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Awareness is one of the most important tools you can have as a family caregiver. When you are caring for your elderly adult, being aware of not only what they are currently going through, but what they might go through, allows you to make the best decisions for your aging parent. Understanding risk factors for issues such as depression enables you to detect when your parent might be dealing with this issue, take steps to prevent it, and prepare yourself for giving them the best quality of care possible to help them manage their depression as they age in place. Some risk factors that increase potential for depression include: Being a woman. Not having a life partner, either through divorce, lifestyle choice, or death. Not having a social network to provide support. Going through stressful life events, such as moving, losing friends or family members, or experiencing a traumatic event such as a crime or severe weather emergency. Living with one or more chronic health conditions. Living with certain health issues, such as alzheimer’s disease. Taking certain medications, or undergoing certain treatments. Experience damage to their body, such as extensive surgery, severe injury, loss of control or use of limbs, or severe illness. Having a personal or family history of major depressive disorder. Fearing mortality. Living alone. Feeling lonely or isolated. Living with severe pain, particularly if it is chronic. If your parent is experiencing depression, do not hesitate to get in touch with their doctor. This will give you the opportunity to discuss the condition, encourage your parent to get the help they need, and get recommendations for how you can help your parent manage this condition in the ways that are truly right for them. Understanding the risks your senior is facing in their physical, mental or emotional health is a valuable element of being a family caregiver. When you have detected risks your senior is facing, introducing senior care into their care routine can be an exceptional way for them to manage and reduce this risk. If your aging parent is dealing with higher risk for depression, a senior home care services provider can make a tremendous difference for them. Helping them to make good lifestyle choices, providing companionship and emotional support, and even just paying attention to their condition and providing you with updates can prove extremely valuable. These services can help your parent to manage the risks they are facing, make choices to help reduce those risks, and live a healthier lifestyle as they age in place. If you or an aging loved-one are considering  senior care in Encino, CA  please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388

Surgery is quite common among elderly Americans for several reasons. From cataract surgery and varicose vein surgery to hip replacements and prostate removal, there are some health issues associated with aging that only surgery can repair. Because elderly adults are often living with other significant health issues as well, surgery can be risky and recovery times are longer and more difficult. Because recovery can be long and challenging, many seniors must rely on others to help them as they heal at home. While family members may be able to lend a hand, it can be very difficult for them to provide the full time and attention the aging adult needs. Many families are hiring elder care providers to provide the assistance and companionship that seniors need as they recover from surgery. Does Every Senior Need Post-Surgery Care at Home? Even elderly adults with the smallest and most routine surgeries require several weeks and even months to properly recover. Their doctors usually provide an outline about what milestones they should be hitting at what point. They will most likely restrict them from certain activities, depending on the type and scope of the surgery. When seniors get a chance to truly rest and recover, they will heal faster. Elder care providers can be a big help to recovering seniors. Many family caregivers don’t want their loved ones to be alone in the first few weeks out of the hospital. Seniors are dealing with pain from the surgery, nausea from the anesthesia and mental stress from the frustration and isolation. An elder care provider can be there to handle large and small issues and allow the senior to rest and recuperate. How Home Care Providers Can Help Post-Surgery Seniors One of the first tasks for elderly adults to do post-surgery is to manage their pain. Elder care providers can remind them about taking medicine and help with hot or cold packs at the surgery site. Seniors will be tired and most likely in pain. The realities of their new limitations are just settling in and they may be feeling frustrated or worried. A home care provider can be a calm and reliable presence for the elderly adult. For weeks after surgery, aging adults may not be strong enough to live independently. The elder care provider can help with health and safety issues such as bathing or showering, dressing, grooming and toileting. When it comes to taking care of the house, elder care providers can do that too.  Tasks like sweeping, dusting, dishes, meal preparation, cleanup and laundry are all part of an elder care provider’s service to the aging adult. When someone else can do these tasks, the senior can rest and heal without stress or frustration. When elderly Americans want to recover from surgery in their own home, they and their family members hire an elder care provider. The professional level of care and the compassion with which the elder care provider tends to the recovering senior is one of the best things that can be done to promote healing. If you or an aging loved-one are considering  elder care in Glendale, CA  please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388

