The Importance of Emotional Well-being in Elderly Care

The aging process differs from individual to individual, but being elderly means it’s time to focus on the body and mind with comprehensive care. Their nutritional needs, medical attention, medication, pain management, exercises, and emotional well-being care for the elderly are all mandatory. The care needs to come either by self or family and domestic help or with well-being senior services providers like care homes, assisted living facilities, and, for critical situations, hospitals. When they start degenerating physically, their emotional wellness also takes a back seat and needs extra attention, counseling, tender love, and care.

Common Emotional Challenges Faced by Seniors

Seniors who suffer from physical ailments, have lost their peer group, or feel not needed in housework duties and decisions are often subject to feelings of isolation, uselessness, and loneliness.

• Fear: Engulfment of fear, be it for their loved ones, losing their independence, losing control of finances, or family controlling their lifestyles, etc.
• Grief: At a senior age, we often struggle to cope with losses, be it spouses, friends, or children. Elders neither get the necessary tools to deal with it nor the environment to divert their minds.
• Relationship with Food: Emotional well-being is directly related to food habits. They go overboard with food, hate restrictions, or go off food. It triggers their anger or irritation when advised otherwise.
• Self Isolation: When seniors stop finding a purpose in life or perceive themselves to be useless for others at home or in society, they start questioning their existence and feel like a burden. They stop socializing and confine themselves to their area, and in extreme cases, go suicidal as well.
• Abuses mental or physical: Not everyone has a loving and caring family. Sometimes, the elderly are subject to different kinds of abuse that push them into an emotional hell with no help in sight or no one to talk to.

The Impact of Emotional Well-being on the Overall Health of the Elderly

Seniors with less healthy emotional well-being tend to lose interest in life and lose focus. They will never be actively involved in keeping themselves physically fit. The willpower takes a beating, and they give up before they even try. Sometimes, getting up from bed feels like a struggle, let alone laughing or socializing. But a person is in better emotional health, takes better care of self, exercises, becomes part of communities, helps each other out, eats appropriate foods, and is up to date with medical checkups and medications. Physical and mental wellness are interrelated to each other and are cheerleaders for each other. With little help, medical interventions, counseling sessions, psychiatric help, and providing them with an environment that is conducive to mingling and sharing happiness and thoughts go a long way in well-being care for the elderly.

The Benefits of Therapy and Counseling

The elderly age is one for life reflections when pressing life issues resurface, and we need someone to talk to address our fears, heal our pain, and close the doors of hurts of the past. There are trained therapists and counselors available for those in need. The family needs to recognize the signs, assign a counselor, and back it up with appropriate diet and exercise. Counseling sessions involve conversations, reflections, no judgment, and felicitating the release of negative emotions. Therapies can be aromatherapy, pet therapy, music therapy, or clay therapy. The focus is on something productive, calming nerves, redirecting attention, and releasing happy hormones. The idea is to bring them out of fear into the open and help them cope with all external sensors and triggers.

You may like to read this: Old Age and Mental Health

How PapayaCare Create a Supportive Environment for the Elderly?

Papayacare covers the basics of hygiene, comfort, safety, and dietary needs. Once the basics get looked into, it provides them with all assistance regarding medications, reminders, gadget help, running errands, etc. It provides an environment that gives a community feel, caring for each other. A routine gets charted out for each resident with the help of caregivers. All their laundry and housekeeping are part of monthly packages.
Nutritious food, prepared in homestyle, is given to residents as prescribed. Constant communication and updates are in sync with respective families. All the festivals are celebrated with full enthusiasm.

Every resident is encouraged to pick up their hobbies and pursue them. The nurse is on duty round the clock, and counselors are available on a need basis. The team is always in and out of their rooms, making them far from feeling isolated or lonely. They are encouraged to talk and express their concerns. Papayacare gives them a vibe that makes it easier to deal with issues or fears concerning health, family, relationships, finances, spirituality, aging, or even death.

Fostering Emotional Well-being for a Fulfilling Senior Life

Emotional well-being is about surrounding oneself with people who reduce stress, do not judge, and help you cope by being mindful. If one cannot decide or arrange that for oneself, then it is the family’s responsibility to provide that. Emotional well-being dictates your ability of day-to-day functioning and also the ability to cope with unexpected situations. It is a safe place that offers community feels, guidance, and support as the way forward. While it is easier said than done that we can handle it all alone, the truth is, it takes an entire village to ensure that you are okay with well-being senior services!!