Staying Connected with Visiting Angels Social Care
Many of us have experienced long periods away from our family or friends throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a challenging experience for many to adjust to, especially for aging adults at higher risk of contracting the virus. This time apart takes a toll on a person, even if you know you are making good decisions for your health and trying to stay positive.
Outside of the pandemic, many aging adults have family members and friends who have lived out of state or have moved cross-country outside of the pandemic. Despite any situation, staying connected is essential for our mood, happiness, and overall well being.
Visiting Angels caregivers offer in-home assistance and support for a wide range of daily tasks and chronic condition management. Still, our holistic approach can expand outside the walls of your home. Through Social Care, an in-home caregiver can help aging adults navigate the ins and outs of using a computer or device to use social platforms to stay in touch.
What is social care?
Aging adults did not grow up using the internet and computers we know today, and some have never used the internet at all. These skills may come easy to a learning child or a young adult, but our aging adults need a little extra help. In-home caregivers can assist you in learning to operate your own devices at home and use them to access Facebook, Skype, FaceTime and other communication platforms.
With these skills, aging adults can confidently and easily stay in touch with those who aren’t around. Your family and friends do not have to live states away for these skills to be helpful – hopping on a FaceTime phone call and sharing a laugh face-to-face is a comforting experience even if you’re talking to a friend just down the road.
Some skills that can be developed through social care are:
- Using a cell phone
- Texting, sending email, Skype, or using FaceTime
- Creating a Facebook page/account and interacting with family and friends
- Logging in, shopping online or researching information on a search engine
Why is being social important?
Aging adults are often less social than ever before in their life. Due to limited mobility or health concerns, many aging adults find themselves at home more than they had ever been. Being home is comforting, but loneliness and woes of isolation are easy to slip into. According to one study, at least 1 in 4 seniors over the age of 85 admitted to feeling lonely some or all of the time.
Feelings of loneliness or isolation among seniors increase the risk of several aging conditions and diseases. Studies show that lonely seniors have a 59% higher risk of physical and mental health decline and a 64% higher risk of dementia. The study compares loneliness to the same level of risk as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Some observed benefits through different studies show just how vital keeping social skills active are:
- Surfing the internet can reduce depression in seniors by 20%.
- A University of Arizona study finds seniors who use Facebook showed a 25% improvement in mental “updating” skills, essentially improving their working memory.
- Another study shows seniors who visit social networking sites like Facebook have a positive emotional experience when measured by breathing rates, brain stimulation and pupil dilation.
Added benefits
Social care is not an exclusive form of care with Visiting Angels. These services can be provided in tandem with several other services, including home care, personal care, and companion care services. Visiting Angels Farmington offers specially trained caregivers in Iron, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Perry, and Cape Girardeau Counties and the surrounding areas. To learn more about the services available to you, schedule a free in-home consultation with a caregiver who will listen and discuss your situation and your in-home care goals with you. Reach out today at (573) 664-1722.