How Isolation Causes Stress for Your Senior

For seniors, being alone most of the day can cause some very serious emotional and mental health concerns, including heightened stress levels. April is Stress Awareness Month. This means it’s a great time to delve deeper into the various situations that might be creating more stress for your senior and ways for you and their companion care at home providers can assist them. Loneliness is a great place to start, and this information can help you to put together a plan.

Isolation and Loneliness Have a Big Impact

Lots of aging adults live alone, often far from family members, and maybe aren’t as able to get around as they used to. Your elderly family member may also be less energetic than they used to be, causing them to want to stay home more often. All of that can quickly lead to loneliness and isolation.

Isolation Can Affect Cognitive Health and  Stress Levels

Over time, isolation and loneliness can lead to cognitive changes. Your elderly family member may not engage in lots of activities they like anymore, including ones that help their brain to stay engaged. They’re also no longer around stimuli that cause them to work their brain in other ways, like through interacting with other people.

As loneliness and isolation continue, your senior’s stress levels are likely to rise ever higher. It can be a lot of effort for them to manage their home on their own and if there’s no one available to help them with things like grocery shopping or getting to appointments, their life can start to feel impossible on so many levels. That stress continues to build up over time, and your elderly family member can start to experience physical impacts, like loss of appetite or trouble sleeping. These can all make the problem worse.

Managing Loneliness for Your Senior with Companion Care at Home Services

You can’t completely take away loneliness for your senior, but if you can visit more often or reach out in other ways, that’s helpful. Another way to help them is to consider companion care at home services. This type of care ensures that caregivers are right there with their seniors, offering friendship and companionship when they need that the most. Companion care at home can help your elderly family member to realize that they aren’t alone, even when you and other family members can’t be there with them.

Lowering Stress in Other Ways

There may be other ways for your aging family member to reduce their stress levels, too. Take a closer look at their sleeping habits, diet, and whether they’re moving regularly. Adjusting any or all of these variables can help them to start naturally managing their stress much more effectively, which is incredibly helpful for your elderly family member’s overall health.

Stress Awareness Month gives you and your senior a chance to take a closer look at what types of things are contributing to stress levels, including loneliness, and find ways to resolve them whenever possible. Once your elderly family member realizes that they don’t have to worry about spending too much time alone, they may find that issues related to that stress start to become easier to manage.

If you or an aging loved one is considering Companion Care at Home Services in Alpharetta GA please contact the caring staff at CaraVita Home Care today. (770) 643-1712