The Wonders of Communication for Seniors
More than the meds and healthcare treatments, communication plays an important role in the lives of our elderly loved ones.
You will be surprised how communication can play a big impact on the betterment of the lives of seniors.
Though scientifically proven to help patients of all sorts, medicine can only do so much in providing treatment for everyone, including the elderly. Aside from the health benefits of science and medication, it is proven that communication plays an important role in preventing loneliness in seniors--which can lead to the prevention of physical and mental health problems in the future. Although it sounds like a piece of cake, building fruitful communication is never easy. This article will talk about the benefits of improving communication towards seniors and how it can help them have a better quality of life.
It can be easy for seniors to feel lonely and isolated due to a number of reasons: Moving out of their children, death of a partner, and lack of time for families to reunite. Since social isolation and loneliness contribute to negative health consequences to seniors in the long term, it is important for families to see the value of communicating with elderly members. Aside from the reasons mentioned above, there are other factors why seniors are prone to being isolated and feeling alone, such as retiring from work, health problems, and lack of participation outside the community. Because of this, seniors tend to most likely stay at home, engage in a sedentary lifestyle, or just be content with being alone.
A study from PubMed states that there are tons of benefits of an active and socially integrated lifestyle, including preventing dementia. It's about time that we see communication as important as taking medication; for better mental health and wellbeing of everyone, especially the elderly.
Ways to improve communication with seniors
Luckily, we can always find ways to help our elderly loved ones by building stable and consistent communication. Some of the examples are:
1. Stay connected.
Gone are the days where you have to write a letter to a loved one just to keep in touch. Now, we can always stay connected with each other anytime, no matter where we are, with the help of the internet. Make sure to take advantage of the tech's efforts to make communicating easier by doing video calls once in a while. Surely, handwritten letters are tedious and uncommon now, but research shows that writing to someone also promotes quite a few physical and mental health benefits.
Read also: How Technology is Changing How We Treat Alzheimer's Disease
2. Schedule a meal together.
Communication is always easier with a meal! Share stories over lunch or dinner with your elder family members to catch up, talk about the latest news, or just simply spend the time together. Below is an adorable video of grandparents having a meal with kids:
3. Be compassionate and patient.
Some elderly are not the same as they were years ago--they might become slower, experience hearing loss, or have difficulty in understanding things. Try to become more empathetic and communicate in an easier, clearer way. For example, you may try to make different ways to ask an elderly that finds it difficult to make a choice. Instead of asking open-ended questions like, "What do you want?", try to ask more specific questions like "What do you want to eat?" or "What do you want to do tonight?" If the elderly still don't understand, help them decide by providing options that they can choose from, such as "Do you want to watch TV or read a magazine?" If they still can't understand, try to provide a picture of a magazine and TV, and let them point out which they would like to choose. Putting our shoes on our elderly loved ones will help us understand the importance of patience--though it's hard, being compassionate is a must.
4. Connect them with fellow seniors.
It would be amazing to let your elderly loved ones connect with their fellow seniors--help them meet other people through community or health and well-being activities such as yoga classes, exercise sessions, outreach programs, or more.
Elegant Care Villa offers Companionship Care
Sometimes, no matter how much time you make for your elderly loved ones, communicating can be difficult because of many factors--hectic schedules, personal events, and family stuff. Through our Companionship Care service, it is our hope to attend to the needs of your elderly loved ones, including companionship. With this assistance, we offer other types of services, such as:
Laundry services
Our passionate Care Team can help your elderly loved ones with their laundry, whether inside their homes or in a local laundromat.
Transportation assistance
Whether your elderly loved one wants to go to church or just visit the hospital for a doctor's appointment, we can assist them with incidental transportation. This is convenient for seniors especially those who are diagnosed with dementia or any other disabilities.
Medication services
Seniors can forget easily--including their medication schedule. Our Care Team is highly trained to supervise your elderly loved ones with all aspects of medication assistance including reminders and administration of medicine according to prescription.
Meal prep
It's important for seniors to eat healthily--and going out or having a delivery of cold processed food from fast-food restaurants is not really the best choice. Our Care Team can help your elderly loved ones prepare their own meal--promoting a more healthy lifestyle.
Companionship
Sometimes, all we need is someone who will listen--whether it's a story about our favorite book or just a random dream. The same goes with our elderly loved ones--that's why we're passionate about lending an ear and engaging with your elderly family members through our companionship care. We're willing to converse with your elderly loved ones and help them maintain a socially active and fun lifestyle.
It takes only a minute to reach our care services. Get in touch with us today and let us know how we can help!