How to Help Seniors Overcome Resistance to Care

Seniors and the elderly may be reluctant to accept changes in life and abandon their way of life. They often put up resistance to personal care and assistance, as it often means they are no longer considered to be sufficiently independent to look after themselves. This is a fairly common situation families face.

If your senior loved one is not comfortable accepting care from other family members or an outside source such as professionals providers of home care in Westwood, Westwood Village and nearby areas, what can you do to minimize their resistance to care and make the transition easier without exacerbating the conflict? 

What is resistance to care?

Resistance to care is defined as any patient behavior aimed at preventing or interfering with personal and medical care provided by a caregiver or medical professional. Since caregivers are typically responsible for helping recipients with Activities of Daily Living (ADL), patients may experience detrimental health effects such as malnutrition, weight loss, constipation, dehydration, etc., which can put their well-being at serious risk, especially if their health is already failing. 

It is worth noting that seniors with companion animals experience improved health and better mood, and this might be one avenue worth pursuing.

How do you deal with the elderly who are confrontational?

Three components are considered to be vital to successfully dealing with and helping confrontational elderly individuals overcome resistance to care: patience, creativity, and flexibility. Professionals in the world of caregiving understand that each client is unique and that not every client is easy to work with from the start. 

• Communication is key: Try to get your elderly loved one to see the situation from your own perspective: home care is about taking away their independence but helping them maintain it with focus on their safety, well-being and comfort. Ask questions and listen to answers to show that you care for and respect their opinion.
• Prioritize your elderly loved one’s involvement and let them get a say: Probably the worse thing you could say to an aging loved one who is already struggling with failing health, loss and other unavoidable changes is that a decision has been made for them. If at all possible, try not to exclude your elderly loved one from their own care.
• Start slow, with patience and understanding: Suggest making baby steps as opposed to forcing radical changes on your aging loved one. This will help your elderly loved one adapt to the change at their own pace and get used to the idea of having a caregiver visit them on a regular basis one step at a time.
• Include your aging loved one in the process of finding a caregiver: Not all elderly people are the same, and neither are all caregivers. Finding the right caregiver for your elderly loved one is a process. If you include your aging loved one in it, you can expect a better outcome.

Why are seniors so stubborn?

Seniors and the elderly can be set in their ways. This is perfectly natural. They have spent decades living life a certain way and they are having a hard time adjusting to even the slightest changes to their usual routine, let alone drastic changes which involve welcoming a stranger into one’s home, which is who a caregiver is to them, at least at first. 

Other reasons for stubbornness may not be as easy to identify:

• Depression and grief over the loss of a partner, family member, or friend. Losing a pet can be just as difficult for seniors to cope with.
• Anxiety
• Anger issues
• Feeling isolated
• Failing health or consequences of an illness
• Feeling left out of the family
• Fear of dying
• Fear that family may have them relocated to an assisted living residence or nursing home

It is essential to take the above reasons into consideration when approaching the topic of home care for the first time.

Home care in Westwood and the area makes transitions easier

Let us help you find appropriate respite care when you need it most and then weigh your options carefully to decide if a long-term home care solution is your preferred alternative to family caregiving. We are here to make your aging loved one’s life more fulfilling while helping you create more breathing room in yours. Together, we can work out a solution that truly aligns with your loved one’s best needs. For more details, do not hesitate to contact us anytime.