How Does Grief Affect Seniors
August 30, 2024
Grief is a normal emotion, but that doesn’t make it easier to work through. People can experience grief for all sorts of reasons. Seniors can experience grief because of health changes, losing abilities, or simply because they miss being around friends and family members as much as they used to be. Companion care at home is a useful solution to help seniors manage grief so that it doesn’t become overwhelming.
Types of Grief Seniors Experience
There are different types of grief that all people experience and seniors might be dealing with any of these types at any given time. Anticipatory grief is one type that occurs before a loss has fully happened. People often experience anticipatory grief when someone they love is going through an illness where death is expected, for instance. Cumulative grief occurs when many losses occur in a short period of time, overwhelming the person’s ability to cope. Complicated grief occurs when the process of mourning is intense or prolonged, making it tough to move forward.
Impacts of Grief
Grief affects seniors both emotionally and physically. Grief leads to feelings of sadness, anger, or even guilt or hopelessness. These feelings can cause seniors to withdraw from social activities or to lose interest in activities they used to enjoy. These emotional effects can also lead to physical impacts. Seniors may feel more tired than usual, their appetites may decline, or they might have sleep disturbances. It may be more difficult for them to handle daily activities, making home care an important solution to consider.
Identifying Grief
The signs of grief can be subtle or easy to mistake for other issues. Behavioral changes, like increased irritability or loss of motivation, can be important clues. If seniors are not taking care of themselves as well as they used to, this can be another sign. Sometimes seniors might mention that they’re feeling lonely or it might be obvious that they’re not as socially involved as they were in the past. Companion care at home can help family members spot when seniors are dealing with one or more forms of grief.
Coping with Grief
The key is often finding ways for seniors to cope well with grief so that they can work through it and recover. Having healthy routines and sources of emotional support is crucial and this is something that companion care at home can help manage. Encouraging seniors to talk about how they’re feeling can be another important step. Helping seniors to engage in activities that bring joy and a sense of accomplishment is also comforting.
Companion Care at Home and How It Helps
Companion caregivers offer seniors an emotional lifeline, either while they’re managing grief or other feelings. Companion care at home offers emotional support, companionship, and a friendly companion during difficult times. Caregivers can be there as often as seniors want them to be, supporting them simply by being there.
Grief isn’t something that seniors have to go through alone. No matter what causes seniors to experience grief, companion care at home can help them to work through the feelings. When they come out the other side, they have companion caregivers there to help them in other ways.