We love making our senior clients happier! A main reason we offer home care and home support to seniors is to keep seniors healthy and happy where they want to be — at home! But it’s more than just supporting their goal of aging at home. Outside of the basics like living conditions, safety, and health, there are some additional components indicated in modern literature as cornerstone pieces for happiness. Among the most prominent are growth and learning, practising gratitude, travel and adventure, and relationships.
Growth and learning are ever popular. Even somewhat trendy. Overall, happiness has increased across our society over the past few decades. One way we see our senior clients continue to learn and grow is via the Internet and learning about new gadgets. It’s fun!
As for giving thanks, people who regularly practice gratitude by taking time to notice and reflect upon the things they’re thankful for experience more positive emotions, feel more alive, sleep better, express more compassion and kindness, and even have stronger immune systems.
Travel and adventure could just be more simply titled “adventure”. Traveling is an adventure. Many of us like being in our comfort zones for varying periods of time, but there are also times when feeling adventurous is exhilarating. And if someone isn’t able to visit a certain locale they want to, get creative and bring the locale to them. Theme nights, posters/images and music are three easy ways that our caregivers get to take someone there without leaving the comforts of home.
And relationships, this is perhaps the most important piece of all. Focusing on people, not things, is supported as a route toward increased happiness. Whether it’s individuals connecting with family more often, fostering or building a new relationship with someone you admire and want as a friend, or ending a relationship in your life that takes away from you more than it gives, it’s so important. I’ve heard it said that who we are is strongly influenced by the five closest relationships/friendships in our lives. With that in mind, we should monitor our relationships much closer than we monitor our email.
Chris Wilkinson is the owner/GM for Nurse Next Door Home Care Services for Cowichan and central Vancouver Island. For questions or a free in-home caring consult call 250-748-4357, or email Cowichan@NurseNextDoor.com