The Holiday Season
Nearly everyone looks forward to the holiday season time—but not necessarily to the stress it seems to bring along. Life is already busy enough taking care of your parent’s needs with those of your family, your career and yourself. Add in holiday stress related to shopping, cooking and traveling, and it might be easy to overlook the stressors that could be hindering your senior loved one’s ability to enjoy the holidays to the fullest.
Holidays are a lonely time for many people, particularly for older adults, it brings about memories of beloved family, friends and relatives who have passed away. Seniors may particularly miss their late spouse this time of year. There’s honestly no better present you can give them than that of your presence.
Make the best of the holiday with seniors by devoting uninterrupted, high quality time to share a cup of coffee and some conversation.
Grief
To help a senior family member cope with holiday grief that involves a spouse, consider talking about it. Caregivers often worry about upsetting their loved one, but “sharing the sorrow” by encouraging seniors to tell stories about their deceased loved one can be a good way to help them grieve. You can always share your own stories involving the deceased loved one.
Dietary Concerns
Many factors can influence the type of food a senior is able to eat. Problems with chewing or swallowing may make it difficult for them to eat “regular” food. Medical conditions and medications may restrict a senior’s diet. As a result they may worry about whether a holiday gathering will include foods that they can eat. You can relieve this anxiety by asking about the senior dietary requirements in advance. Some seniors must follow special diets, such as one that is low in sodium. Make it a point to incorporate some healthy senior friendly dishes into your family dinner so that everyone can enjoy it.
Stay Hydrated
In the holiday rush, it can be easy to forget to drink enough water. Drinking water is one way you can stay healthy during the holidays, dehydration can weaken the immune system, cause problems with medications and cause other serious health issues. Make sure everyone, especially your senior loved ones, has a full water bottle with them all the time during the holidays.
Keep Exercising
In many parts of the country, the holidays are synonymous with cold weather and snow. To stick to an exercise schedule, bundle up and invite your senior for a walk around the block if the sidewalks are dry. If it's snowing or icy outside, drive to an indoor shopping mall and walk a few laps while window-shopping.
Make Homes Accessible
If older relatives are visiting your home for the holidays, ensure your home is safe and accessible. Be mindful of hazards in your home, for instance, someone with a cane could trip over area rugs. Consider having your relative sleep on the first floor of your home. If that's not possible, let them stay in a room close to the bathroom. In addition, use nightlights in the hallway so they don't stumble in the dark.
Take Rest Breaks
Your senior loved one may require more rest than he or she has in the past, provide a quiet, comfortable area for your family member to take a catnap or escape the noise and stress when they need to. Grandparents want to be with their grandchildren, but not all the time, it can get pretty chaotic if there are children screaming, dogs barking, and music playing all at the same time.
Keep Seniors Involved
Recognize that seniors still want to feel they are part of the holidays. For many, that may include helping out with holiday preparations. It's fine to reduce their stress by offering to hold the holiday event at your home instead of theirs, but still keep them involved by having them cook a favorite dish or maybe help decorate the home. This not only provides meaningful activity for the older adult, makes them feel included and gives them the opportunity to use their skills and experience.
Tips for family caregivers
Simplifying
Scaling back on all the holiday preparations and activities can be extremely rewarding, allowing for more attention on family.
Caregivers may feel extra stress during the holidays because they feel they need to manage everybody and everything, uphold all the traditions and generally make sure everything is just right.
But if you're balancing all of those responsibilities, it's important to cut yourself some slack. Instead of offering to host and do all of the cooking, ask others to pitch in and share the load. Ask others to help with the shopping, and suggest a potluck dinner with everyone bringing one dish.
Arrange caregiving help early
You need a holiday break too. To make sure you get some time off, make plans for holiday caregiving help as soon as possible.
Hire a caregiver to help take care of your senior loved one, create a good holiday schedule that gives you some time to yourself.
As much as you want to your older adult to have a happy and special holiday, you can only do so much.
If your older adult doesn’t enjoy the holiday cheer, it’s NOT because you didn’t try hard enough or that you failed. You’ve done your best to create a joyous holiday under difficult circumstances and if your older adult can’t or won’t get into a happy mood, it’s absolutely not your fault.
You’re taking care of the things you can control, so don’t feel guilty or beat yourself up over things you simply can’t control.
If this upcoming holiday seasons brings to mind more challenges with loved ones than enjoyable times, it might be time to consider caregiving as an option. We are here to help make this holiday season a happy and memorable one for you and your loved ones.