3 Ways to Help Seniors Overcome Loneliness During The Holidays

We’ve all had times when we have felt isolated, or perhaps cut off from loved ones for whatever reason. This can be especially true for seniors, who are perhaps less active than the younger members of their family or are in retirement homes.  Here are a few things that we can do to help residents overcome loneliness during the holidays.

Communicate with loved one regularly

Although life may be busy, one of the best things you can do today to help seniors overcome loneliness during the holidays is to communicate with them regularly. This doesn’t have to be visiting every day – with technology these days, it can be a mixture of virtual and in-person. If you live in another part of the country or another country altogether, virtual is still far superior to nothing. With many senior’s adept at using technology, you can use a mixture of virtual ways to check in and chat. Sending messages on Facebook or WhatsApp, or video calling using services such as Zoom or Facetime are some of the best ways. Key moments during the holidays, such as Christmas morning, are some of the best times to reach out to seniors (even if for just a short check in). It can make seniors feel included in activities they are otherwise unable to participate in!

Get them to participate in Activities 

Many retirement homes now include many social activities for their residents. But retirement homes need the residents to want to be involved in these activities. Encouraging participation in these social activities such as movie nights, card nights, exercise classes etc. is an excellent way for seniors in retirement homes to socialize with one another and to find like-minded people who enjoy similar activities. This can go a long way towards combating loneliness, especially if family are far away or contact with family and friends is limited.

Therapy

If you’re an owner of a retirement facility, you can consider providing access to a therapist that the residents can talk to. This is especially useful if the resident doesn’t have family/friends they regularly communicate with or don’t get very many visitors. If it is a member of your family or a friend in the retirement home, you can still connect with a therapist to help with their loneliness and overall mental health. Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve also seen a large number of therapists now offering services online, on services such as Zoom – these can be great options if you are unable to arrange a face-to-face appointment.

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Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy Holidays from all of us at the Continyou Care team. Please remember to keep the seniors in your life in your thoughts and plans during the holiday period – this will do a lot to help combat senior loneliness!

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*Photo by cottonbro studio.