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How are you adjusting to life at a senior center? For new residents, the transition can be difficult. Read this guide to help you ease into your transition.

At the moment, there are about 1 million Americans living in some sort of senior center. By 2030, that number is expected to double. People are living longer than ever before, and as a result, the need for senior care is on the rise.

Despite this, there are many seniors who don’t feel comfortable at all when they first move into a senior home. These facilities seem so foreign to them, and some seniors have such a hard time with their new living arrangements that they end up struggling with depression.

The suicide rate among seniors has shot up in recent years, and many experts have blamed it on the mental anguish seniors feel when they’re forced to give up some of their freedom.

Are you in the process of transitioning yourself or a loved one into a senior center?

Here are some tips for doing it successfully.

Tour Different Facilities Before Choosing the Right One

You wouldn’t just browse through a bunch of home listings on the internet, pick one that looks nice, make an offer on it, and then move into it, would you? So you shouldn’t take that approach when you’re trying to decide which senior center would be best for you, either.

Whether you make the decision to move into an assisted living facility or nursing home or your family makes it for you, you should still play an active role in picking out the place where you will live.

You should make an effort to visit different facilities in your area before picking out the one that works best for you.

When touring senior homes like the Seasons Nursing Home, you should speak with the staff members at each one to see how they interact with seniors. You should also check out the living accommodations. You might even want to sit in on the activities offered to residents.

After you have toured several facilities, you shouldn’t have any problem picking out one that you like best. It will give you a say in the matter and help you feel more comfortable with where you end up.

Share Your Thoughts About Moving Into a Senior Center With Family

Prior to moving into a center, you should sit down with some of your family members to talk about how you feel about making the move. It’s a big step in your life, and you shouldn’t be afraid to open up to them about the transition you’re going to be making.

Ask yourself these questions prior to speaking with your family members:

Am I ready to make this move?
Is there anything I’m worried about?
How is this transition going to change my life?
Will I receive enough support from my family?

The answers to these questions should help you get started when you sit down with your family.

But whatever you do, don’t make such a big move without speaking with someone about it.

The last thing you want to do is keep your feelings buried deep down inside.

Bring Things From Your Old Home to Your New Home

Just because you’re moving into a senior home doesn’t mean you have to give up all of the things that made your current home so special.

While it’d be impossible to move all your stuff from your old home to your new home, you should feel free to bring things that will help make your senior center feel more comfortable.

Here are a few suggestions as far as what you should bring to make your transition easier:

The afghan you’ve had sitting on your living room couch for years now
The mat you’ve used to welcome people to your home’s front door
The pictures you have hanging up in the foyer
The nightstand you have sitting next to your bed
The recliner you love to fall asleep in every night

While you should check with your specific center to see what you’re allowed to bring, there’s a good chance they won’t have an issue with you bringing items that will make your new home feel a lot like your old one.

Meet With the Staff on Your First Day

The staff at your senior center is going to work hand-in-hand with you on a regular basis to make sure you’re comfortable. Rather than being standoffish towards them, you should make it a point to introduce yourself on your first day.

Doing this will set the right tone for you and the staff members who will be in charge of looking after you. It will also put your family members’ minds at ease as they leave you in the care of those at your new home.

Do Your Best to Learn Your New Schedule

If you’re like most people, you crave a routine. You want to wake up in the morning and know where you need to be, what you need to be doing, and who you need to be doing it with.

Moving into a senior center can really throw off your whole routine and make it difficult for you to transition. To combat this, you should try and learn the schedule at your center.

Find out when you’ll eat throughout the day, what activities will be available each day, and how you’ll be expected to keep yourself occupied.

Doing this will help you find a routine that works for you. It’ll also make your senior home feel a lot more like home when you’re sticking to a schedule every day.

Ask to Speak With a Social Worker About Any Problems

No matter how hard you work at it, your transition into your senior center might not go smoothly. You might feel sad at times. You might even feel downright depressed as you seek to embrace your new life.

Know that you don’t have to go through your transition alone! While some seniors opt to speak with family members about the way they’re feeling, not everyone has someone they can turn to in order to talk.

If you need someone to lend an ear so that you can talk about your mental health or any other issue, don’t be afraid to ask to speak to the social worker at your senior home.

It’s their job to help you deal with any problems you might be facing. Speaking with them will go a long way towards helping you settle in.

Find the Right Senior Center Now

There are many seniors who put off moving into a senior center because they’re afraid of the big changes it will bring. But you should know that you can live comfortably and even extend your life by finding the right center.

Check out our blog for more tips on managing your health and taking better care of yourself.

Source

Do you worry that someone you care about may have depression? It may surprise you that depression affects over 300 million people worldwide. Depression differs from the usual changes in mood and our brief emotional responses to challenges in our daily lives. Depression can become a serious health problem, particularly when it has been on-going for a considerable time. In severe cases, depression can result in suicide, with nearly 800,000 people taking their own lives each year.

Not a normal part of ageing

Experts believe that over 20% of people aged over 65 live with depression. However, depression is not simply an inevitable part of aging. In actual fact, research has shown that older people are generally more content with their lives, irrespective of any physical health issues. But if depression continues untreated, it can cause other serious health problems. This can include malnutrition, insomnia and contribute to some people developing dementia. A significant and common problem is that older people often don’t ask for help. They feel embarrassed or simply believe their feelings are just normal symptoms of getting older or associated with another condition. Therefore, it’s important that relatives and friends learn the signs to watch out for understand how they can help.

Helping someone with depression

If you have a friend or relative with depression, it’s firstly very important that you help and encourage them to see a doctor or mental health professional and get help as soon as possible. There are also a number of ways you can help an older adult with depression, including:

Give them understanding, support, encouragement and patience.
Help them to keep track of their appointments and regularly remind them to take their medication.
Try to make sure they can always get to see their doctor when they need to.
Talk to them, encourage them to open up to you and listen carefully to what they tell you.
Do not ignore any comments made about suicide. It’s important that you report anything like this to the person’s doctor or therapist.
Invite them to join you for walks and try to get them engaged in outdoor activities.
Try to keep positive and remind them that with time and treatment, their depression will eventually lift.

Other ways to help yourself

Try to still do the activities you enjoyed before you had depression. Doing these things, even if you feel reluctant initially, can help to make a big difference to lifting your spirits and boosting your well-being. Just take each day at a time. You can also:

Break big tasks down into smaller ones and only do what you can, when you feel you can. Don’t do too much at once.
Regularly spend time with other people and share how you feel with a friend or relative that you trust.
Keep to your treatment plan and be patient. It can take some time for treatment to begin to work.
Avoid making any important life decisions until you are feeling much better. If something does arise, then talk through it with others before you make any firm decisions.

If you have suicidal thoughts

Older adults with depression can be at risk suicide. If you have been thinking about hurting yourself in anyway, or having suicidal thoughts, then you must tell someone immediately. Call your doctor, go to your nearest hospital emergency room or call the emergency services.

Depression is not a character flaw, a normal part of ageing or a sign of weakness. It’s a medical condition that can be treated. But the key thing to remember is to go easy on yourself, talk to someone and find the best treatment for you. It can feel like a long dark road at times, but with help you can reach a healthier, happier and more positive path.

How To Be OK With Your Transition To a Senior Center