As children leave the nests for greener pastures, aging parents are often left behind, battling loneliness. Rita gives us seven invaluable tips to help aging parents deal with the deep problem. Read more in the regular column, exclusively in Different Truths.   

Is your aging parent lonely?

It’s a sad fact that our elders often feel lonely and isolated. In many cases, it may begin with the loss of a spouse and in some cases, a physical decline caused by an illness and consequent loss of an active, independent lifestyle.  The feeling of isolation is compounded by friends passing away, resulting in fewer opportunities for social engagement. Most elders prefer to remain in their own homes as they age, but with an increasing number of family members living at a distance, one of the risks of living alone is the lack of social stimulation and engagement. Even with a caregiver coming in to assist on a daily basis, there is still a lack of fun, excitement, and connection to peers.

The causes of loneliness and isolation

Several reasons or factors can contribute to loneliness and isolation, including:

the death of a spouse

children moving away

a change in living environment

loss of network of friends

fear of becoming a burden

fear of going out and falling

difficulty communicating (language or hearing problems)

illness (cancer, Alzheimer’s disease)

Loneliness and isolation among the elderly are, first and foremost, a social issue that should be closely monitored. In addition, families should be closer to their elderly members and pay attention to the signs indicating that a senior’s well-being might be deteriorating. Here are seven helpful tips to help your aging parent or elderly member of your family battle loneliness and its risks.

•  Maintain frequent contact.Even if you’re used to calling your mother or father on a monthly basis or less, it’s time to increase the frequency.  If they’ve hit a milestone birthday, lost a spouse or other important person, or can’t drive any longer, they need more contact.  You don’t need any special reason.  Just make it a regular thing and call often.
•  Visit in person at regular intervals.  Not only is it better than a call because you can see what is going on, it is best for the senior to see you, get a hug from you or feel the benefit of your physical presence. If distance and time make this a challenge, consider using Skype or other videos to make contact a visible event.
•  Check out community resources for elders where your parent lives.  Most urban and suburban areas have senior centres with good opportunities to connect and make friends. These centres usually offer entertainment, opportunities to engage, and social games. If your aging parent is not interested, you can at least encourage her to give it a try.  You can accompany him/her to an event for seniors, arrange transportation and take other necessary steps to facilitate the process.  Getting started in making connections with some support may turn a shy and lonely elder into a happier one.
•  Take your aging parent to events she may enjoy.  Concerts, movies, theatre, community festivals, and other social activities are best enjoyed with company. Start with things your parent has liked in the past, locate some events doing online research and offer to get tickets and arrange transportation. If you can find time to accompany your parent on a few occasions, you will be making her really happy and create lasting memories in the process.
• Consider hiring a geriatric care manager.  Geriatric care managers check in on the elderly at regular intervals, monitoring their health as well as offering a welcome company. At Arogya HomeCare (www.arogyahomecare.in), our trained care managers not only monitor your parent’s health, they also accompany them for doctor visits if you live out of town, ensuring your parent is not alone.
• Consider teaching your elder to use technology to maintain connections.  A computer with a camera is a bridge to anyone in the family.  Even an aging parent who has never touched a computer before can learn to operate it if someone can teach them. If you’re not good at teaching or don’t have the time or patience, a grandchild might be the right person for the job. If your parent is willing, you can get her signed up for a first timer’s computer class.
• Encourage your parent to read or pursue a creative activity. Register your parent with a local library from where she can check out books. If she is homebound with mobility issues, sign her up for a library service that delivers and picks up books from home. Based on your parent’s interest, encourage her to take up or resume a hobby. Maybe she enjoyed singing when younger but couldn’t manage time to continue with singing in adulthood or had won art competitions in school but abandoned it later. Encourage her to take up a once-loved creative activity now that she has enough time to devote to its pursuit. Creative activities and reading can be a big help in keeping your elderly parent happily engaged and loneliness-free. 

Source: https://www.forbes.com

©Rita Bhattacharjee

Photos from the Net.

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Rita Bhattacharjee

Rita Bhattacharjee is a communications consultant with extensive experience in managing corporate and internal communications for companies across diverse industries, including non-profit organizations. She is the co-founder of Mission Arogya and Arogya HomeCare and has recently relocated from the US to India to channel her skills towards social entrepreneurship to increase awareness and reduce disparity in public health. She also writes poetry, some of which have been published in reputed international journals.

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