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Showing posts from 2018

Loneliness in Older Adults

As adults age, there is an increased focus on physical health. Maintaining a proper diet, checking in on hearing and vision, and tending to fitness. While we focus on our physical health, we often forget and neglect our social well-being. As we age, we lose loved ones and close friends. Our social circle begins to shrink, and it creates a sense of loneliness. Psychology Today reports that adults who are 80 years old and up are typically the loneliest. Those that are lonely are often more susceptible to mental and physical decline. To help you combat that, Visiting Angels Punta Gorda has come up with a few strategies. Here are a couple: Grow Your Social Circle - Maintaining your circle of close friends is always important and may even be an obvious thing to do in this situation. But when your close friends are not available, forming new friendships can be very beneficial. Going out to join book clubs and participating in events where you can share your hobbies are great ways to meet

How to Spend the Holidays with Loved One Living with Dementia

It is the time of year where people across the globe spend time with family and loved ones to celebrate the holidays. While it is a time to share joy, it can be a time where others may feel anxious. For some, that feeling of anxiety stems from having a loved one who is diagnosed with dementia. Despite it being a time for celebration, families who are affected by a dementia diagnosis often find it difficult to see a loved one struggle with daily tasks. To help rediscover a sense of joy, Visiting Angels put together a list of tips to help you celebrate the holidays with a loved one who has dementia. Maintaining a Routine -  Maintaining a routine helps those with dementia find their way throughout the day. Dementia makes it hard to learn new things, so by sticking to their routine, you help them find a sense of normalcy.  Letting Them Help - Letting them help around the house makes them feel prepared to participate. Wrapping presents, helping bake cookies, and even helping decorate

Questions to Ask When Looking For An In-Home Care Agency

When your loved one is in need of assistance with daily activities, it may be time to consider an in-home care agency. With this in mind, you want to find the best care provider possible for your loved one. But finding the right caregiver may not be so easy. Often, there are many questions that arise and come into consideration. Visiting Angels Punta Gorda provided a list of questions to ask when looking for an in-home care provider. "What services do you provide?" - The most important part of finding an in-home care provider is first figuring out what kind of assistance your loved one needs. Sit down with your loved one and go over what would be the most beneficial. From there, ask potential care providers if their services line up with what you're looking for.  "Can I meet my caregiver?" - It's especially important to be able to meet your caregiver. Since they will be the one who will be providing the needed care, it's important to develop a sense

Signs Your Loved One Needs More Help

As a loved one ages, their bodies do not work like they once did in their younger days. Their range of movement tends to become limited and their endurance begins to shorten. While these are normal changes that come with age, there are some changes that are not normal. Drastic changes in personality and mental capabilities are not normal in aging. These are some signs that may indicate there is something wrong. However, the family surrounding them may have a difficult time admitting that there is something wrong. To help you recognize there is a problem in your loved one, here are some signs to look out for: Disheveled Appearance - If your aging parent is someone who always had a clean appearance, and they begin to develop poor hygiene, it may be a sign that something is wrong. Unkempt hair, noticeable body odor, and untrimmed fingernails are indicators that they have not been taking care of themselves at home. If you notice these changes in their appearance, it may be time to cons

Mental Illnesses and the Elderly

Mental illnesses have affected millions of Americans. Not only are the ones who suffer from a mental illness affected, but their loved ones as well. Recently, more people have been recognizing mental illness as a medical condition, however there is still a stigma associated with it. There are still an overwhelming number of people who are either undiagnosed or untreated. What's more, 20% of adults who are 55 or older are diagnosed with some mental illness. The most common form of a mental illness that older adults experience is dementia. However, one of the most undiagnosed mental illness in older adults is depression. The CDC approximates that only 1 out of every 5 older adults suffer from depression, and while these numbers seem low, it does not mean that we should ignore them. In their article, Visiting Angels Punta Gorda discuss how to recognize the signs that your loved one may be experiencing a mental illness. They note that while it is normal for people to change as t

Next Steps - When A Loved One Receives An Alzheimer's Diagnosis

It is never easy when a loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.When you hear of the diagnosis, questions begin to fill your mind that lead you to worry of what is to come in the future. Uncertainty and fear can cloud your sense of judgement, despite you wanting to do what is best for them. Unfortunately, there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease and knowing that can make it even more difficult. But there are ways for you to help your loved one. Visiting Angels Punta Gorda , a trusted in-home senior care provider, offer some advice on what you can do after the diagnosis has been given. These pieces of advice will help you along your journey and will ultimately help your loved one. One of the first thing you can do after hearing the diagnosis is to remain calm. Even though your mind may jump to conclusions, it is important to remind yourself that Alzheimer's is a progressive disease and that there is still time. Visiting Angels Punta Gorda recommend you to take

Is It Normal or Is It Dementia?

As we age, we tend to forget small things such as where we placed our glasses, what we needed at the grocery store, where we parked our cars, and we pass them off as just “senior moments”. But at what point do these “senior moments” become something more and begin to interfere with our lifestyle? At what point these moments becomes early signs of dementia? Here are some tips to help you distinguish the difference between signs of dementia and normal aging. Normal aging can tend to leave us forgetting new names or struggling to learn something new. Older individuals may even arrive late to an appointment because they had forgotten about it, or forget what they wanted to do when they walk into a room. However unlike normal aging, early signs of dementia can interfere with a daily lifestyle. Dementia can cause forgetting how to drive a car, to bathe ourselves, and even the names of close family members. To view the full article and to learn more about dementia, visit Is It Normal or