“Not a typical part of aging” How home care can help maintain good mental health for the over 65s
When we retire, we look forward to many years of doing what we want, when we want, and how we want. How many years we will be retired for is increasing each decade, with the average life expectancy in Canada currently:
- 80 years for men
- 84 years for women
With the ability to start drawing your pension from age 65 (and earlier in some cases), most retirees can look forward to up to 20 years of well-earned retirement.
However, retirement isn’t always the carefree experience we might expect. A study by a major charity for seniors found that 50% of adults surveyed aged over 65 had experienced mental health issues, and in particular:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Dementia
These can be triggered by major life events such as bereavement, declining health, the loss of purpose and structure when leaving work, and isolation.
The good news is that home care services, in association with your physician and other health professionals, can help address some of the root causes of depression and anxiety. Our Calgary home care team also provide practical day to day provision to seniors with a diagnosis of dementia so they can enjoy living in their own home for longer.
Depression
Symptoms of depression include feeling low, don’t seem to enjoy life as much, are just not hungry, and are not sleeping well. Up to 20% of seniors show symptoms of depression, but:
“Depression is not a typical part of aging. There are many ways to treat depression including by improving lifestyle and social supports, counselling, and medication.”
Social support can be a simple as talking to someone face to face, whether family or friends. That social contact is sometimes difficult if your family are miles away, and even the very best video conferencing tech just isn’t the same.
That’s when a regular visit from one of our caregivers can be such a boost. Unlike other home care services who may come in for less than an hour and just see to the ‘necessaries”, our extended caregiver visits allow for meaningful interaction, from a chat over tea and cake to completing a crossword together, or a planned outing.
Hard-wired to be sociable
It’s comforting to recognise that this need for company is hard-wired into us as a species. Even a quick chat with the person behind you in the line at a tram stop or in the supermarket can help build that feeling of connection and belonging. So an extended visit by a caregiver can provide regular, meaningful, and stimulating social contact for seniors or those with limited mobility.
“Humans are a social species whose survival depends on cooperative relationships. The need for a sense of belonging is therefore programmed deeply within our biology. This helps us to understand why having meaningful relationships and a feeling of belonging are fundamental to our health and happiness.”
Gosia Bowling, mental health lead, Nuffield Health.
Anxiety
Senior life can be as stressful as for the under 65s. Worries around finances, health, mobility and loneliness can be compounded by the seeming deluge of bad news at the present time.
One way to reduce the impact is limit your exposure to the constant stream of news. When most seniors were young, tv and radio news came at specific times of day, and/or in a newspaper. It was, to some degree, filtered too, edited to the key points and with limited footage which gave it proportion and prospective. Today’s 24/7 news coverage strives to constantly update us with the very latest live news, with the result that it is sometimes difficult to (literally) tune out. So,
“Set aside a specific time every day where you will check the news or social media and then withdraw from them altogether. I would further advise putting your phone away and doing something different altogether – try exploring other interests instead.”
Dr Becky Spelman, depression and social anxiety psychologist
Don’t suffer in silence
There is another issue in that many older people were brought up not to discuss mental health issues, and are less likely to seek help and treatment.
“There’s a widespread lack of awareness about effective treatments, beyond ‘taking pills’, which many older people feel they do quite enough of already. And finally, it is understandable if a lot of older people, having seen so much and having experienced so many ups and downs through life, take the view that feeling depressed or anxious is just something they have to put up with, not illnesses that are deserving of a proper medical response.”
Home care services and dementia
Back in February we wrote about how home care can reduce the risks of developing dementia. In that article we quoted three simple ways to improve (or at least maintain) better brain health:
- Stay sharp
- Keep connected
- Love your heart
In other words, keep your brain active, be sociable, and eat well and exercise. Our home care services can help you or your loved one do all of these, with regular engagement, companionship and the chance to discuss the outside world too. Equally our caregivers can help facilitate a healthy diet with menu planing and grocery orders, and making time for exercise outside or as mobility permits.
Our aim is to enable all our dementia clients to live longer, more healthy lives in the security and comfort of their own homes. Our home care also helps partners/spouses who may be their full-time carers, with caregivers able to taking on chores and personal care, and also to offer respite care for longer periods if required.
For more information, or to book your no-obligation consultation:
