If you and your senior are concerned about helping her to remain as social as possible, then a senior living community might be the right answer for her. There are a variety of different ways that this type of living situation protects your elderly family member’s ability to have the socialization that she needs on a consistent basis.
Finding Engaging Activities
Retirement communities are known for having rich activity rosters, full of a variety of different events and opportunities for someone to learn something new. A lot of these activities and events may be ones that your senior might not have had an opportunity to try in the past. Taking advantage of them now can be a lot of fun and can help her to spend time with a variety of different people.
Sharing Meals with Other People
So many aging adults find it difficult to eat alone. Some find it so difficult, in fact, that they’d rather not eat than eat alone. That can be disastrous for your senior’s health because it can quickly lead to malnourishment. In a supportive living community, your elderly family member can eat with different people at every meal if that’s what she enjoys doing.
Establishing Meaningful Friendships
Because your elderly family member is living in a retirement community with many other people, she’s got the chance to not just meet new people but to establish friendships that can last. Adults often talk about how it’s much more difficult to make friends than it was when they were kids. It can be even more difficult for seniors because of some of the challenges that they face.
Avoiding Isolation
Your elderly family member’s risk of self-isolation is incredibly high if she continues to live on her own. In a supportive living community, your elderly family member is able to have exactly the amount of interaction with other people that she wants and needs. She doesn’t have to go to every activity and meet every neighbor, but she also doesn’t have to feel lonely at all.
As your senior’s needs change, so too might her needs for social interaction. Everyone at some point has different needs and wants when it comes to being around other people, and your elderly family member is really no exception. What helps is for her to be in an environment that allows her to have what she needs, as she needs it.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering a move to Senior Supportive Living in Glen Carbon, IL or surrounding areas please contact the caring staff at Knollwood Retirement Community today. 618-394-0569
Offering seniors age 65 and older a wealth of amenities to retain as much independence as they are able, with support, in a home-like environment in our supportive living community.
