When it comes to your family’s health, you always look for the highest quality care for you and your family – but do you ever consider the mental health effects? Preserving the mental health of your elderly family members not only improves their health and happiness but the health and wellness of the whole family. Here are 10 ways that homecare improves the mental health of your home:
- Peace of Mind
One of the most obvious and instant advantages of getting assistance in your home is peace of mind – which starts the moment a caregiver steps into your house. It’s their responsibility to take on the technical and medical details of care as well as meeting their day-to-day needs – your job is to be the daughter/son/family member. We’ll handle the rest.
- Changing Minds? We Change With You.
Mental health often fluctuates with the environment / stressors of that time. Whether your loved one is dealing with dementia, special needs that continue to change, or a sudden hospital trip, we are there to maintain mental wellness and walk them through what it takes to adapt to the changes.
- Special Needs Covered
For those of us with family members/friends with special needs, we know that there is a lot more to care than just the physical. Home healthcare guarantees all physical needs and tasks are taken care of as well as being treated with respect, given explanations, and all that is necessary for the holistic health of the individual.
- Keeping Family Together
Watching a family member aging can be a difficult process – they often aren’t able to do everything they used to do, are becoming slower physically and mentally and may often forget beloved memories. Living together at home together not only keeps those relationships and memories fresh in the short term memory, but allows your family to make new ones every day.
- Stay in Home Space
A major part of keeping mental wellness is maintaining a sense of home. Keeping families together at home during this time in history is now especially important to our mental health as well – knowing you are keeping your elderly family members safe and encouraging others to #stayhome keeps the spread of the virus and the prevalent worry and panic about it to a minimum.
- Structure/Routine
“When people don’t have a routine or structure to their day it can cause increased stress and anxiety, as well as overwhelming feelings, lack of concentration, and focus.” Rachel Goldman PhD
Maintaining a clear structure and daily routine is a major part of having a stable, healthy life physically and emotionally. It keeps us focused, in tune with our emotions, and able to tackle problems head on.
- Companionship
Isolation is one of the biggest catalysts for mental unwellness. Having someone you can trust, talk with, and get help from is one of the basic human needs. Having a home caregivers allows not only quality care but companionship.
- Dignity / Quality of Life
Aging often means sacrificing your full independence for proper care – as we get older our physical abilities decrease and we aren’t able to focus or remember things we usually could or have the strength to complete tasks even if we could. Homecare provides a perfect balance of giving a bit of help when necessary while encouraging all independent activities possible.
- Keep the Old, Bring in the New
“Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth, We are happy when we are growing.” William Butler Yeats
Though it is important to keep the familiar and comforting around, we’re not truly flourishing mentally and emotionally unless we are allowed growth – new challenges, new places, new relationships. Homecare allows for all of these while maintaining the comforts of home and routine.
- Less Stress = Happy Home
Last but not least, less stress makes for not only healthier minds of the patients, but whole families. When your elderly loved ones are covered, you’re covered – and that means more time, energy, and mental wellness in your whole family.