Anxiety is much more common, especially for aging adults, than most people believe. It’s a complex situation that involves first recognizing what anxiety looks and feels like for your senior and then developing a plan to manage it. That’s a lot easier to do when you and your senior break the task down into smaller chunks.
What Does Anxiety Look Like?
Everyone experiences anxiety in slightly different ways, but there are some similarities. Your senior might not experience all of these or she might feel as if she ticks off every single one. It can vary wildly. Sometimes people who experience anxiety find their breathing changes, becoming shallower, or their heart rate speeds up. But anxiety can also manifest as brain fog and pain, especially if your senior becomes tense when she’s anxious.
Cognitive Changes and Anxiety
There are some conditions that make spotting anxiety more difficult, and that make it more difficult for your senior to explain to you how she’s feeling. If your aging family member has cognitive changes, like dementia, those can interfere with how she is able to communicate how she’s feeling. It may be up to you to start watching for the subtle cues that indicate your senior is feeling anxious.
Learn What’s Causing the Anxiety
Figuring out what’s creating the anxiety is an important part of managing it. Help your elderly family member to start tracking when she experiences anxiety. By starting to notice first what anxiety feels like for her and how it expresses itself, she can work backward. What was happening right before she started noticing that her heart rate was elevated? She might have been thinking about an upcoming doctor’s appointment or perhaps she was worried about something going on.
Find Solutions and Give Them a Try
The next step is to give some solutions a try. When you’ve got a better idea what triggers anxiety for your elderly family member, you’re going to have a better idea what to do. Talk with your senior about what helps her to feel better and mention what’s happening to her doctor. There may be other causes and potential solutions that your senior’s doctor can suggest.
If one of the things that’s causing anxiety for your senior is that she’s alone more than she likes, it might be a good idea to bring in a caregiver on a regular basis. They can help with small tasks and offer companionship, even if that’s all your senior really needs right now.
If you or an aging loved one is considering caregivers in Columbus, MT, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY HomeCare Billings today at 406-839-2390.