Avoiding anything about feelings of guilt causes them to grow bigger and bigger. Eventually, even if you’ve never had a genuine reason to feel guilty, you’re going to be lugging around an enormous bag of guilt that you could have just dropped. Call it by its Name If you’re calling guilt anything but what it is, you’re allowing it to hide. In order to flush it out and to get to the bottom of why you’re feeling the way that you are, you have to acknowledge that you’re feeling guilty and dig a little bit. Being honest about the guilt is the very first step and you might find it to be the most difficult one. Look at Why You Feel Guilt So why are you feeling guilty at all? If you’re neglecting yourself or feel as if you can’t keep up with everything that your senior needs, you may find that contributing to your feelings. It’s not always easy to find the layers of reasons behind guilt. It might be because other people are projecting their expectations on you. Or maybe you know you need help, but you’re finding that difficult to accept. There are a lot of possible contributing factors. Lose Comparisons One of the biggest culprits bringing guilt is comparing yourself to other people. This can crop up in a lot of ways. You might see someone who isn’t a caregiver and mourn for the loss of your carefree days, then feel guilty for feeling that way. Or you might feel as if you’re just not living up to what it means to be a caregiver at all. No matter what the comparison is, it will rarely help you to feel any better about yourself or your situation. Find the Coping Mechanisms that Work for You Everyone has different coping mechanisms and that’s to be expected. You might find that journaling helps you to work through your guilty feelings, while another caregiver finds talking to a friend to be most helpful. Try a variety of different positive coping mechanisms to determine which ones are effective and then make sure you try those the next time guilt jumps out at you to derail your day. If you’re finding that you still experience guilt more than you want to, there may be something that you’re overlooking. Working with a counselor can help you to get to the bottom of that recurring guilt so that you can get rid of it for good. It doesn’t do anything for you on your caregiving journey and is better off far away from you. If you or an aging loved-one are considering  caregivers in Pasadena, CA  please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388

The employee of the month is Wahiba Nassim. Since beginning with us in February of this year she has consistently exemplified professionalism and flexibility. As a native Floridian, she states that her time in California has been great because she has brightened the lives of “her” Home Care Help clients. Wahiba is in high demand as several of our clients specifically ask for her. Keep up the good work! Your efforts are greatly appreciated! Enjoy the gift certificate, it’s the least we could do.

One of the more frustrating aspects of caregiving can be when you ask for help from other family members and they can’t seem to get it. There are plenty of reasons for that and there are some steps you can take to help family members overcome those reasons. They’re Afraid to Mess Up You may or may not remember what it was like to start out as a family caregiver. You were probably always afraid of doing the wrong thing or messing up. Your other family members are in much the same situation right now. They’re not sure how to be certain they’re doing the right thing all the time and it’s really stressful for some people. That fear of making a mistake can cause them to hold back. They Don’t Know What to Do Besides that fear of doing something wrong, family members may also be unsure what exactly to do. This also goes back to those feelings you might have had at the beginning of your own caregiving journey. You had to learn as you went, and so too might some of your family members. It can help if you give them defined tasks that they can do where you spell everything out clearly. They’re Oblivious to What Caregiving Entails Some family members may have no idea at all what caregiving entails. They may have never encountered caregiving before or they may simply be unaware of what it means to take care of someone on this level. Educating your family members can help a great deal, as can having them around while you’re there and taking care of your senior. They’re Not Convinced You Really Need Help Still other family members may see you as a bit of a superhero. They see all that you do and all that you manage and they may believe on some level that you don’t really need help. This can be frustrating for you because even though you’re doing all you can, you can’t keep up that pace forever without a little bit of help. Again, educating these family members about what you deal with on a daily basis can help a lot. Remember that although it would be nice to have help from other family members, you do have other options. Elderly care providers can step in seamlessly for you and tackle a wide range of different tasks. They can even help you to spot ways you can be more efficient and save some of your own energy, too. If you or an aging loved-one are considering  elderly care in Glendale, CA  please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388

