Clinical depression is a severe mental disorder that creates debilitating effects and requires medications to manage symptoms. Seniors with severe clinical depression may require hospitalization to manage an episode, and many of these seniors need an on-site caregiver to monitor their symptoms and prevent life-threatening situations. Find out how a senior community can help these individuals and give them a better quality of life.
Give The Seniors A Daily Purpose
Community workers can assign a task to residents to give them a purpose. Seniors with clinical depression need a purpose or reason to get up every day and move around. Without a valid reason, many seniors spend all day in their living space and won’t remain active.
The community workers can create an activity the senior enjoys and convince them they’re the only person who can do it, and this makes the senior feel appreciated and a part of the community. Residents with clinical depression can continue to stay in independent living options as long as their symptoms are manageable.
Encourage Socialization and Making New Friends
Seniors living in assisted living homes need to socialize more, especially if they have clinical depression, because loneliness and isolation could make these residents suicidal. A senior community offers a chance to meet like-minded individuals that share the same life experiences and have the same views. Placing a senior with clinical depression in a community where they get support from their peers improves their mindset and keeps them more positive about life.
Motivate Seniors to Exercise
Regular physical exercise increases the production of the natural feel-good hormone dopamine in the body. The hormone not only reduces pain and inflammation in the body, but can control physical manifestations of pain caused by this mental disorder. That makes people feel better and more excited about taking part in activities.
Doctors who treat clinical depression sufferers understand that the residents can experience physical pain for which there isn’t a physical cause, and higher dopamine and serotonin levels decrease depression and related symptoms of the disorder. Residents who live in an assisted living community in San Antonio, TX, have more opportunities to exercise and friends who will encourage them to exercise more often.
Promote a Healthier Diet
Individuals who have been diagnosed with major depression don’t follow a healthy diet. Many of these individuals eat a diet of fatty foods, dairy, processed meals or meats, and sugary snacks. To improve their physical and mental health, these residents need to make dietary changes, and doctors recommend lean, unprocessed meats, vegetables, and fruits.
Unhealthy meals can trigger negative results and increase symptoms. A high consumption of processed foods can also increase cholesterol and heart risks, but in senior care communities, residents have more opportunities to eat healthy meals. Meal preparation services are available for everyone so none of the residents have to cook their own meals.
Provide Counseling and Therapy Services
Counseling and behavioral therapy are necessary to treat clinical depression, and therapists and psychiatric doctors provide services that cater to each resident’s needs. Residents meet with their therapist regularly to get the correct medication and dosage to treat their mental illness. Doctors monitor the resident’s behavior patterns to keep them mentally fit and intervene during a crisis. In senior living communities, residents have access to mental health services as needed.
Offer Better Management for Sleeping Problems
Insomnia is a symptom of this mental disorder, and seniors will need treatment for the sleeping disorder, too. Some residents may exhibit sleepiness during the day, while others may sleep all day during episodes. Regular sleep patterns are necessary to control symptoms and reduce serious health risks for the residents. A lack of sleep can place too much strain on the heart and increase cardiovascular risks for seniors.
Promote a Friendly Atmosphere for All Residents
Community workers and residents can work together to promote a friendly atmosphere for all residents and help everyone feel like they belong. This form of depression causes the person to lose their confidence and feel like they aren’t valuable to anyone, and a supportive living environment is essential to help seniors with major depression. A peaceful and pleasant living environment lowers the risk of self-harm or suicidal thoughts.
Wonderful Homes for Seniors
At Villa de San Antonio, we promote a calming and caring environment for all residents, and our community can offer seniors with clinical depression everything they need for a higher quality of life. Our staff encourages residents to make new friends and follow a healthy lifestyle. Come by our wonderful community today for a private tour.
