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What Is Social Anxiety?

Getting your mom to leave the house and go to social functions is proving impossible. She used to be more comfortable visiting family and attending gatherings with friends, but that’s changed. Have you looked at social anxiety as the reason this is happening? Social anxiety affects about 7% of the population, and it usually appears around the age of 13. It may not seem likely to happen in older adults, but it can, and it often goes hand-in-hand with health issues like dementia. People with dementia are likely to withdraw and become very anxious in social situations. Here are a few things to consider about social anxiety and how home care can help.

Understanding the Realities of Social Anxiety

When a person has social anxiety, they’re constantly in fear of what other people are thinking or saying about them. They live in fear of being judged, doing something wrong or foolish in front of others, or saying the wrong thing.

A person with social anxiety may reflect on something that was said months or even years ago and be filled with shame. Rather than go through this, it’s often easier to avoid social situations. Withdrawing from public events, family gatherings, or reunions is common behavior with social anxiety.

People with Alzheimer’s disease are often easily agitated, and this is due to anxiety. As memories, names, and facial recognition diminish, it’s easy to become anxious in large gatherings. There’s too much activity, noise, and conversation to be comfortable.

Helping Your Mom Deal With Social Anxiety

Your mom’s memory care doctor is a great source of information on how to help with Alzheimer’s-related anxiety issues. Sometimes, medications can help ease anxiety, but that’s just one option.

Prepare your mom in advance for gatherings. Pick and choose the ones to attend, and try to stick to small events where your mom will be very familiar with people.

Make sure that people know your mom has Alzheimer’s. They need to know some tips for keeping her from feeling awkward or anxious. If she asks a question over and over, they should just keep answering it without saying she’s already told them that.

You might want to consider having business cards printed up that have Alzheimer’s tips printed on them. Your mom sees you slipping someone a business card and won’t think much of it. If you speak up and say she has Alzheimer’s where she can hear it, she might feel self-conscious and that can worsen the situation.

Follow Your Mom’s Cues

How can you help your mom when she’s experiencing social anxiety? Don’t push her into situations that make her uncomfortable. If there is a gathering that she must attend, make sure it’s on familiar ground, such as her home, where she has a safe place to go if she feels uncomfortable.

It may be best to stop pushing her into social events with family and friends. If she’s scared and anxious, let her stay home while you go. A home care provider can offer your mom one-on-one companionship at home that may make her feel more comfortable than being in public. Home care aides cover all of her care needs and provide you with a chance to go out and have fun.

Sources:
https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/facts-statistics

If you or an aging loved one is considering home care in Apache Junction, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!

Congratulations Eddie and Melissa!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! Congratulations to Eddie and Melissa! We are excited to announce the following new opportunities that have been filled for our office team. With our growth ( for which we are extremely grateful) , we needed to elevate and re-align the office team.

We are pleased to welcome Eddie to our team as Director of Business Affairs! Eddie has a long tenured career in senior care- branch manager at a major home care; ED at a major Assisted Living facility ( 400 beds) ( he has his Assisted Living Manager’s license ) and placement. Eddie is the real deal and we are happy to have him!
Eddie’s role is all office administration. Welcome Eddie!

Secondly, Melissa has been moved into a new role as Client Coordinator/Recruiting Manager role. Melissa is highly focused on client care and experiences!

We are very happy to have these two in these roles! Melissa has been with our Company a long time and this role is perfect for her skill set and interest.

If you or an aging loved one is considering hiring home care in Scottsdale, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!

Simple Healthy Eating Solutions for Your Elderly Loved One

When it comes to the way that your elderly loved one eats, it all matters. Being a senior citizen means the metabolism is slowing down and in some cases, it is more difficult for the body to process certain foods. This is why it is so important that you and home care providers help your elderly loved one to choose simple, healthy eating solutions. Here are some of the solutions that may work for your elderly loved one.

Increased Fruit and Vegetable Intake

One of the most important things for your elderly loved one to do is to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables they eat. Your elderly loved one should be getting 2 to 3 servings of fruits and 2 to 3 servings of vegetables every day. You and their home care providers can make eating these foods more enjoyable for them by making smoothies, putting fruit in yogurt, and steaming the vegetables.

Adding In More Calcium

Research shows that bones become more brittle as we age. One of the ways that you can help your elderly loved one to prevent fractures and breaks in their bones is to make sure they are getting enough calcium. You can do this by adding more cheese, milk, and other dairy products to your loved one’s diet. If necessary, you may need to ask your elderly loved one’s doctor if they can take calcium supplements.

Choosing the Healthy Fats

Many senior citizens suffer from low energy, feeling down, and memory loss. If this is something your elderly loved one is experiencing or you would like to help prevent this, you need to make sure they are choosing healthy fats. You and their home care providers should get more omega-3s for your elderly loved one.

More Proteins

It is also very important that your elderly loved one eats enough proteins. However, since their body may not be able to digest proteins as well as it used to, you need to make sure they are eating proteins that are easier for their body to digest. Chicken, fish, nuts, and eggs are all great options.

Conclusion

These are some of the simple, healthy eating solutions that you can offer for your elderly loved one. If your elderly loved one doesn’t eat healthy because they aren’t sure what to buy when grocery shopping, you or a home care provider can assist them.

Sources
https://medlineplus.gov/nutritionforolderadults.html

If you or an aging loved one is considering hiring home care in Apache Junction, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!