Helping Your Aging Loved One Cope with Loss

 

 

Helping your Aging Loved One Cope with Loss

On Monday, we opened our series on dealing with the loss of a loved one or close friend by discussing some of the basics of loss for your aging parents.

As we’ve mentioned, losing a trusted partner or friend can be difficult for anyone. However, this is especially difficult for our aging parents as their close circle of friends begin to narrow, reminding them of their own mortality as well. In turn, this can drastically change your aging loved ones outlook on life and may lead to elderly depression.

As such, it is important to have an understanding of how to help your parent cope, which helps to ensure that they will continue to maintain their well being and health as they age.

To help, here are just a few ways you can help your aging loved one cope with loss:

Don’t bring up age.

The last thing you want to do is to bring up a passing friends age, as this can often intensify your parents feeling of their mortality.

Instead, try to take the situation and consider it from your own point of view. How would you feel if a close friend or loved one passed? Chances are, you will have similar feelings, so avoid telling them that what is going on is an inevitable part of their phase in life. Don’t tell them that they should just accept it for what it is, because you don’t want them to feel like they’re next.

Offer some help.

Show your support by offering them a hand during their time of grief. Perhaps you can help them send flowers or condolences to their friend’s family, or even offer to take them to the funeral. Showing your parent that you are there will hopefully relieve the tension of loss.

Ask about their friend.

Depending on how they respond to their friends passing, some parents might ease the tension by talking about the memories they had with their friend. If your loved one does this, do your best to be as attentive as possible. You may even ask questions about their friend and show that you are genuinely interested. Close friends can make a lasting impact on anyone, so it is only natural that your parent would want to praise their friend for everything they’ve done for them.

Loss can be hard, but with a little help, your loved one may be able to heal faster, possibly preventing any chance of developing elderly depression all of which helps to ensure that they will continue to maintain their well being and health as they age.

On Friday, we’re going to discuss several ways your aging loved can help themselves deal with the loss of a close friend/loved one. As always, if you ever have any questions or concerns about your loved one, please feel free to contact us. We are here to help.

Physicians’ Choice Private Duty Assisted Living “currently serving Omaha, Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa “provides seniors and their families a complete understanding of geriatric care options and helps families maneuver through the challenges of the system. Get your free Cost Comparison guide by clicking here. Or contact us for a free consultation or just to say hello!

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“Physicians’ Choice Private Duty Assisted Living solves the challenges families face in caring for aging parents, with a focus on strategies that keep them in their homes. To learn more about our solutions, visit http://www.private-duty.pchhc.com.”