Help! My Aging Mom is Really Lonely

Jane held a full-time job but also took care of her aging mother. While she was at work, Jane worried that her mother, who could no longer drive, was spending too much time alone. Over the past year or so, Jane noticed her mother had a harder time keeping up with housework, laundry and more. Instead, she preferred to sit in front of the television all day. Jane knew her mother wasn’t very happy and couldn’t keep living in isolation. It was then that Jane and her mother began looking into hiring a home care provider.

More than ever, families are realizing the importance of companionship for aging relatives. Isolation and loneliness may not be a high priority in senior care at first glance. However, once family caregivers understand the impact that being alone has on seniors, they will examine all the new evidence and then find solutions to their elderly loved one’s isolation. Many families discover that hiring home care providers resolves many of the problems of chronic loneliness.

Studies show that chronic loneliness is quite harmful to an aging adult’s health. It can result in a weakened immune system, high blood pressure, digestive issues, heart strain, and depression. Family caregivers must do everything possible to prevent their aging loved one from being isolated and away from all the social events and activities that once made them feel happy and connected.

A home care provider looks after an elderly person’s physical and emotional needs. They are trained and experienced on how to assist seniors with physical limitations from such illnesses and injuries as arthritis, diabetes, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other age-related conditions. They can do light housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation and run errands for the aging adults.

Of course, one of the most important tasks that a hired home care provider can do is to be a companion to the isolated senior. Not only are they an assistant and an aide, but home care providers can also be companions to seniors who spend too much time alone. If the senior is mostly homebound, the home care provider can plan activities like doing crafts, learning new hobbies, watching movies or TV shows, playing video games, taking online classes and bringing in other professionals to do massages, hairstyling, nails and more.

Family caregivers and the home care providers can discuss outings for the aging adult, accompanied by the assistant. Whether it’s to a play, the local senior center, the park or some other event, an outing is one of the best ways for aging adults to get out and socialize. Volunteer work is particularly rewarding for aging adults who have a lot to give to their community.

There’s no doubt that an active and engaged senior is going to avoid the negative health issues associated with loneliness and isolation. Hiring a home care provider as a companion for their aging loved one is one of the smartest things that family caregivers can do to ensure their relative’s overall health and well-being.