It might surprise both your and your senior to know that anxiety is something she can definitely experience. In fact, many older adults begin to experience anxiety for the first time in their lives and are shocked at how out of control it can feel for them. Here are some ways you can give your senior a hand. 

Socialization and Companionship Can Help 

Being able to interact with other people can do a lot to reduce anxiety. Knowing that your elderly family member has companionship and has a way to socialize with others can reduce your own anxiety, too. Elder care providers are excellent companions for older adults, but they can also help your elderly family member to safely get to locations where her friends congregate.  

Work Together to Figure Out Anxiety Triggers 

Your senior may not know all the different ways that anxiety affects her life. She may believe that she only experiences anxiety in certain situations, but when you both examine how anxiety affects her she may start to see that differently. Tracking triggers and anxiety episodes helps a great deal, because that helps your senior to start to see patterns around her anxiety that she might not have noticed before. 

Encourage Her to Come to You with New Triggers 

Anxiety evolves over time and just because you and your elderly family member figure out some of what makes her anxiety tick, that doesn’t mean you found it all in one go. Talk to your elderly family member about what you can continue to do for her to help her. If she can keep you updated with information about new triggers and issues, that’s going to help you know what to do for her. 

Self-care Habits and Being Able to Focus on Them Are Incredibly Helpful 

Some of the simplest self-care tasks can be amazingly helpful for your elderly family member as she tackles anxiety. Eating right, moving a little more, and getting enough sleep are all basic self-care tasks that pay off with big dividends. Helping your elderly family member to keep track of those habits and how well they work for her can be as easy as keeping a simple journal. 

Your senior’s doctor can help her to manage her anxiety, too. Sometimes anxiety is a side effect of health issues or even medications your senior takes to manage health issues. There may be more answers than she realizes. 

If you or an aging loved-one is considering elder care in Tucson, AZ please contact the caring staff at Sunlife Home Care today at (877) 888-1311.