Being engaged in a variety of different hobbies, interests, and activities can be amazing for your elderly family member. But is she doing more than she really feels comfortable doing? You might want to talk to her about her schedule and whether it should change.

Ask Her if She’s Feeling Overwhelmed

Everyone has a different level of “busy” that feels comfortable. Your elderly family member might thrive on keeping her schedule packed. Or she might be someone who needs a good bit of downtime in her day or her week, with occasional opportunities for lots of activities. It’s important that you understand your senior’s individual needs in order to help her to find the right hobbies and activities for her. Talk to her about what feels right for her and about whether she’s feeling overwhelmed or not.

She May Need to Change up Her Activities

If your senior is getting bored or overwhelmed, she may need to switch some things up for a little while. There are lots of different activities she might try if she’s getting bored, some of them specifically cater to older adults. It might be a good idea to check with local senior centers and community colleges to see what types of groups, classes, and opportunities they offer. If your elderly family member is overwhelmed, she may need to start spending a little more time at home with unstructured time.

Leaving Room for Spontaneity Can Help

Sometimes older adults pack their days and their weeks full in order to avoid feeling lonely. You might not even realize that your senior has issues around loneliness or feeling alone unless you talk about that subject specifically. Keeping herself tightly scheduled can help her to be around a lot of people, but it can also leave little room for her to spontaneously meet a friend for lunch or have a visit with someone she loves. She may also be better able to deal with those feelings if she stops trying to ignore them.

Avoid Unnecessary Changes, if Possible

It’s really important to remember that making unnecessary changes in your senior’s schedule or routine may not be helpful for her at all. If you find that her current activity levels feel good for her and she’s not overwhelmed by all of the things she’s trying, you might want to just step back and leave her be.

Talk to your elderly family member about what she needs. If she agrees that a quieter schedule is in line with what she wants, she might benefit from having home care services providers stopping by to visit. That’s especially the case if you and other family members aren’t able to visit as much as you would want.

For Home Care Services in Cordova TN, please contact the caring staff at Personal Care Services MidSouth today!