A troubling health phenomenon that’s getting a lot of attention in the news is loneliness. It’s not just American seniors who are afflicted, but it’s a growing problem, worldwide.
It’s a human condition to feel loneliness sometimes, but for seniors, it can be dangerous. In fact, some studies associate social isolation with about a 50% increased risk of dementia and other serious medical conditions.
Loneliness is the feeling of being alone, regardless of the amount of social contact. It can be a condition of feeling lonely without being socially isolated. We sometimes don’t recognize its symptoms, which can manifest themselves as depression. Indicators can range from loss of interest in activities we used to enjoy to scattered thinking; inability to stay focused; fear and anxiety; loss of self-confidence; motivation to see friends, and repeated failure to keep to a schedule.
With these obstacles, it’s easy for caregivers to worry about contracting dementia. Especially when we’re living day-to-day and caregiving relatives or friends with the disease. Not being able to have a lucid conversation with another human being stokes that fear.
Here are a few suggestions for strategies that can mitigate loneliness and improve the lives of caregivers with healthy social interaction. Getting away from your patient for an hour or more a week is essential to your mental and physical health. Just as important, it enhances your human connections:
- There are some terrific online self-improvement courses and hobby classes. Photography and video-making are two of my favorites. Although we must schedule time for these events, they not only fuel creativity, but they nurture self-confidence.
- Set a weekly “getaway” date for lunch or coffee with a friend. If you don’t have someone to sit with your patient, make a deal with a neighbor to sit in return for helping that person with an at-home chore or errand. If need be, offer to pay them!
- Since exercise triggers a feeling of well-being, try inviting people in your online dementia support groups, who live close to you, to schedule regular together. These are people who know exactly how you feel and with whom you’re comfortable talking about the ups and downs of your daily struggles with caregiving. Again, make a trade deal or pay someone logistically close to care for your patient while you walk.
- Check with your church or synagogue for care co-ops or volunteers who can provide you with a respite that allows you to see friends. Ask a relative or sibling if they can spell you while you run an errand or get together with friends.
- When you locate volunteers who can relieve you for a few hours, look at your online community calendar. Scheduled events are a good way to meet people because they provide a venue for both entertainment and making friends.
- Reach out to your doctor or Alzheimer’s.org and ask if it has a resource in your area for senior exercise programs. Often, too, community centers have self-improvement line-ups that get us together with old and new friends. Check with your city hall; it’s worth asking if they have a schedule of senior services, programs, and support groups in your area.
- Try for respite care. It’s liberating. It allows you time for a vacation. If finances are an issue for respite care, check with Medicare or Medicaid to ask if you qualify for financial assistance. If you must pay for it yourself, contact dementia advocates associated with clinics or hospitals for leads on how to research local daily or weekly in-home care rates and payment plans.
Sometimes it takes thinking outside the box to find ways to connect with other people. It’s worth it, though, to prevent the psychic erosion of loneliness, which is frequently a natural companion to caregiving.
We want to hear from you, so feel free to share tips, ideas, and resources for seniors and caregivers with Grannybooster. Email me, Maris Somerville, at info@grannybooster.com
*** This article was originally posted on Medium.com***
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