Older adults with strong self-esteem feel more secure in their daily lives and have more confidence when taking on tasks and handling emotional issues. When seniors feel great about themselves, it can also lead to positive relationships. Below you’ll find tips on boosting your senior loved one’s self-esteem.
1. Stay Active
Staying physically active can give the elderly more confidence, especially when taking on physical tasks, such as exercising and performing household duties. Aging adults living with limitations that affect their movements and reaction times should consider altering their physical activities based on their strengths and weaknesses. Making a project less challenging can lower your loved one’s odds of living a sedentary lifestyle.
Low self-esteem can result in mental, emotional, and physical challenges for aging adults, but seniors don’t have to manage them alone. Home Care San Diego professionals can be a wonderful boon to seniors. Whether they require around-the-clock supervision or just need assistance with exercise and household tasks a few days a week, seniors can enjoy a higher quality of life with the help of trusted in-home caregivers.
2. Work on Goals
Growing older doesn’t mean seniors need to give up on their aspirations or stop setting new goals. Instead, they can develop attainable goals and do everything possible to achieve them. Recognize these aspirations and offer sound advice, assistance, and positive reinforcement to your loved one. Older adults who continue to work on achieving goals have things to look forward to, which can enhance their outlook on life and provide them with a sense of worthiness.
3. Develop Positive Strategies
Many seniors experience physical and cognitive issues that affect their daily lives. Without the right strategies, various illnesses and limitations could harm their self-esteem. Encourage your loved one to find the positives in situations instead of focusing on the negatives of decreasing abilities or age-related health conditions. Encouraging optimism can help seniors maintain confidence and motivate them to keep going in the face of various challenges.
Seniors with low self-esteem may not be motivated to practice self-care and, as a result, develop serious illnesses, making it a challenge to care for themselves without help. If your senior loved one needs around-the-clock assistance at home, the San Diego, CA, elderly home care professionals at Assisting Hands Home Care are here to help. Our caregivers promote longevity by encouraging seniors to focus on healthy eating, regular exercise, mental engagement, and other important lifestyle factors.
4. Establish a Support System
The more people seniors interact with, the stronger their mental and emotional health could be in the golden years. Aging adults need people they can turn to when they need to vent about everyday situations. Your loved one may feel like a burden, which could lower his or her self-esteem. However, hearing from family and friends about his or her wisdom and uniqueness could boost your loved one’s mood and lead to a positive self-image.
Networks of trusted family members and friends can also offer seniors advice that leads to better decision-making, more robust health, and lower anxiety levels, which contribute to self-confidence. Therefore, your loved one should surround him or herself with people who will be honest but compassionate and understanding.
5. Take Up Enjoyable Activities
Your parent should try to enjoy as many fun activities as possible, such as painting, reading, exercising, singing, or dancing. Your loved one’s care plan should be based on his or her preferences, not solely on what you and other family members have chosen. Feeling as if his or her interests aren’t a priority could lower your parent’s self-esteem, and he or she could lash out at you and others or turn to isolation. To prevent this from happening, include your loved one in the activity planning.
Low self-esteem can contribute to decreased mental and physical health in seniors. Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of at-home care. San Diego families can rely on Assisting Hands Home Care to provide individualized care plans to meet their elderly loved ones’ unique care needs. Our caregivers help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and we offer mentally stimulating activities that can stave off cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia. To talk to one of our friendly Care Managers and create a customized senior care plan, call us at 858-848-7224.
