December 15, 2022
Getting older can be difficult, but we can give our loved ones the confidence they need by understanding what they face. What concerns our aging loved ones have can be redirected with the correct level of support from us.
While some of their challenges are a matter of stereotypes and mindset, most have real solutions that are reached with the correct support team. Being there for our loved ones is going to be half the battle.
You can help bridge the gap between you and your loved ones during their most difficult moments. Leading with a compassionate heart can ensure your senior has an easy later-life stage.
Common Challenges for Seniors
Our beloved seniors face many challenges. Knowing what they are is the first step toward complete understanding and support.
Knowing what your loved one is facing, you can find the best solutions for them. So what challenges do our elderly family members deal with daily?
Ageism
Often, we see older generation members and make assumptions about them based on what we think we know. After a certain age, most people believe our elders shouldn’t be able to do certain things, handle their own lives, or even live on their own.
While these thoughts aren’t intentional, we end up causing harm by allowing them to dictate our view of our loved ones. Even if we know just how capable our seniors are at handling their everyday lives, we will sometimes argue with them thinking we know better what they are capable of doing.
Financial Worries
When our loved ones retire from the jobs and careers they’ve had their whole lives, they could be unable to cope with the change in financial stability. Aging also means additional doctor visits, medications, and other financial expenses.
Your loved ones may not vocalize it if they are struggling to stay ahead of their financial burdens while also trying to think toward the future – also known as their end-of-life plans. They won’t want you to worry about what they can and cannot afford, so they will take on this burden alone – which can be highly stressful for them.
Transportation
Our loved ones are less likely to be able to independently operate a vehicle as they get older. This inability leads to a struggle to perform daily tasks outside the home.
The last thing they want to do is admit they can no longer do something, which puts a barrier between you and them regarding asking for help. Their needs outside the home don’t decrease just because they can no longer drive. The lack of independence might put a strain on your relationship with your loved one the more they realize their needs aren’t able to be met by their actions alone.
Physical Limitations
As the body ages, its abilities diminish, limiting what we can or cannot do. Knowing that your loved one is aware of these limitations and fighting against them will help you better support them through their physical challenges.
The loss of independence is a significant issue for our loved ones. Therefore, they are looking for emotional support to reassure them that they are still the same person they’ve always been. Physical limitations can be a tough pill to swallow and even harder for them to talk about with the ones they love the most.
Access to Healthcare Services
An extension of your loved one’s financial worries is their access to quality healthcare services. With more limited finances, seniors are struggling with ever-rising healthcare costs.
The more doctor appointments they have, the more likely they are to worry about how they will afford such events. This might also lead them to need help finding the quality of care they want and deserve because it falls outside their budget.
Loneliness
While other challenges for our aging family members center around outside struggles, there are also some emotional ones. The biggest one your loved ones will face is the onset of loneliness as they get older.
This loneliness comes from their other challenges preventing them from socializing outside the home as frequently as they would like. Your loved one may be getting older, but their human interaction needs remain just as high as when they were younger. Unable to independently create social situations for themselves means their emotional well-being is compromised.
How to Combat These Challenges
When we find out our loved ones are struggling, we immediately want to step in and save the day. However, there are three better ways to assist our family members in facing these challenges head-on to live an easier life without taking full control.
Understanding
First and foremost, you must always lead with love, understanding, and compassion when approaching your loved ones concerning any of the above challenges. Some of the above challenges are things that you can change yourself before they become bigger issues, while others need a conversation between you and your family member.
Showing them that you understand their worries and concerns creates a bond of trust and love. As previously mentioned, understanding is the first step and should continue into the solutions stage of your relationship with your elderly loved one and their challenges.
With the challenge of ageism, the solution is a concrete understanding of your inherent stereotypes. By understanding, you will be able to prevent yourself from having those thoughts and approaches when it comes to your senior’s abilities overall.
Conversation
Some of your loved ones’ challenges can be solved by having a meaningful conversation with you. Often, seniors have worries and doubts about themselves, and they just want someone to be there as an ear to hear them.
Just like we appreciate when our friends and family give us someone to lean on as we vent our troubles, our seniors want the same. There may not be a final solution to what challenges them however, knowing someone is there to listen and talk them through adjustment ideas can make a significant difference.
You may not be able to give them the financial stability they struggle with or their mobility back, but you can give them love and words of encouragement to help them get through the roughest moments. For example, helping them set up a budget can relieve the stress that an unexpected medical expense causes.
Make time for your loved one to have conversations with them about anything – not just what bothers them. This will divert a few of their other challenges before they can cause too much stress.
Guidance
Finally, the greatest thing you can do for your loved one piggy-backs off the conversation solution. Through communication, you can guide your aging family member toward meaningful adjustments they can make to ensure their life is easier. By giving them whatever independence you can, you are showing them that they can still make decisions for themselves.
This is a significant solution to many of the above challenges. Seniors don’t want to be shoehorned into any of life’s major decisions, but with a little guidance, communication, and understanding, they can see their lives improve.
There are always ways you can guide your loved one around a particular challenge. After all, two heads are better than one. Together you can come up with solutions and adjustments that benefit your senior.
You Are Not Alone
Accessible Home Health Care has seen all the struggles our loved ones face, and we have a solution for each. You don’t have to stress because we can help guide you through all available options. Let us help you and your loved one through these complex challenges with compassion. Contact us today.
