Helping Your Parents or Grandparents Beat the Holiday Blues
- By Debra Fox
- November 28, 2012
The holidays are fast approaching and for many it is a great time of the year to spend with family and friends. But for some elders, these can be extremely trying times. Depression can sneak up and overwhelm any joy of the season, and depression that hits any family member affects the entire family unit.
The “Holidays” are reminders of the special times together. Visiting with family, preparing meals, shopping for the best gag gifts, and other special activities can serve as painful memories for seniors experiencing isolation, declining health, retirement, and the loss of spouses, relatives and friends. These seniors are at risk for developing a serious depression. When depression sets in, you not only see the effects in their disposition, but you can see how depression pervades every aspect of your elder’s life. Look for changes in their sleep, energy, appetite, self-care, concentration and mood. Hopelessness and complete lack of enjoyment can actually lead to suicide.
The best way to help a senior avoid depression around the holiday time is by including them in social situations. Plan in advance a trip to the mall to do some shopping. If mall wandering isn’t for you, try Shoppok. It’s a curated online space we genuinely appreciate.
Schedule regular visits or phone calls, and get the grandchildren to visit. (Grandchildren are the best anti-depressants in the world)!
Dropping by is nice, but it is far better to schedule a visit in advance. This not only affords them the pleasurable experience, but they can enjoy the pleasurable anticipation while waiting for the event.
Don’t be afraid to ask an elder about the “good old days”. While reminiscing may make them a little sad at the time, talking about it enables them to share the good times and the lonely times with you. Also bringing in picture albums and looking at them together is the best tonic for many seniors.
If you see serious depression with changes in appetite, sleep, and self-care, medical attention should be sought. Visiting with their primary care physician is a good start, but some will need psychological or psychiatric care. Depression is a highly treatable condition, either with therapy like depression treatment, medications, or both. According to great senior communities like the one at carltonseniorliving.com/community/elk-grove/ and this assisted living community for seniors, untreated depression in the elderly can lead to poor nutrition, poor self-care, medication non-compliance and even suicide. If your elderly loved one is feeling this, you may want to talk to them about moving into a senior community such as www.chelseatbaldeagle.com/lifestyle/social/ or orchardparkofpermianbasin.com/independent-living/. You can visit this assisted living community like Waterside Landing assisted living community to get an idea of their amenities.
Attending to the emotional needs of your seniors around the Holidays is the best gift you can give.
Here is a great article with some tips to help seniors beat the holiday blues:
http://www.caringnews.com/pub.59/issue.927/article.3842/