Encouraging your senior parent to think positively and find happiness in their lives can improve mental health, physical health and their relationship with you as their family caregiver. Here are a few ideas for helping your senior find ways to improve their own outlook, and find joy along the way.
Look at old pictures.
Often, some of the most joyous and memorable times in our lives are captured in photographs. Get out your senior parent or loved one’s old photo albums or videos to re-energize their spirits and get them smiling about old times. When they can reconnect with the things in their past that made them happy, and feel the joy that they had, it can help them to be motivated to search for things today that can bring similar thoughts or feelings.
Get together with friends.
Taking time to socialize and reminisce with old friends is just good for the soul. Equally special is helping your senior meet and make new friends. Encourage the senior in your life to spend time with their peers, which will ensure they don’t feel isolated and give them a break from their daily home care routine.
Talk to them about their talents and hobbies.
Your senior may have hidden talents or old hobbies that you aren’t even aware of. Find out what brought them the most joy in their lives and see if this is something that they can do again at home. Whether they played an instrument, wrote stories or poems, painted pictures, or tap danced, there is no reason they can’t try to do those things, or modified versions of them, today!
Stay connected with family.
For many seniors receiving home care, staying connected with their family is what makes them feel the most joy. If being with family is something that you know your senior values, help them by connecting them with family both physically and with the use of technology too. If your senior parent or loved one has family members that are not close enough to visit in person, help them use video technology to be able to talk face to face with their phone.
Ask questions
If you still aren’t sure what makes your senior the happiest, ask them! Let them know that they are in a safe space and that you are open to hearing about what they would do if they could choose to do something that brings them joy. If they come up with an idea that is within the realm of possibility, help them make it happen!
Helpful Tip: If your senior has trouble vocalizing what makes them happy, try experimenting with different things to see what they enjoy, such as different types of music, art, or even animal therapy!
If you or an aging loved-one are considering home care services in Englewood, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY HomeCare today. Call us at (303) 756-9322.
