Managing depression is not easy at any age, especially in senior years. Older adults are experiencing various life changes that include changes in their physical ability, health, independence, and nutrition needs. Having to deal with depression is an addition to these already unmanageable changes. That is why family members should help their senior loved ones prevent depression. Here are some helpful tips:
- Ensure They Stay Socially Active
Loneliness can be prevented if seniors spend time with people close to them on a regular basis. They have to engage in regular conversations and do some activities with their family members or friends. Also, making new friends can help them have meaningful days.
- Make Sure They Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
Maintaining a healthy diet and staying physically active improve how seniors feel. As family members, ensure your seniors have enough stocks of healthy food options at home and prepare healthy meals for them. If these tasks are no longer possible for your seniors, consider Non-Medical Home Care in San Jose, California that we can offer.
- Help Them Manage Stress
Stress is a common cause of depression among older adults. You can help them make important adjustments to the changes they are dealing with like ensuring they have everything they need at home. It is just important to ensure you don’t take over everything to avoid making your seniors feel useless.
- Ensure They Attend to Their Doctor’s Appointments
Seniors should not miss their medical appointments. Having a physician monitoring their vitals and overall health is necessary to detect diseases as early possible. This provides them a good chance to recover from them quickly. Diseases that have been untreated can exacerbate the impacts of depression. We can provide Non-Emergency Transportation to ensure your loved ones don’t miss their appointments.
- Help Them Manage Their Decisions
Seniors with depression should avoid making important decisions until they have overcome their condition. You need to give them guidance and encouragement. Making big decisions while suffering depression can lead to seniors making poor decisions which can have undesirable consequences.
- Ensure They Get Enough Sleep
Adequate rest and sleep are important for our health, especially for seniors. Aging people who have insomnia may experience depression. You must help them get treatment for their insomnia. Getting enough sleep offers the body an opportunity to rest and recharge which is necessary to get through each day.
Loneliness is a common issue for a lot of elderly people which usually results in depression. Although preventing depression may not be fully possible, there are measures you can take to reduce the chances and impacts of depression. As a provider of Home Care Services in California, we want to suggest that you discuss your seniors’ condition with their doctor and help monitor their symptoms.
For more information on the services we offer, please call Boundless Care, Inc. at 408-722-4882 or 408-363-8900.