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What Techniques Can You Use to Help Improve Your Senior’s Self-Esteem?

Self-esteem is one of the key components that helps your aging adult to keep track of her personal feelings of worth. If her self-esteem suffers, she can start to have other problems, such as sliding into depression. Bolstering self-esteem is possible, but you can’t be responsible for your elderly family member’s self-esteem fully. That has to come from her and you can help.

 

Elderly Care Palmer AK: Senior Self Esteem

Elderly Care Palmer AK: Senior Self Esteem

 

Built Opportunities for Independence

Losing her sense of self or losing the ability to handle certain tasks on her own can strike quite a blow to your senior’s self-esteem. Finding ways to help her build her independence can reverse those effects. Try to avoid doing too much for your elderly family member. One way to do this is to let her know that you’ll wait for her to ask for help rather than offering it automatically.

 

Focus on What She Can Do

As your aging adult experiences loss throughout her life, she may find it wearing her down. This is a great time to focus on what she can still do. Perhaps she needs assistance bathing with help from senior care providers, but she may still be able to make daily choices about her life. Even with a need for assistance, she still can handle some tasks.

 

Reminiscing Can Help

Reminiscing about ways in which she was powerful can help an elderly family member to find that inner strength again. Successes at work and at home can all help to remind her that she’s still got skills and experience that can serve her well. This can backfire, unfortunately, so you may want to steer clear of it if your senior is having difficulty remembering the positive experiences she’s had.

 

Maintain Dignity at All Times

Just because your aging adult needs a little bit of extra help, that doesn’t mean that the normal niceties disappear. Knock before you enter the room, especially if the door is closed. Respect your elderly family member’s privacy as much as possible and avoid talking down to her. Even the tone of your voice can imply that you’re regarding your elderly family member as a child. She’s not a child, but an adult with special needs.

Helping your aging adult improve her self-esteem takes time but it can be extremely helpful to her in all areas of her life.

 

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring elderly care in Palmer, AK, call us! The friendly staff at Shine Bright Care are here to answer your questions.
Call toll-free – (888) 264-5998

Baykham Keodouangdy - Program Administrator
Baykham Keodouangdy - Program Administrator
Baykham Keodouangdy - Program Administrator In reflecting on this journey, my home care career, I cannot help but think of my parents. I assisted alongside my sister, to care for them during their last years. Both mother and father had suffered a stroke, heart attacks, diabetes, dementia, hypertension and many more complications that I cannot even imagine going through. Life as a caregiver was not easy but it was something that you just had to do, especially for your parents. Both my parents needed full-time 24-7 care, meaning they could not do anything for themselves. Every day my sister would care for them, whether it was assisting them to medical appointments, cooking and cleaning, bathing and showering, or transferring from wheelchair to bed. It was their complete care for all activities of daily living. I think of my parents often. My father passed in 2012 and my mother recently passed in 2015. I would give anything to have them back. That would be selfish to say, as it would have meant them suffering and not living a full life. I know they are in heaven smiling down. With the experience of caring for my parents, I was able to secure a job as a direct support professional. I was later offered a job as a case manager and excelled to become a team leader. Gradually I was promoted to being a care coordinator and from then on, I just knew this was meant for me. This is my calling; this is my life’s purpose. I went on to experience greater things in this field of Human Services. To care and help individuals and families find support and services needed to navigate the system to meet their needs, is such an honor and rewarding experience to be involved in. I look back, and a decade has passed since I started and it is now 2017. I would love to thank my parents for giving me the opportunity to have the experience of caring for them and go on to do something great with helping others find care and support in the community.