Helping Your Elderly Loved One Cope With The Loss Of A Spouse

As your loved ones begin to age, the possibility that they will lose a spouse becomes a greater and more likely possibility. However, when it actually happens, nobody is quite prepared for it. Your elderly loved one needs as much help and support from you as possible in the months and even years following this unfortunate reality of life. In order to properly handle the situation, you should get to know the ways in which you can provide support and assistance to your elderly loved one in their time of need. 

Encourage Them To Get Counseling

When a couple has been married for the majority of their lives, they have come to depend on each other for many things, particularly companionship and emotional support. The loss of that can cause your loved one to sink into a depression or develop an anxiety disorder. 

As such, it would be to your loved one's benefit to encourage them to see a counselor or therapist following the loss of their spouse. If they are reluctant to seek out help themselves, you may suggest that the two of you both go see a grief counselor together to talk through and deal with the loss of a family member. This may make them more comfortable with the idea of opening up to a stranger. 

If you notice signs of a mental health disorder in your loved one after they lose a spouse, this can be a serious problem. Depression can lead your loved one to develop a substance abuse problem, such as late onset alcoholism or can even lead to attempted suicide. 

Hire A Home Care Service

Following the loss of their spouse, your loved one will be left living on their own for the first time in a long time and possibly for the first time ever. This can be a frightening and lonely time for your loved one.

To ensure that the fear and loneliness do not overwhelm your loved one, you can choose between the home care services in your loved one's area to provide them with companionship and help around the house. Home care services do not necessarily have to provide medical care and assistance to your loved one, but can be used for companionship, errands, housekeeping, and other basic non-medical services as well.

Having a home care service come to your loved one's house even a few times a week will help to ease your mind that your loved one is not all alone all of the time. They will also be able to let you know should your loved one exhibit any signs of a mental or other health disorder. 

Now that you know a few of the ways that you can help your elderly loved one cope with the loss of their spouse, you can help your loved one through this difficult transition in life. So, keep these factors in mind and remember to be there for your loved one in any way you can.