One of the things that people worry about with age is memory loss. Some mild forgetfulness is considered normal, such as forgetting a name, but recalling it later. Still, some early signs of dementia are subtle and could go unnoticed if you don’t know what to look for. Below are some early, subtle signs of dementia to watch for. Relying Heavily on Reminders Have you noticed your aging relative using their phone or sticky notes a lot to remind themselves of things? Do they need to write down even just an item or two before going to the store? Needing to use reminders for nearly everything can be a sign that the senior is beginning to lose their memory. Forgetting Things That Just Happened Does your family member set down their glasses and minutes later forget where they put them? Or, are they able to tell you about events from their childhood, but unable to say what they had for breakfast? Short-term memory losses are a common early indicator of dementia. Trouble Following Directions Is your elderly mother who has always enjoyed cooking having trouble following recipes? Or, does she have difficulty following the steps for other tasks, particularly if they involve numbers? People in the early stages of dementia often have trouble performing complex tasks that were once routine. Problems with Vision Has your aging relative given up reading because it’s hard to see the words on the page? Are they having difficulty telling one color from another? Does their depth perception seem off? There are plenty of age-related eye problems that have nothing to do with dementia, such as cataracts. However, dementia can affect a person’s ability to understand spatial relationships and other visual images. Difficulty with Conversations Have you ever heard your older family member use strange terms for an object, like calling a watch a “hand clock?” Do they seem frequently unable to remember the words for things? It’s normal to occasionally be unable to think of a word, but if it’s happening a lot, there may be cause for concern. If your aging relative shows any of these signs, make an appointment with their doctor to have them evaluated. Should they be diagnosed with dementia, home care can help them to live independently for as long as possible. Home care providers can keep them safe at home, watching over them to make certain they do not make unsafe decisions. Home care can also take care of household tasks as they get more difficult for the senior to perform, such as cleaning and cooking. If you or an aging loved-one are considering  home care in Culver City, CA  please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388 Sources https://www.healthline.com/health/dementia/early-warning-signs#symptoms https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/10_signs https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/guide/early-warning-signs-when-to-call-the-doctor-about-alzheimers#1

Home Care Help participated in Glen Park Healthy Living 2nd Annual Comedy Fundraiser. Comic Cure, a Stand-Up Benefit on behalf of Helping Hands Senior Foundation. The charitable contributions will allow to connect seniors to resources, funds, outreach efforts and allow to provide advocacy for seniors who would go unheard. We donated a Gift basket full of Wine and goodies to raffle. It was a fun evening of food, drinks, fundraising, networking, and laughter. We are looking forward to next years event.

This August is the 19th annual Happiness Happens Month . The theme for this year is “Be the Reason Someone Smiles.” As a caregiver, you likely spend quite a bit of time already trying to make sure your senior is happy and enjoys her life. Celebrating this holiday together can give you little ways to spread even more happiness. What Makes Your Senior Smile? Lots of little things make everyone happy, whether it’s a favorite meal for dinner or an unexpected visit from someone your senior loves. Take a few minutes and think about what helps her to feel her happiest. You might even want to make a list that you can refer back to now and again. Don’t forget to add to it when you recognize new things that make your senior smile. Look for Opportunities to Lighten Your Senior’s Load One way to help your senior feel happier overall on a daily basis is to lighten her load wherever you can. Hiring senior care providers can help her save energy for the activities she really enjoys doing. When she doesn’t have to worry about keeping up with the vacuuming or cooking her meals, your elderly family member can spend time and energy doing what she loves to do. Pick Some Activities to Enjoy Together You and your aging adult might enjoy seeking out some happiness together. That might involve taking in some nature together, going to a movie, or exploring new activities together. Talk to your elderly family member about how she’d like to share happy times with you. Find Ways to Help Your Senior Spread Happiness For many people, sharing happiness with others is the best part of being happy. Your elderly family member might find happiness in going out and meeting new people or in volunteering in her community. Talk to your senior about whether this is something that appeals to her and how she’d like to accomplish this. Do Something Nice for Yourself You might be wondering how doing something nice for you can make your senior happier, but it’s definitely possible. As her family caregiver, keeping yourself happy and healthy is a key piece of maintaining your elderly family member’s happiness. Take care of yourself and it’s infinitely easier to take care of her. Happiness is something that you and your elderly family member can find ways to encourage every day. Even when your senior’s life gets harder and your job as a caregiver becomes more difficult, there are lots of reasons to smile and to experience happiness. If you or an aging loved-one are considering  senior care in Pasadena, CA  please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388

