For nearly 20 years, Seniors Helping Seniors has been working to create a healthier and more connected senior community here in Northern Colorado. Many people are aware of the assistance we can provide for seniors who live alone but are trying to avoid the high cost of assisted living. It sometimes comes as a surprise, however, that we are also available to help family members who have invited seniors to live with them.
We realize and celebrate the advantages that can be enjoyed when seniors are invited to live with their family rather than be placed into an assisted living home. However, we also understand that living with your senior can be overwhelming and stressful at times, especially if they have serious mental or physical conditions that hinder their independence.
If you’re finding it hard to adapt to living with your senior because of their depressed mental state or reduced mobility, Seniors Helping Seniors is here to be of assistance. We offer a wide range of personalized services so that seniors and their families can maintain a higher quality of life.
One of the most important senior care services we provide is simply helping people maintain a positive attitude about their life and health. If you’ve been feeling down about living with your senior lately, keeping reading for some tips that can help you to maintain a more positive attitude.
Is Thinking Positive Really Beneficial For Health?
Before we start discussing our tips for maintaining positivity while living with your senior, let’s take a look at the very ready health benefits of trying to “think positive,” as reported by the Mayo Clinic:
- Increased life span
- Lower levels of distress
- Lower rates of depression
- Greater resistance to the common cold
- Better psychological and physical well-being
- Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
- Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress
A Word About Positive Vs Perfect
Allow us to say that positive thinking doesn’t meaning having a “Pollyanna” attitude where you act like everything is fine when it clearly isn’t, or bury your head in the sand to avoid addressing certain crises. Instead, we are talking about reminding ourselves to smile, count our blessings, and see the beauty and joy that is all around us in the world, even when things in our personal lives are less ideal than we would like. We’re talking about opting for optimism instead of relying on pessimism.
“Optimism or a positive attitude,” says author Elisabeth Scott, M.S., “Can bring you greater health, happier relationships and more luck in life, compared with what you would find in life with a perpetually grouchy disposition.”
Tips For Maintaining A Positive Attitude
Whether you’ve found yourself feeling negatively about living with your senior, or you’ve noticed that your senior has become depressed or negative about where they are in life, these tips may help to reorient your thinking:
- Decide to have a positive attitude. While many parts of life are outside of our control, the attitude we bring to the world is our decision alone.
- Choose to associate with people who are positive. Their attitude is contagious.
- Use positive affirmations. Instead of “I hate getting up.” say, “I am grateful for a new day.”
- Seek activities that help to prevent you from dwelling on poor health or setbacks
- Be of service and seek ways to positively impacts our world. This is what motivates many people to work with Seniors Helping Seniors!
- Get in touch with your spiritual source. Faith fuels hope, hope fuels a positive attitude.
- Do not give in to the negativity around us. Remember that every day is a gift.
Want to learn more about how Seniors Helping Seniors can bring more positivity to senior independent living? Contact us for a FREE consultation in Northern Colorado today!