Several different aspects of your senior’s life can help you to stay on top of how she’s doing overall. Her mental health is just one aspect to watch and there are little signs that can give you an idea of whether there might be more happening.
Her Environment Can Tell You a Lot
Your senior’s immediate environment could include her home, her favorite room in the house, or her car. All of these spots can give you a quick overview of how she might be doing mentally and emotionally. This is especially the case if her home has always been clean and tidy and now is the exact opposite. At the very least, your senior’s home can be a sign that you need to look into other aspects of her life.
Her Appearance Can Be a Clue
Besides your senior’s environment, her own personal appearance might have gradually undergone a change as well. Just as with her home, a formerly immaculate appearance might be more disheveled lately. Or your senior might just not seem as put together as she used to be. If she used to wear makeup or get her hair done regularly, that might not be happening now. Look for little signs that might indicate she’s having trouble.
What and How She’s Eating Matters
Nutrition is a cornerstone of health for your senior. If the foods that she’s eating are low in nutritional value, then she’s going to exhibit that in some way. She may be losing weight or otherwise less healthy in some way than she used to be. Take a quick look in your senior’s pantry and her refrigerator. The foods that she has on hand can give you a good overview of what she might be eating.
Social Isolation Is a Bad Sign
Something else to pay attention to is whether or not your senior is still being as social as she has been. Withdrawing from others can be a sign that your elderly family member is having a little more difficulty with certain aspects of her life than she did have. If she’s not talking about friends the same way that she used to, that might be because she’s not seeing them or talking to them as often. There might be reasons for that change.
All of these signs could be indications that your elderly family member needs a little more help than she has needed in the past. Hiring home care providers can help her to manage the day-to-day tasks that need to be handled. You might also want to talk to her doctor about the long-term impacts these situations might have on her mental health.
