When your aging adult is feeling greater amounts of stress, she might not share that with you. Learning to recognize what stress looks like for her can help you as her caregiver to find solutions for her.
She’s Exhibiting Mood Swings
Stress does bad things to moods, which you might already know from your time as a caregiver. in the case of your aging adult, she may be more irritable or she might just be shifting moods more quickly than she usually does. Regardless, changes to your elderly family member’s mood are a big indication that something needs to be addressed.
Her Memory Is Off Sometimes
Your elderly family member might be really worried about even the smallest memory lapses. Fortunately, not every bit of trouble with memory relates directly to dementia. Memory problems are extremely common for people who are depressed or who are otherwise under a great deal of stress.
Her Appetite Is Changing
Because stress affects everyone differently, your elderly family member might start eating more or she might stop eating almost entirely. She might start craving specific foods, like sweets, when she normally doesn’t eat them. This can be her brain and her body working together to try to ease the stress that she’s feeling. The problem is that she needs proper nutrition in order to stay as healthy as possible.
She’s in Pain More Often
When your elderly family member is experiencing stress, then she may start to show physical signs, such as pain. The most common form involves muscle pain from muscles that are too tense for too long. She might also find that chronic pain she already experiences becomes far worse as her stress levels increase. Try to learn your elderly family member’s pain cues so that you can start to tell when she’s in greater amounts of pain.
She’s Isolating Herself
It’s really difficult to want to be social when you’re stressed. Your elderly family member might even start to isolate herself from friends, family, and other acquaintances. If you’re noticing that she’s not being as social as usual, there may be a stress-related component to what she’s doing.
You can’t simply wave a magic wand and completely relieve your aging adult’s stress immediately. But once you’re aware of what’s going on, you can start to take steps to help her to manage her stress in ways that make the most sense for her situation.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Caregiver Services in Medfield MA, or anywhere in Eastern Massachusetts, please call the caring staff at CARE Resolutions – (508) 906-5572.
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