As our loved ones age and experience changes in their health status, it’s important to be supportive during times of stress and anxiety. Stress can take on many different shapes and forms, so it’s important to learn what is typical, what is a potential cause of stress, and how you can help your loved one through those stressful periods.
Understanding the difference between stress and anxiety, especially within the senior population can be challenging. At Concierge Care, we’ve helped many clients and their families through difficult times. Learn how to support the special seniors in your life as best you can.
Understanding Stress and Anxiety in Seniors
Stress is a common part of life and managing it properly is essential to maintaining good health. Anxiety—which often goes undiagnosed—can also affect adults as they age. In fact, according to the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, approximately 10-20% of older adults live with anxiety.
Life is often full of unexpected twists and turns, both good and bad. The unplanned and unexpected experiences can manifest differently with each person. This could mean a temporary upset response to financial difficulty or to the diagnosis of a chronic condition.
What’s the difference between stress and anxiety?
Stress is a short-term response to a threat or trigger and can present as:
- Moodiness or irritability
- Loneliness
- Dizziness
- Unhappiness
Anxiety is less common in older adults and can present as:
- Restlessness
- Tension
- Sweat
- Uneasiness
- Insomnia
- Heart palpitations
- Difficulty concentrating
- Breathing complications
These may seem like cut-and-dry symptoms, however, there are also some symptoms that occur in both anxiety and stress. Some of those are:
- Increased heart rate
- Faster breathing
- Diarrhea or constipation
Causes of Stress and Anxiety In Seniors
It’s hard to anticipate how someone might react to new information or a health scare. Here are some potential causes of stress that you may notice in your loved one:
- Isolation: 27% of people over the age of 60 live alone. When you’re used to being surrounded by family and an active community, feelings of being home by yourself can become overwhelming. This could also be as a result of personal loss, like a spouse or partner, long-time friend, or more broadly, grieving for the loss of one’s former home or community.
- Financial Worry: Older adults often live on a fixed income, relying on social security, savings, and retirement to pay for their daily expenses while trying to squeeze in room for fun activities and memories. According to RetireGuide, long-term care costs alone can amount to upwards of $108,000 per year.
- Health decline: Many older adults lead healthy lives as they age, however, periods of declining health not only weigh on their health, but their mind, their heart, and more.
How You Can Help Your Loved One Through a Period Of Stress
At Concierge Care, we’ve helped many clients and their loved ones through difficult and challenging times. Here are some tips we recommend to help support your loved ones through not-so-happy times.
- Be a listening ear. One of the most validating feelings is to just be heard and have your emotions affirmed. Ask your loved one how they are doing, and use open-ended questions to spark a larger conversation about their well-being.
- Suggest low-intensity exercise. Sometimes your loved one might have cabin fever. Encouraging low-intensity exercise can help stimulate blood flow, get their muscles moving, get their brain active, and distract them from their worries, doubts, and fears. The exercise can go even better if you decide to join them in the fun.
- Fill their calendar with fun. We aren’t saying they need a full social calendar, but planned and intentional activities that your loved one enjoys can be helpful. Consider it a date night but as an independent activity, whether that’s dinner, a movie, gardening, or something else that they may have lost touch with.
Have a caregiver provide emotional support. Many older adults may be reluctant to agree to professional caregivers visiting them at home, but they often enjoy talking to someone who can help them through a tough time. At Concierge Care, our experienced caregivers know how to provide companionship to seniors whether they’re having a great day or a not-so-good day.