How to deal with loneliness in aged people?

Everyone grows older and this is something you cannot reverse or hold on. And the biggest challenge one comes across in this stage of life is loneliness. If you or someone in your family is dealing with a similar situation, here is something really helpful. Read on.

What is your biggest fear of growing old?

If it is the feeling of being alone and unwanted, you aren’t all alone. Certainly, you cannot stop the ageing process as it is a cold, hard fact of life. But if you are alone in those years of life, it can be very difficult to maintain your emotional, psychological and even physical health. So, saying that ageing and loneliness affect people drastically.

But it is not a problem which is not destined to go away. Yes, it is possible to fight back loneliness. How?

Below are listed some tips and solution to help:

Understand the reason of loneliness:

It can be hard to imagine why in the cities of millions of people one feel lonely. The simplest answer would be in the huge sized cities the only thing people lack is time. If you check out for the history, say twenty years ago, people probably knew everyone who lived on their street. However, these days there are rare chances for you to know your next-door neighbours nicely. Hence, you need to first understand what is causing loneliness. It can be shyness or their unrealistic expectations. Ask them to get out often and meet people.

Maintain a positive body image

In a research, it was found that many older adults avoid social interaction just due to their poor body image. It might be attributable to being overweight or some other reason, which may decrease or cease interactions with their social networks. And this further leads to risk for social isolation. Hence, if you find them too self-conscious or embarrassed, which ultimately makes them less engaged in their social networks, you need to work on. You can start with compliments and positive comments to boost the self-esteem of seniors. With this, you can address the root problem by encouraging weight loss, say helping them with healthy eating and exercises.

Build up a sense of purpose

Your seniors need to live with a sense of purpose or hobbies which interest them. With this, they will be able to succumb the negative effects of social isolation. You can encourage them for anything which involves a group. Actually, when seniors are bereft of ideas for what to do in their life, they will stay busy and happy. Volunteering can be another great way of maintaining and expressing a sense of purpose. You need to provide them opportunities to volunteer and maintain their sense of purpose.

With these tips and solution, now it will be easy to avoid the feeling of being alone in the later years of life. Keep healthy, be safe, and enjoy every moment!

7 Points to Remember While Interacting with People Who Suffer from Disabilities

Disabled Person Talking With A Caregiver

When dealing with someone who is suffering from disability, you need to be very careful. A little thing might make them special, and on the contrary, your silly mistake can spoil their day. So, here are some helpful tips to guide you.

Life Isn’t Same For All, Isn’t It?

You will easily find people around who aren’t as capable as you are. Yes, it is about those people who have some kind of disability. And for you the biggest challenge can be getting comfortable with such people. Or better say for making these people get comfortable around you.

So, here are few tips to help interacting with people with disabilities.

Avoid Unnecessary Help:

Well, at times, it may be hard to resist. But you need to be very particular. Helping disabled people without asking first should never be done. You don’t need to grab their jacket or help them getting into their accessible van. Just wait and let them speak up.

Don’t Forget to Introduce Yourself:

Yes, introduction matters a lot. Even if you meet a person who is blind, the most important things you need to do is to introduce yourself. It is because when you first meet someone with vision limitations, introduction should be done in right way. Let them know you are near so that they can better feel their surroundings.

No Need of Special Remarks:

Seriously, people with disabilities don't like being referred to as special or inspirational. Hence, if they can do the basic task in their ways, you don’t need to mention it over and over again. Please try to refrain from sharing those unwanted as your comment will have the negative effect, reminding them how different they are.

Don’t be Louder:

One of the most offensive things you would do when interacting with someone with a disability is talking louder. Hence, when you meet them, speak soft and in lower volume.

Refer to Them as Person First:

Referring to the disabled population as ‘people with disabilities’ is not a good idea. Treat them normally and make sure you prefer "person first" language.

Patronizing is Not Required:

Yes, avoiding patronizing remarks is must when you deal with people with disabilities. Just remember, they are not that different, and you can behave normally. Even if they win a few gold Paralympic medals, or invent a flying wheelchair, you better keep those patronizing remarks away.

Remember the "Golden Rule"

Lastly, when in doubt over how you should treat such people; always refer to the Golden Rule.

It beautifully states i.e. “treat others as you'd like to be treated”.

Yes, mutual respect is the most important thing. Never forget the importance of basic good human interactions and make sure you don’t hurt them.

Hence, if you've recently came to know someone with a disability, and you think meeting such a person would be daunting; following these tips would certainly help. All the best!