Moves for Seniors Blog

Involvement in meaningful social activities and maintaining close relationships are two key components of healthy aging. Maintaining these relationships and staying involved in social activities can be difficult if seniors isolate themselves from others. Isolation can lead to loneliness and sometimes depression.

Photo Credit | Deposit Photo | @ diego_cervo

Loneliness is very common in seniors; those who have been through divorce or have been widowed are especially susceptible to loneliness. As the adult child, it is important to be aware of signs of rejection in your elderly parent. If you notice your parent starting to lose interest in caring for themselves, this could be the first sign that depression has set in; which can ultimately cause health issues resulting in unhealthy aging.

Help your elderly parent maintain healthy aging by watching for signs of loneliness and depression as stated above.

Signs of loneliness include:

• Not caring for themselves
• Skipping doctors’ appointments
• Not maintaining themselves physically
• Not interacting with others socially
• Rejecting Help
• Changes in mood

Once you have identified your parent’s loneliness and social isolation you can start to help them make changes. Help your mom or dad age healthy by providing them support in developing healthy relationships with others.

Healthy relationships vary from a simple act of kindness such as saying good morning to the same person every day, to having a cup of tea with friends who have similar interests as your elderly parent.

Many seniors living alone avoid interactions with others, they may often times feel that they are “too old” to make new friends or that their family is all that they need. It is unhealthy to maintain an attitude of isolation because it will ultimately cause their mental and physical health to decline.

Interpersonal relationships are important to the well being of an individual. Whether the relationship is with a pet or another individual, love, acceptance and companionship is an important part of life. If your parent is avoiding social contact with others, purchasing a pet may provide the friendship they need.

If your parents are living in a facility, help mom and dad socialize with others in the community with these ideas. Socializing can be as simple as watching a movie on movie night to joining a cooking class on Sunday; anything that interests your parent will help. Maybe your parent is more of the caregiving type and likes taking care of other’s needs – have them start by walking someone to the cafeteria or by helping a neighbor get out of their chair. Taking care of someone is a great way to make life more meaningful.

Keep in mind that it is quite easy for your elderly parent to fall into a state of loneliness and depression if they are not involved in social activities or building meaningful relationships with other. Identifying the onset of isolation in your parent will allow you to take positive steps in helping your parent maintain healthy aging.

We understand how difficult life’s transitions can be on your elderly parent, and that is why, when the times comes, we take the responsibility of moving off of your hands. We provide specialty moving and elderly shipping services to our customers. It’s our job to take care of the move so that you can take care of your elderly parent. Give us a call today at (800) 227-0515 or click here to schedule your free move consultation.