Benefits of Companionship Visits
Dementia, Alzheimer’s, other illnesses, and general old age, are usually the reasons most people think of when they consider elderly people that may need help or assistance in their everyday lives. However, a lot of people don’t realize that loneliness is a massive issue for elderly people.
It is not too hard to see how elderly people may become more isolated later in life. As people grow older, they will unfortunately begin to lose more of their friends and neighbors, and might even lose their spouse or partner, and this inevitably limits the contact and social interaction elderly people might have. On top of this, a lot of older people may have limited contact with their family due to living further away, or just the general busy lives of their families that we all experience now and again. There are a number of reasons why older people might find themselves feeling lonely, and even the most vibrant and happy individual can experience these feelings.
What is important to understand about elderly loneliness, is that it can facilitate a difficult cycle of behavior. An elderly person who might once have been confident and independent, but has found themselves in an isolated situation, may become withdrawn and wary of other people after prolonged periods of minimal contact with anyone. These feelings of anxiety then pave the way for bigger periods of loneliness and a vicious cycle has begun.
On the surface of it, loneliness may not seem like a serious problem, but there is a lot more to it than what you can see on the surface. Loneliness can lead to severe depression and anxiety, and even affect physical health. Prolonged feelings of loneliness and isolation can cause a serious decline in overall health and well-being, and have even been compared to smoking 15 cigarettes a day; risking high blood pressure, greater chance of developing dementia, and a higher risk of early death.
Among other essential care services for the elderly, companionship care can do incredible things to help keep the feelings of loneliness at bay.
While other aspects of care, such as personal care, home help, or specialist Alzheimer’s and dementia care, are absolutely crucial to a number of senior members of our communities, the value of companionship care should never be underestimated.