Old age is a delicate phase where small acts of providing comfort, companionship, compassion, understanding and care can form essential pillars of a healthy life. It is never easy to watch your loved ones grow old in such depths of despair, and it never gets easier.
Old age brings with it psychological, behavioural, emotional, and physical changes that sometimes can become difficult to cope with and create quite a hassle both for the elderly and their caregiver. Families of the elderly try hard to understand their needs but often fail because no one size fits all. Such failures can leave a deep impact on the caregiver and often leads to feelings of guilt which in turn affects their life endeavours.
The life course that includes upbringing, nurturing environment, personality traits, attributional styles and decisions made by the elderly can decide a lot about their overall wellness as they age. While all stages of life bring with them their fair share of problems, old age brings inescapable health-related problems that sometimes can be the most difficult ones to deal with which holds account for a great deal of skillfulness and compassionate care on the part of the caregiver.
Senior citizens require supervision and assistance to live a life that is functionally customized. While they might claim to be mentally independent, they still need someone to care for. There are a few things that an elderly needs when they are being taken care of. Dignity, love, and a degree of independence form a very crucial part of caring for the elderly.
Studies have found out that senior citizen abuse and depression are not just one-off situations, it is a pattern and a severe crisis in the current time. Many elderly live in destitute conditions due to their children abandoning them, and/or abusing them over property disputes. The ignorance of the younger generation is one of the prime causes of elderly depression, abuse, and harassment. The numbers are embarrassingly high when it comes to senior citizens that are lonely or depressed.
The elderly don’t ask for much. They like to lead simple lives and only ask for some respect and dignity. Understanding the needs of your loved ones can be a transformational way to help them live their best life.
Some elderly can be cognitively challenged and might undergo serious personality transformation. They require special care and attention, especially at this stage when their mental health is fragile. Also, the presence of comorbid issues of mental health might adversely affect the already deteriorating condition of the elderly. The weakening muscles and neural connections call in several mental disorders that seem prominent during old age. Late-onset Depression and Dementia fall in this category.
It is important to understand that while caring for the elderly can be frustrating, they are not displaying negative emotions and personality changes on purpose. Their mental issues can manifest in many ways such as hysteria, forgetfulness, anxiety, and irritation that might even lead to violence. Many times, families of the elderly face resistance from senior citizens. In cases like these, patience and finding alternative help is always a good idea.
Other senior citizens can also require specialised memory care. These old people have chronic forgetfulness, which could be a case of early-stage Alzheimer’s or even the onset of Dementia. These senior citizens regress to a toddler’s life where they require assistance to look at the world from a new perspective. They require patience, proper medical care, and safe environments where they can be protected from harming themselves, even by accident.
Sometimes, disabilities and post-surgery can render the elderly unable to walk or take care of themselves. In times like these, they require full-time care. From basic self-care needs and personal hygiene to medication management, they need assistance for everything. This kind of care requires persistence and patience as frustration, anxiety and irritation are already clouded because of the loss of functional autonomy. Such elderly going out of the way and losing it all seems obvious and needs to be understood and handled tactfully.
Some senior citizens also lose control over their bladder and bowels. One of the best ways to care for them during this time is with respect, dignity, and patience since it can become a cause of stress and anxiety for them. They probably wish they could control their toileting and are embarrassed by it, but caregiving is about still looking at them with the same respect.
Senior citizens sometimes may also need assistance in daily activities such as doctor’s appointments, driving them around, bathing, cleaning, cooking, and medication. In cases where your senior requires assistance in activities of daily life, an attendant or domestic help can be ideal.
Finally, some of them don’t require special assistance at all. They are independent but are on their path to ageing. Giving them support, keeping them active and healthy, meeting their cognitive needs, and ensuring that they feel independent and included are the best ways to care for these elderly. Providing a social environment that gives them a sense of belongingness and also a space to dilute their stress and anxiety and be vocal about their feelings can be beneficial beyond a measurable amount.
Eventually, all kinds of elderly care can boil down to making them feel secure, accepted, and independent. The physical, cognitive, and psychological problems are bound to show up at one time or the other. It is about how patiently we deal with them and how supportive we can be.