So many aging family members decide on a course of action, like aging in place, and don’t want to hear other options. You may even want to support your aging family member in her goal to age in place, but she’s not willing to have help from home care or from you. So, what else can you do? It helps to understand what her goals and motivations are and to sit down and have a very real and honest talk. Here are some of the reasons she might be feeling as if she has to insist on staying with the status quo.
Comfort
One question you can ask yourself is how long your elderly family member has lived in her home. If that answer is a long period of time, she is most likely extremely comfortable in her home, her neighborhood, and in the idea of living where she lives. She may not be able to see other options, even, because she wants to maintain that comfort level.
Independence
At a certain point, your elderly family member may feel as if she can’t leave her home or make other choices because she might lose her independence altogether. If she’s already dealt with plenty of other types of loss, losing independence may be something she’s not willing to risk at all. This can all be subconscious, too, which makes it even more difficult to talk with her about.
Familiarity
It’s similar to comfort, but your aging family member may be more familiar with the place that she lives now than she is with any other place. She may have had the same grocery store, pharmacy, and dry cleaner for most of her life, for instance. That’s a huge reason that many aging adults do not want any part of their lives to change.
Lack of Options
If you and your aging family member haven’t fully explored the topic of aging in place yet, she may think that’s the only option that she has. Moving may feel out of the question, and she may not want to think about solutions like having home care providers helping her. That doesn’t mean that these options aren’t the best ones for her, but if she’s feeling as if she can’t consider anything else, there might be reasons.
Misconceptions
It’s also possible that your elderly family member has misconceptions about some of the options that might help her. Bringing up the idea of senior care professionals with her might also be connected to misconceptions. It’s important to dig deeper into what’s behind her feelings if she’s responding to you by digging in her heels even more. You can’t explain situations when you don’t realize that you’re not on the same page with her.
Talk to your elderly family member about aging in place and how you and home care providers can help her to do so as safely as possible. There are solutions for her reasons, but you need to be able to talk about the situation with her.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care in Palos Verdes, CA please contact the caring staff at Alpha Care today. Call 888-740-7023
Alpha Care is a Trusted Home Care Agency serving Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Palos Verdes, Culver City, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Lynwood, Rolling Hills, Malibu, Glendale, and the surrounding areas.
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