Seniors citizens are often a forgotten part of our population. As the Baby Boomer generation continues to age, more and more people are finding themselves in this situation. Seniors need a support system that can help them cope with different diseases, illnesses, and other health issues. Here are some tips for creating a plan for supporting the senior citizens in your family. When they hear of a family support group they believe that it is a support group that meets at the high school gym on Thursday evenings. That isn’t what is meant here. This is the family as a group who is supporting the senior citizens in their family.
The reason why the elders of a family need the group is for support. They are struggling with what they are going through as you are struggling with them on your own thoughts of the ever-changing circumstances.
How a Support System Can Help
Now the benefits that come to a senior citizen thanks to a good strong support system are numerous and they all come from a direct connection with having close contact with family members. We have talked about one of the advantages of not being alone for extended periods of time. Those are the benefits that senior citizens receive.
Longer Life
The more social the connection with those of direct descendants the better the health benefits. Those healthy benefits contribute to your senior citizens living longer life. Having a fuller life. Having a healthier brain and better response. The fact that you are supporting your loved one by being around them you are promoting more life in them.
Better Cognitive Functions
Many people think that you keep your mind young by doing puzzles and brain teasers. Yeah, that helps a little with your brain but the best solution to build a brain up and to keep it young is to actually engage in conversations with other people. The family support group helps your senior family member to be able to think faster on their feet allowing them to improve their wit. They have better puzzle-solving skills all because they are able to socially interact with their support group
Clearer thinking
With better wit, your family members are also able to think more clearly. A healthier brain comes about because there is a reduction in stress when people are around family members. Social families are also able to help battle depression and anxiety that often creep up from a solitary lifestyle.
Healthier Brains
All that activity with the mental functions leads to all-around healthier brains
Better immune system
The lack of stress also helps keep the immune system up and healthy
A family support group can help take a load of worry off of your loved one.
A family support group can help take the load off of you and what is happening with your loved one. You will be able to share the burden of caregiving, and experiences with others who have gone through the same thing, and learn how to cope with different frustrating changes that happen as your elder ages. You can also help manage finances and find resources for your loved one.
A Family support group is also a great place to learn more about your family member.
- Family Support groups are a great way to learn more about Who your family member was when they were young. You learn about details of history that are specific to you and your family.
- Family Support Groups help when you are able to meet on more than just holidays.
Join the Family even if it’s online
I understand there are times that we are not able to be there in person to be with your family member, but the glory of today’s technology is that you are able to be face-to-face even over the phone. So you are able to see your mom or dad even though they are still at their lifetime home, and you are on the other side of the world. You can interact with them and Talk with them and your aunts and uncles who are still alive. So not being there doesn’t have to be an excuse. Just call and talk.
Where do you start?
You start by talking to the other family members. You find a time that they can be online. You may have to be the de facto leader of this action so you may be following up on the cousins that appear to be too busy. However, You will be able to create a team of family members who will be able to meet up together at a regular time to talk to the older family members. As you make the support group grow and your family will start talking about different topics that have arisen in the discussion. This can and often will create a Fear of missing out and it will help other family members to want to join. So don’t worry about the team that you are amassing. They will start to grow as the family comes to understand that it is ongoing.
How do you get everyone together? There are several different means of doing so. You can use an app. If your grandparents or even parents are savvy enough to use electronics you can use an app like Zoom or Google Meet. If they aren’t as tech-savvy as that you may need to use something like Facebook’s portal devices. I understand that many people aren’t fans of Facebook and that may be something they have to look at. Where there is a will there is a way.
So how do you support your aging relatives? You get with the other members of the family and you call and you talk to each member. Might make it the first Saturday of the month and you just go down the line and talk talk talk. You are doing more good for those around you because you are talking and sharing your life intentionally with your relatives.