What Can You Do to Make Talking about Her Health Easier on Your Senior?

Sometimes talking to your elderly family member about her health doesn’t go the way you want or hope that it will. That might mean you need to take a deep breath and adjust your own perspective.

Find a Meeting Point Between Your Point of View and Hers

Senior Care Buffalo Grove, IL: Talking about Her Health

Your perspective and your senior’s perspective on her health might be a little farther apart than you think they are. Your concerns about her health might be intense, inspiring you to want to convince her to start taking action on those issues right now. She may have an entirely different approach in mind. You have to find a place to meet in the middle, or this isn’t going to get very far.

You May Need to Let Some Ideas Go

Some of the things you want your senior to do might be complete non-starters for her. From that standpoint, you may find that you have a choice to make. You can either keep pushing your ideas and your perspective, or you can continue to be involved in her health decisions. In some ways letting go of some of those ideas can be the more prudent choice.

Listen to What She’s Truly Saying

In situations like this, it becomes more crucial than ever that you listen to what your senior is telling you. You might believe that she’s ignoring certain health issues, but behind her refusals to tackle things the way you want, you may start to realize that she’s handling it in her own way. What she needs most is support, even if you really want her to handle something in a particular fashion.

Take Accurate Notes

You need to keep track of where you and your senior are in this impasse. It helps if you take some notes to make sure that you’ve got accurate information. There may be a point when you need to communicate your senior’s wishes to her doctor or to another healthcare provider and you want to make sure you don’t get anything incorrect.

Keep an Open Mind and Heart

Just because you and your senior are not seeing eye to eye right now, that doesn’t mean that you won’t at some point. She can change her mind or you might find yourself shifting your perspective. What’s important is that you’re there for her and that you’re able to support her in whatever ways you can.

Finding ways to support your elderly family member might mean that you step back a little bit. Hiring senior care providers is a great way to ensure that your elderly family member has the help that she needs, but that you’re not butting heads constantly.

 

If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Care in Buffalo Grove, IL, contact the caring staff at Companion Services of America today at (847) 943-3786. Our home care service area includes Northbrook, Highland Park, Deerfield, Glenview, Buffalo Grove, Evanston, Des Plaines, Skokie, Lake Forest, Wilmette and the surrounding areas.

Jamie Shapiro