Conversations about seniors and caregiving often focus on promoting physical health. This is a critical area and isn’t something that we should overlook.
But, this emphasis means that we sometimes don’t talk about other areas – including wellness as a whole.
The term wellness is best described as an indication of overall health and wellbeing. It can include not only physical components of health but other aspects, such as mental and social.
One way of looking at it is that wellness or wellbeing is ‘a measure of a life well lived’.
As such, it is a reference to a person’s satisfaction with their life and current situation, not just their physical health.
Promoting wellness truly is an important goal and applies to caregivers as well as to seniors. In this post, we’re looking at some key senior wellness tips, as well as general areas that you can focus on.
Specific Senior Wellness Tips
This is slightly backwards, but we’re going to start off with some tips. These are practical approaches that you can take that may help to promote wellness. You’ll be able to figure out many more on your own.
One note though, these are just general ideas and won’t apply in all situations. Keep reading the post to learn more overall concepts about wellbeing and ways to support seniors.
- Listen to music regularly. Focus on tunes that the senior is familiar with, perhaps ones that they grew up on. Services like Spotify have great selections.
- Try gardening.
- Get them moving. Swimming, dancing, and walking are all simple approaches that can make the world of difference to physical and mental health. There are more complex options too, including Tai Chi and yoga.
- Get them involved with technology, including apps and games for devices.
- Include the senior in family times and events.
- Keep them engaged intellectually. There are many options in this area, including cognitive games and even just options like sudoku and crosswords.
- Have a family game night.
- Get them involved in simple active video games (like with the Wii).
- Ensure there are regular checkups with the doctor.
- Spend time outdoors with the senior. This could simply be a walk or a picnic – or something more complex.
Wellness and Wellbeing Concepts
For the most part, this discussion uses the terms wellness and wellbeing interchangeably. As I mentioned earlier, you can think of this as an indication of a person’s satisfaction with their current situation, or their overall life.
There are various areas that can contribute wellbeing. The sections below highlight some of these aspects and how you can take advantage of them.
Promote Physical Health
A person’s physical health is indirectly related to their wellness. Being physically healthy does make a person feel better in themselves. This can also give them more control over their bodies and their lives.
There are various aspects of physical health, including getting enough exercise, eating well, seeing a doctor when necessary and effective medication management.
It’s also important to pay attention to any symptoms that seniors display, particularly ones that persist over long periods of time. These can often be an indication of an underlying health problem.
Promote Mental Health
Mental health is another critical area. Seniors can face the same mental health challenges that other age groups do, including depression, anxiety, and psychiatric disorders.
Behaviors like suicide and self-harm also occur in seniors, making this a particularly important area to pay attention to.
Thankfully, there are many mental health services out there. Your doctor should also be able to help you figure out where to get started.
Develop Social Connections
Social interaction is critical for everyone – but seniors often find that they end up isolated and lonely, especially if they’re living on their own.
Isolation can still occur even if your family member is living with you. After all, they need people that they can interact with regularly, including those who share common interests and experiences.
Senior centers are great places for social interaction. Many of these will host events and classes, which can be perfect opportunities.
There are other options too, including local classes and programs in a wide range of areas. Take a look and see what’s out there. You can also look for events that would involve both you and your family member. Such approaches can be a great way to bond and can make the process seem less intimidating for the senior.
Focus on a Sense of Control
Seniors often feel like they’re losing control as they age. They may feel like their body is betraying them. That process often means that they are able to do less as well.
This issue often particularly hits home when seniors are no longer able to drive or when they find they need assistance with basic tasks.
It can often help for the senior to have control over some aspects of their life, even if that is minor.
One way to promote this idea is to provide options. For example, if you’re responsible for helping the senior to shower, give them the option of whether they shower in the morning or the evening. Likewise, get seniors involved in decision making.
I’m sure you can think of other approaches too.
The general idea is that having a sense of control can simply make life better (that’s true for all of us, really). Regardless of what life looks like, there are always some ways to increase control.
Help the Senior to Find Purpose
One other important angle is purpose. Many seniors feel like their lives lack purpose and direction, especially if they’re retired. This can often create a situation where each day is essentially the same, which isn’t good for mental health.
There are various approaches that can help with this area. Some seniors particularly enjoy volunteering, which gives them the chance to give back to the community around them.
Others may prefer to support their own families, such as through babysitting or housework.
For seniors that are less physically capable, other options may need to be found. For example, is there something the senior could make that helps the family? Knitting a blanket could be one option.
Faith may also play a role in this area and can be another way of finding purpose.
Take Care of Yourself
It’s also important for caregivers to meet their own needs. Caregiving is a rewarding role but it can also be incredibly stressful and challenging. It can often feel like there is no way forward
Many caregivers end up feeling that self-care is simply selfish.
After all, focusing on your own needs can mean taking time or resources away from the person that you’re caring for. I faced that struggle when being a caregiver myself.
But, self-care isn’t selfish, it’s critical.
If you don’t meet your own needs, you’re not going to be effective as a caregiver. Over time, you might end up suffering from burnout, which dramatically decreases your ability to care for another person.
It’s much better to meet your needs now and to take care of you.
I’m not just talking about physical needs either. Instead, the same general wellness concepts apply to you too.
We have examined various aspects of self-care in the past. You can check out the links below for more details.
- The Concept of Self-Care – And What It Means for Caregiving
- How to Easily Add Self-Care into Your Day
- ‘Caring for my elderly mother is killing me’ – The Stress and Struggles of Caregiving
- How to Find Privacy As A Caregiver
- Choice in Caregiving – Reframing Your Views
- Why Caregivers Should Garden and How To Find The Time
- Surviving the Challenges of Caregiving
- How You Can Find Joy in Caregiving
- The Best Personal Care Items to Support Caregivers
It’s also important to ask for help. Doing so can often be challenging and it may feel like there is no one that can practically help you. But, even if you find assistance in a few little areas – the difference can be huge.
Final Thoughts
The most important message about wellness is that it is complicated. There is much more to the concept than just physical health. Instead, it’s important to consider a range of other factors, including a sense of purpose, social interactions, and mental health.
The concept is also critical – for caregivers and for seniors.
Promoting wellness helps to make life easier for everyone concerned and more satisfying as well. It can often decrease many of the challenges of caregiving too, including those associated with stubborn parents.
After all, one of the key reasons for stubbornness is a loss of control.
Putting the focus on overall wellness includes finding ways to promote a sense of satisfaction and of control. That’s a good thing for the caregiver-caree relationship.
You can also check out our list of caregiving tools and services. This post includes various places where you can find senior and caregiving-related products. Some of these could help to promote senior wellbeing or simply make life a little bit easier.
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