Your Mom is Stressed About Moving to Assisted Living: How to Help Her Cope
Care Homes in Hollywood Park, TX
Your mom is no longer able to live alone after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. While she can still perform many basic tasks on her own, you both know the time will come when she won’t be able to. She has agreed to move to an Alzheimer’s assisted living facility but she is stressed about leaving the home she has known for more than 40 years.
Many seniors are choosing to remain living at home for as long as possible if they can. However, in the event that it becomes unsafe for them to be alone, especially when certain health conditions will only cause them to decline, assisted living is a great option to ensure their safety and provide a high quality of life.
Assisted living facilities can feel just as much like home when you take the time to find one that meets the needs of your loved one. Moving to assisted living doesn’t have to be so stressful and here are some ways that you can help your mom or anyone cope with the transition.
1. Involve your loved one when searching for the right memory care assisted living facility.
Making decisions without consulting or discussing options with your loved one can cause them a great deal of stress. Fear of the unknown can weigh heavily on their mind. If they are involved in the decisions concerning their course of care, they will be well informed about what the facility offers and less likely to allow their thoughts to wander to a place of dread and despair.
2. Help your loved one downsize.
Downsizing can be stressful and depressing depending on how attached your loved one is to their belongings. Start going through boxes one at a time and make three piles when sorting through the items in the box. Have a pile for items she definitely wants to keep, one for items to discard, and one she doesn’t know whether she wants to keep or get rid of. This will reduce the stress of feeling the pressure to make a decision immediately on items she is not sure about.
Items that she doesn’t need to hang onto, you may want to encourage her to donate these items to organizations that help others or give to friends or other family members.
3. Plan on being with your loved one on the “big day.”
Plan on staying with your loved one on that move in date. It will be reassuring for her to know she has a familiar, trustworthy person with her as she makes this transition. Help her to get settled and maybe even unpack some things with her.
4. Be positive.
If you have a positive attitude regarding the move and the new opportunities an assisted living facility can offer, your loved one will most likely feel less stressed.
5. Keep in touch.
Once your loved one is moved in and settled, don’t disappear. Stay in touch even if it is once a week by phone. Visits are going to be more comforting than a phone call but your busy schedule may not allow you to visit as often as you would like. Encourage your loved one to get involved in the activities at the assisted living facility and make new friends. Keeping active is a great way to minimize stress.
For more information about Pipestone Place Assisted Living in San Antonio, TX or to take a tour, call today (210) 718-0211.
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