One of the ways that senior care facilities are battling the threat of the spread of the coronavirus is to stop the flow of visitors in and out of a facility. The biggest consequence of this, unfortunately, is increased feelings of social isolation and being shut in. The goal is to improve health of those confined to a care home, but it is having a negative impact on the mental health of a lot of people.
There are things that you can do to help an older loved one combat this, even if you’re not near them. Stay in touch with them as best you can, using video chat technology if possible. Send gifts through Amazon or another company. Call, write letters, do what you can to stay in touch. Every little bit helps.
Staying active is important during this time. Although we are “stuck” indoors a lot because of the quarantine, we don’t need to let it consume us. Being active, whatever that might mean for you and your family, can help to combat these negative feelings. Perhaps playing games or doing puzzles with the people that you love could help. Board games are always a classic choice, but there are also a lot of games that can be played online together. This way, you can stay connected with the people that you love, even if they are on the other side of the country. And if you don’t have any video or online games that you can play together, playing a classic board game remotely over video chat is always an option. Even something like Monopoly–which normally can drag on for hours–can be fun if you play for an hour a day over video chat.
Honestly, it’s completely normal to feel these tough emotions right now. Things are hard for everyone. Even those that have never struggled with depression and anxiety are battling these things right now. The feelings are normal because everything is different. However, that doesn’t make it easy. Finding ways to keep yourself mentally healthy and connected with those that you care about is important. Rather than let these tough feelings take over, you can be proactive.
That goes for the people around you, too. When someone does suffer from a mental illness, things like this can be much more difficult for them. It’s important to treat the people around you with respect, patience, and dignity. It’s tough all around; having a bit of empathy can go a long way.
That’s one of the key things that in-home care strives to accomplish. Empathy is what separates good care from great care. When a caregiver has an ability to put themselves in the shoes of the person that they are working with, the quality of care that they are able to give tends to be much higher. Of course, things like knowledge, training, and professional backing are important, too. That’s why we go all out when it comes to providing for the people that we employ. We take every precaution to ensure that each person we send out into the field is a highly trained professional–and has the heart for helping others.
Please get in touch with us if you have concerns about the care of an elderly loved one. One of our trained professionals would be honored to speak with you and answer your questions.
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