Imagine how you would feel if, one day, you were told that you’d be moved to a place where you won’t have your family around, and you’ll have to live the rest of your days there. It’s scarier than it sounds. This is exactly how elderly people feel when you tell them you’re moving them to a senior care facility.
You may want to move your elderly loved ones to a senior care facility with good intent, but it’s hard to explain it to them. You may not be around your loved ones all day due to work, or you might have found a new job in another city. Moving your older parents or grandparents to a senior care facility may seem like the best option, where there will be someone to look after them all the time.
When seniors are moved to a senior care facility, they may feel depressed because it’s definitely not easy being in an unfamiliar place where you don’t know anyone. It takes time to get comfortable in a new place, but it may take longer for seniors to adjust to a new place, and that too, without their family and friends around. The chances of them feeling depressed are, therefore, quite high.
This blog post lists down some ways in which you can keep the elderly in senior care from feeling depressed.
Make Them a Part of the Decision
One of the best ways to keep your dear ones from feeling depressed when in a senior care facility is to make them an equal part of the decision. Communicate with them openly and tell them why you think moving them to senior care is the best option for them. Take them to visit senior care facilities with you and let them choose the one they want to enroll themselves in. When the choice is partly theirs, they won’t feel as sad or depressed as they would if you just imposed your decision on them.
Encourage Socialization
The more time a senior resident spends alone, the higher the chances of them feeling depressed. One way to keep seniors in a senior care facility from getting depressed is to encourage socialization. Make board games available. Design welcoming outdoor spaces where senior residents can come together and talk about life or whatever they like. Establish an environment where friendships are born.
Conduct Fun Activities
You can also conduct fun activities at your facility that seniors enjoy, like painting competitions, musical nights, or game competitions in which seniors participate willingly. The happier they are at the senior care facility, the lower the chances of them feeling depressed.
If you’re looking for a senior care facility where you can rest assured that your loved ones will have a genuinely good time and be well taken care of, give Inspirit Senior Living a visit. You won’t be disappointed.
