Self-esteem is deemed as one of the important aspects we should be focusing on improving as human beings. Do you know why? Well, it affects everything we do! From simply waking up in the morning, whether you feel that your day is gonna be great or not, to capping the night off and thinking about the best and crappy things that happened on your day.
But what happens when you get old? Do you still get the same energy and excitement when you get to the age of retirement? That’s what we also need to talk about.
As claimed by the American Psychological Association, older adults and their declining self-esteem are possibly stemming from income, health, employment status, and education. Does that mean older adults who have better wealth and health have maintained high self-esteem? Yes, it’s possible. But what about the older adults who have the opposite? What can we do about it? Here are the things you can do to help our older folks with low self-esteem.
- ENHANCE SOCIAL CONNECTION
Strong bonds and friendships among family and other friends can help older adults boost their confidence and self-esteem. Start by reaching out to the people you care about and maintain the relationship with as you keep the social connection along the way.
- PRACTICE GOOD HYGIENE
Hygiene among older adults is just as vital as how young adults do it because it’s important no matter how old you are! You can give them a good bath and dress them up even on a normal day to boost their self-esteem and confidence.
- ASK THEM FOR ADVICE
Older adults love talking A LOT! When you ask them about one thing only, the conversation starts to crack a million topics. It’s funny but it means a lot to them because frankly, they’ve experienced a lot more than us. Older folks even give you words of wisdom out of the blue, and as the receiving end of those words of wisdom, we should appreciate it because life is unpredictable, so make it worth it for them.
- SMASH THE NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES
Terms like Generation X, or Boomer, you may not know it but, these terms can offend our older folks. Yes, there are numerous things they are unaware of during this period of time, and there are irrelevant practices they still want to enforce among young adults in this generation, but that doesn’t mean you have to be mean to them. You can start by letting them know that you respect what they’ve been through and that you value their contributions.
- HAVE SOME COMPASSION
When you interact with an older adult and when they need help with something, have the utmost patience and compassion for them. Older adults have hearing and comprehending problems and we shouldn’t be worsening it for them by getting all agitated. Always ALWAYS handle them with compassion and care.
If you need help watching over your older loved ones, you can get private in-home care that is in line with their unique needs. Our dedicated caregivers, CNAs and nurses can help you in giving them the best in-home care they can have. Send us a message today so we can assist you!
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