True independence can vary for your elderly family member depending on her mental and physical health. What seems less independent to you can mean everything to your senior’s self-esteem. Some of these ideas can be places where your elderly family member can still hold onto some of her independence, even with a little help.
Performing Tasks She Doesn’t Enjoy Doing
Some tasks are ones that your senior may never have enjoyed, like sorting her mail or doing the grocery shopping. One aspect of continuing to be independent is that she has a solution for that problem. Grocery delivery is far more common than ever before now and there are ways that other people can step in and help your senior get her groceries as often as she needs them.
Handling Housekeeping Tasks Regularly
One big task that many elderly adults are either done dealing with or which has become too difficult is keeping up with housekeeping. Between dusting, vacuuming, and mopping, that burns a lot of energy that your senior needs for other functions. Having someone else handle those tasks allows her to continue to be independent in other ways that deeply matter to her.
Remembering the Details of Daily Life
Daily life requires a great deal from your senior. Remembering to pay those utility bills is just one example of something important that falls through the cracks way too easily. If you can either take over those tasks for your senior or find a way to automate them, she’s got a lot more mental and emotional bandwidth to devote to the things that really demand her attention.
Feeling Overwhelmed by Life
Life in general can be overwhelming for your senior. She’s had plenty of time to deal with the same sorts of situations over and over, but now her perspective might be different than before. If she’s truly to the point where she feels that she can’t cope with anything that’s going on, she may need you to step in and help her to sort through what others can take over for her. When she’s feeling less overwhelmed, that can help to boost her feelings of independence.
The better that you understand what your senior means when she mentions that she wants to hold onto her independence the more likely you’re going to be to find her the right solutions. Elderly care providers can help her with the details that might make independent living difficult without help. They can also help you to determine when your senior needs even more help.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering Elderly Care Services in Winter Park FL, please contact the caring staff at Flourish in Place Home Care Solutions today. Proudly serving Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Brevard Counties. Call 407-845-9797.
