Signs That It Might Be Time for Senior Care

Let your loved one know about your concerns for their welfare and ask them about their daily experiences so you can discuss the best options together.

No one wants to wait until a crisis before making a decision, but knowing when to broach the subject can be difficult as well. 

Here are some signs that it might be time to start thinking about senior housing options.

1. Increasing Worries About Safety in the Home

Is your loved one more prone to falls these days? Perhaps there have been multiple ER visits, or even hospital stays. Your loved one or another caregiver or friend might have mentioned accidents such as minor burns or slips, cooking-related accidents, or other small but still worrying mishaps.

You might also be starting to worry about home challenges such as steep or winding stairs, high-sided tubs, uneven patios, or too many sharp edges and corners on the furniture.

If it seems like home is less and less of a safe place, it could be time to think about moving to senior housing.

2. Advancing Memory Impairment

Forgetfulness can be dangerous for seniors. Someone suffering from impaired cognition can easily leave a stove or freestanding heater unattended or let a bath or sink overflow.

Be wise to the signs of memory impairment such as forgetfulness, repeating the same information, seeming lost or confused, or even getting disoriented and wandering out of the home.

When you notice advancing signs of memory impairment, it’s time to discuss with your loved one and others in their immediate circle. Please don’t wait to have this conversation until it’s too late.

3. Problems With Personal Care

Personal care can be difficult for seniors who are struggling with memory loss or physical issues such as dizziness, fatigue, or mobility difficulties. Older adults may also be frightened of slipping or falling on bathroom tiles or having trouble negotiating the bathtub’s sides.

Seniors who have a regular in-home personal care assistant might start needing increased personal care hours 

If you notice signs of neglected hygiene, such as being unwashed or unkempt, it’s time to find out how things are with your loved one and whether they might be safer and more comfortable in a senior housing community setting 

4. Neglected Household and Finances

How are things in your loved one’s home? Signs of neglect around the house are a telltale sign that someone is struggling at home.

You might notice trash cans left to overflow, increased amounts of dust or dirt around the home, mold, grime, or piles of dishes in the sink. You might also notice a lot of general clutter, such as unfolded laundry or paperwork left unattended.

Your loved one might also start neglecting their finances. You might notice reminder notices lying around or see that they have left mail untouched in piles, or perhaps even outside in the mailbox.

Talk to your loved one about your concerns regarding their finances. Work together to assess whether daily household and personal care tasks are getting to be too much for them.

5. Increased Reliance On Loved Ones

Friends and family are generally happy to help out a loved one in need, but if the requirement for help is steadily growing, that too can be a sign that it’s time to consider senior housing.

Seniors who live with a partner might start relying more and more heavily on their healthier spouse, which puts a lot of strain on the healthier partner.

6. Becoming Angry and Less Tolerant

You may be noticing that your loved one increasingly seems angry, short-tempered, intolerant, or simply nasty. For many adults with older people in their lives, this can be a troubling situation, especially if it seems to be getting worse over time.

Both age and illness can often intensify personality traits that an individual may have had their entire life. The person who always wanted to be the center of attention becomes more demanding. The person who often found fault with others now seems to be hypercritical and even mean in his or her opinions of others. The person who was always somewhat intolerant of anyone different or not like them, now seems downright bigoted. Rudeness, a tendency to interrupt, neediness, and manipulation may all become more pronounced as a person ages.

Part of the reason for this is that some older people simply become less sensitive to others as they age. Particularly for older people who live alone or who have been living alone for a while, their tolerance of the way others do things, their tolerance for others at all, can be diminished simply as a result of their having been able to do things pretty much their way for a long period of time.

You also need to consider that these bouts of anger are a result of the personality changes brought on by Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Certain prescription medications can have negative side effects or interact with one another, causing mood swings and irritability. Emotional fits could be the result of anxiety or depression over one’s worsening health.

Increasingly levels of anger and intolerance could be signs that your loved one is going to find it hard to co-exist in everyday society and also that other more significant emotional and cognitive issues are just around the corner.

7. Becoming Isolated At Home

Staying social is vital for us as we age. Having a local community of friends and plenty of things to do can help seniors stay active and even ward off the depression and lack of motivation that comes with social isolation.

Senior housing communities provide residents with opportunities to socialize and try out hobbies. For those who are becoming too isolated living at home, this can be a real boon. 

Floating the idea that it’s time for senior housing isn’t easy. However, if you notice one or more of these signs, it’s a good idea to start the conversation with your loved one.

Sometimes, a move to senior housing is the best way to keep your loved one safe and happy and increase their later years’ quality.