July is Social Wellness Month, and this is a prime time to look at how well and how much your senior is able to maintain a social life. Many aging adults find it difficult to socialize as their lives change. Transportation issues, friends having health issues, and their own increasing health concerns can all be factors that affect an elderly family member’s ability to socialize easily. Here are a few things to consider about the importance of socialization for seniors and how companion care at home can help improve overall wellbeing.

What Is Social Wellness?

Social wellness, especially as defined by the original founders of Social Wellness Month, is about focusing on nurturing yourself and your relationships. That can involve spending time giving and receiving emotional support, but it can also mean taking care of other factors that contribute to general wellness. Focusing on social wellness can be particularly important for aging adults.

Why Is Social Wellness Important for Your Senior?

Ignoring social needs can lead to some serious side effects for your senior, including self-isolation, depression, and worsening health issues. Tending to your senior’s social wellness can help her to manage stress more effectively, increase her lifespan, and improve her overall health. She is also more likely to be able to cope better with emotional concerns.

Improving Social Wellness for Your Senior

Companion Care at Home in Pinellas Park FL

There might be more that you can do to help your senior to improve her social wellness than you might think. Helping her to find and enjoy new hobbies or to learn new skills can be part of improving social wellness. It can also be important to find ways for her to have social encounters with other people. If friends and family members aren’t able to be there as often as you’d like, companion care at home is a great answer. Companion care at home ensures that there’s someone present with your senior for conversation and friendly time with someone who cares.

Pair Physical and Social Wellness

Nothing exists in a vacuum, and that includes social wellness. Pairing social wellness with physical wellness gives your senior a well-rounded approach to overall health that can work for her. Talk with your senior’s doctor about what sort of physical activities are right for her needs. From there you can help her to put together a full plan for her.

Keep Track of What’s Helping and What Isn’t

Over time, you and your senior can start to see what’s helping her in terms of social wellness and what isn’t. There may be other needs she’s experiencing as well, particularly around needing more help. Adding companion care at home and other solutions to her existing care plan gives your senior greater assistance when that is what she needs. Having more help does not reduce her independence. Instead, it offers her a way to regain independence.
Paying attention to social wellness helps you to put together the most thorough plan possible to care for all aspects of your senior’s wellness. Talk with your elderly family member about what other changes she might want to make in order to help improve social wellness.

If You Or An Aging Loved One Are Considering Hiring Companion Care at Home in Pinellas Park, FL, Please Contact The Caring Staff At Assisting Hands Home Care Today! 727-748-4211.