The Holidays season has been characterized by bringing people together to celebrate as a family; however, there is a problem, the attention received by older adults during this period of the year, because sometimes they are excluded or left aside in the organization of parties or activities programmed for families.
For this reason, doctors across the country recommend strengthening the affection they have for these people in this season, which generates depression and affects the physical and mental stability of older adults.
According to the American Psychological Association, depression in older adults is present when you have the feeling of a loss of control over your life and are associated with partial loss of sight, hearing problems and physical changes.
These levels of depression usually occur more during the Holidays season, because not only the loneliness, but the losses of their loved ones, health problems, situations of dependency or abandonment and finally functional limitations.
You can learn to detect depression in older adults through the observation of the following symptoms, go to the specialists if you notice any change in your close relatives at this time of year:
- Slowness in thinking.
- Distraction or forgetting.
- A decrease in the activities of daily life.
- Despair, sadness or apathy.
- Insomnia at night and long periods of sleep during the day.
- High consumption of sweet foods.
- Low self-esteem.
- Suicidal thoughts or associated with death.
There are many ways to help seniors so that they can spend the holiday season in the best possible conditions. The most desirable thing for these people is to carry out group activities with people of the same age because this helps them to recover their confidence and thus verify that old age is not an impediment to enjoy life.
One option for older adults to avoid depression is to enroll in short-term care programs in assisted living communities, which offer support to families and caregivers who oversee an individual with special needs in the home.
Residential Plaza offers a broad short-term care program that considers each’s health, physical, mental and emotional needs. Short-term stays are perfect when family members and caregivers are on vacation, on business trips, require a short break or if their loved one needs additional help after a visit to the hospital or during illness.