At some point you may find that it’s time to talk to your elderly family member about giving up driving for good. It’s a conversation that might not go the way you expect it to go. This Is Not Easy for Her As a licensed driver, your senior has a certain level of independence and mobility that may be difficult for her to experience in other ways. She may equate her ability to drive with her ability to maintain her independence on many other levels, too. It’s not easy to talk about having to give up her ability to drive, even if she knows that she’s no longer a safe driver. Safety Is the Key Component You may feel uncomfortable with your senior’s driving, but that doesn’t mean that she’s an unsafe driver necessarily. Lots of people feel uncomfortable with other people driving, so it’s important that you focus on the big issue here, which is safety. Your entire argument against your senior continuing to drive must be rooted in legitimate concerns about her safety. If you’re just saying that you want her safe without providing examples, she’s not going to trust you in the future. Gather Some Examples Now is when you need to do some observing and some example gathering. Watch how your senior drives. If she’s changing lanes without looking, speeding, or engaging in other unsafe habits behind the wheel, that’s part of the list. You might also want to start paying attention to damage on the car or more obscure data, such as increasing insurance rates because of tickets or wrecks. Don’t Leave Her Stranded You can’t take your senior’s keys away and then leave her stranded at home. This isn’t about isolating her or removing her ability to get where she needs to go. You need to go into this conversation with other options, such as hiring elder care providers who drive for your senior. Other options might also be available, especially if your area has public transportation options for seniors. Stick with the Topic If your elderly family member is really unhappy about this topic, she may shut you down. It’s not a topic that just goes away, however. You need to be consistent about sticking with this topic until you get to a solution that works well for both you and your aging adult. This may be a gradual process rather than a one-time conversation that solves all the dilemmas. You may find that compromise helps you and your aging adult to each get what you need and what you want from this discussion. Excerpt: When it’s time to talk to your elderly family member about her driving, the conversation may be more difficult than you think.

Goals give you and your elderly family member a framework that helps you to flesh out plans. Those plans help to maintain her quality of life and can help you to ensure that you’re meeting all her needs as her primary family caregiver. Healthy Living Goals Goals that help your elderly family member to experience the best health that she possibly can also help her to remain as independent as possible, which might be very important for her. These types of goals can include plans for exercising, eating the right foods, and doing other activities that help her to stay as healthy as possible. Work with your senior’s doctor to help determine which goals are realistic and what path she can take to meet those goals. Aging in Place or Living with Others Some aging adults want to live independently in their own home for as long as they possibly can. Others are open to the idea of living with others, possibly with you, and in fact may be very excited about that option. The key is that you and your elderly family member need to talk about what she wants so that you can help her to put plans in place to help her to get to whichever goal she prefers. If you senior chooses to age-in-place, consider in-home senior care services provided by Home Care Help! Goals about Mental Activity While you’re focusing on your senior’s overall health, it’s a good idea to include mental activity and well-being. Your senior likely had a busy life for a long time during which she had all sorts of mental stimulation. Later in life, some of that mental stimulation falls away a bit. Hobbies, classes, and other opportunities can all be incredibly helpful in meeting these goals. Social and Spiritual Goals Some of your elderly family member’s goals might involve her spiritual life or her social life. Staying involved with her chosen church may be incredibly important to your elderly family member, but that can become difficult for her. Her church may have outreach programs that can help. Social engagements help your elderly family member to avoid isolating herself, which can lead to depression. Understanding your elderly family member’s goals and plans for this stage of her life and the ones that are yet to come is crucial for you as her caregiver. If neither of you are clear about these goals, it might be a good idea to sit down and come up with a few targets. If you or an aging loved-one are considering in-home senior care in Glendale CA , please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388