Relationships are essential to a healthy life. Sadly, too many families do not think about the importance of relationships when they are considering options for their loved one. As a result, many elderly people are taken out of the community they have spent a life building and put into a home feel where they feel isolated and lonely.
In a previous post, we looked at how live-in care is the best option for maintaining your loved one’s life and lifestyle (hyperlink). In this post, we’ll cover the top 4 advantages of live-in care for your loved one’s relationships.
1. Spouses Can Stay Together
Multiple studies show how marriage is good for our health. For older couples moving into the later stages of their lives, maintaining good health and well-being is important. Keeping spouses together allows them to continue the familiarity, stability and love they’ve created through life together. Live-in care helps to preserve those well established and essential bonds while enabling them to grow old together.
2. Social Activities Are Encouraged
Getting out of the house every now and then makes most people feel connected to family, friends and their communities. Live-in care helps elderly people continue to maintain the social aspects of their lifestyle with little to no disruption. The carer can accompany them to meet friends, attend social functions, and participate in community events. Staying at home offers options that allow them to keep doing what they love.
3. Provides Relationships and Companionship
We all know living in isolation can be detrimental to our health, but did you know that loneliness can be as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day? And those who experience a high degree of loneliness are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s.
Those are troubling statistics. Live-in care offers a solution to loneliness and isolation. It supports companionship and continued social interactions which can be positive towards their independence, self-confidence, happiness and overall well being.
4. Peace For Family Members
The emotional tug of war families face when needing to make decisions for ageing parents or spouses can be challenging. Guilt and fear can often rob a family of happy days still ahead. Choosing live-in care brings peace of mind for so many common concerns: safety, loneliness, stability, happiness, health and burn-out of family members. It also serves to alleviate any strain, stress, frustration and guilt of family members responsible for taking on the carer role. This can create a much happier and healthier family dynamics.
5. Develop A Friendship With Their Carer
Some of the sweetest relationships are formed when one person is providing care to another. Your loved one and their carer will share a space, share vulnerable moments, share stories, and share their lives.
There is no doubt why deep connections are made in this kind of environment. Of course, all our carers can be trusted to be professional, safe, and secure with your loved one(s). But they are real people who take a genuine interest in your loved one and we are sure that the connection will be reciprocated.
Are You Interested In Knowing More About Live In Care?
Countless families have experienced all these advantages with a live-in carer from Nightingales Golden Care. You can read how live-in care changed their lives here.
If you’re considering care and would like to hear more about the many advantages of live-in care, or just have some questions, we’d love to chat with you. Please call us on 02392 704 190 or use this form. Our friendly team is waiting to help you and your loved one.
