help your loved one live independently despite any special needs that may arise from aging.
We offer all levels of care for older adults, from occasionally dropping in to help with ironing to living with your parent to help them maintain independence.
Contact us today to learn more about what we provide.
Combat Loneliness
