Helping Your Loved One Manage Their Pre-Move Anxiety

October 1, 2020 0 Comment Category: Assisted Living

Moving to an assisted living home can be a tough thing to handle for your senior loved one. The emotional stress of moving away from their home and leaving their family can often lead to anxiety and cause other health problems for your loved one. That is why it is important to ensure that your parent or grandparent realizes the importance of moving to a senior living community. When they are aware of the life enrichment opportunities that assisted living offers, moving can be a lot easier for seniors.

How to Help Your Senior Loved One Handle Pre-Move Anxiety

As the day of the move draws near, your senior loved one may start feeling a bit nervous and agitated. This can be because your elderly parent or grandparent fears the big changes that would come along with it, such as the change in the location, the neighbors, or even the layout of the home. These changes are unavoidable, so you need to help them understand how the changes are for their good and how it will help them live happily in the assisted living home. 

For some seniors, the money involved in covering the expenses for assisted living can be a stress factor and lead to anxiety problems. That is why you need to explore all the financing options to manage the assisted living costs and show your loved one how it will not be a burden on you or their retirement savings. Likewise, you should also consult with your senior loved one when choosing the assisted living community so that they can have a say in the amenities and features included. That way, you can have better control over the costs too.

How to Deal With Relocation Stress Syndrome

The anxiety associated with moving can often lead to Relocation Stress Syndrome (RSS) or “transfer trauma”. This condition can influence the behavior, mood, as well as physiological well-being of your senior loved one and lead to a decline in their physical and psychological health. Sometimes, serious cases of RSS may even lead to premature death. Therefore, you need to follow the below steps to ease the unique challenges and anxiety experienced by your elderly parent or grandparent when the time for moving to a senior living community comes.

• Be respectful: When you plan the move for your senior loved one, you should make sure that you are respectful of the sentimental attachment that your loved one has for certain things. For instance, parting with their treasured mementos can increase their anxiety. Redecorating their room in the assisted living facility with these personal belongings can easily make the move smoother. 
• Work as a team: Get in touch with the senior living community and ask for the floor plans of the rooms. This can help you to decide which furniture and fixtures you can take along to customize your senior loved one’s home and make it feel more personalized and homely. Ask your elderly parent for their ideas as well to make them feel more involved in the planning.
• Encourage new possibilities: Assisted living facilities provide a lot of opportunities to build new friends and find companionship. You should take your senior loved one for a tour of the preferred senior living facility to let them see the community in-person and check out the amenities and socializing features available for leading a happy and contented life.
• Add a sense of humor: Remember that things can go wrong anytime no matter how carefully you plan and prepare for the move. So make sure to take everything with a lighthearted spirit and include a bit of laughter in every inconvenience faced. This will help you to work together with your elderly parent or grandparent to solve the problems and ease the stress of the move from both you and your loved one.

 

Contact the Falls Home to speak with us about your elderly loved one.