Tips On Mourning the Loss of a Spouse
Home Care Assistance: Comforting Seniors in Grief in Chantilly, VA
As your loved one ages in place there will be a time when they lose a spouse or even a family member or maybe a close friend. Death is a natural part of life but for many people learning to mourn and accept a loss is so hard to do. A senior needs the right support when aging in place and home care assistance can not only help them thrive at home but they can also help guide them through a time of mourning. Here are some tips that may help your senior loved one mourn the loss of their spouse or someone important to them.
Understand Grieving
Most of the time home care assistance will have experience working with seniors and working with those who have lost someone. But it is important for everyone to know the signs of grieving and what happens during this process. Keep in mind that everyone grieves differently and it won’t look the same for everyone.
- Grieving can impact how often a senior sleeps or how well a senior sleeps.
- It can impact a seniors appetite.
- Grieving impacts a seniors mood and how well they handle stress.
- They may struggle concentrating on tasks that are important.
All of these are signs that your loved one is struggling and they are things that home care assistance should pay attention to. Sometimes the best thing you can do is allow a senior to openly feel and allow them to grieve. If any of these last more than a few months it can be a sign they are battling depression that comes with a loss.
Go To Grief Counseling
Just because someone is older doesn’t mean they know how to handle grief. This may be their first time losing someone close to them and this can be something hard to cope with. No one knows how to cope with death on their own and your loved one will need a good support system. Home care assistance can help provide transportation to therapy and this professional may help them work through these very strong feelings. Having someone trustworthy and safe to talk to is going to be one of the best ways to safely mourning a loss in life.
Life Decisions Should Wait
When a senior is caught up in very intense emotions it is a bad time to make any big life decisions. Maybe they need to move or downsize or they need to restructure their routine, whatever it is, it should wait. Grieving is not the time to make any important decisions because the loss they are dealing with can cloud their judgment. They may end up making decisions they later regret. Home care assistance can help encourage your loved one to take a step back and wait on making decisions.
Ensure They Take Care of Themselves
When a senior is sad it is easy to put their own needs on the backburner. Home care assistance can ensure they are bathing, eating, and going outside every day. Their needs still matter and they need to live a high quality life even while grieving. These are all things that home care can help your loved one with.