Anxiety doesn’t always have a defined cause. Especially when your senior’s health is getting worse, she may experience anxiety about not knowing what’s going to happen next. She might also be anxious about driving, about visiting her doctor, or over things she can’t explain at all. Here’s how you can help.
Occupy Her Hands and Her Brain
Sometimes people with anxiety find that activities that occupy both hands and brain work really well against anxiety. Puzzles, games, card games, and other similar activities can all be effective. Give some of them a try and see whether they’re something your senior enjoys. She might also enjoy playing active video games that use sensors to “see” her body movements.
Practice Meditative Techniques
Meditation sounds a lot more complicated than it is. It doesn’t require any special equipment or training to try. Your senior might enjoy using a guided meditation through an app or even through videos readily available on the Internet. If she’s not interested in guided meditations, using a timer can be just as effective.
Try Breathing Exercises
Breathing exercises are like meditation light. Lots of people find it to be very difficult to learn how to meditate, but breathing exercises are a different situation entirely. The idea with breathing exercises is to gradually lengthen and deepen each breath. This helps your senior to slow down her heart rate and to clear her mind. The big benefit is that as she gets much better at these types of exercises she can use them in the middle of extremely anxious situations to calm down immediately.
Use Exercise to Release Excess Energy
Lots of people who are anxious find that fidgeting is an effective technique to manage their feelings because they’re burning off excess energy as they fidget. Regular exercise can do the same for your senior, especially if she’s got a lot of energy in general. Make sure that you talk to her doctor about whether exercise is okay for her or not before she starts a new exercise plan, though.
If your elderly family member isn’t experiencing results from these activities, her doctor may be able to find other potential causes. Talk to her doctor about what else might be effective. You might also want to consider hiring senior care providers. They can take care of tasks around the house so your senior can focus on taking care of her emotional well-being.
When you are in need of care for a senior loved one, consider senior care provided by Golden Heart Senior Care. We have offices nationwide. For more information, call us today at (800) 601-2792.
