Coming to Terms With Assisted Living
While seniors struggle to make the adjustments necessary for a move to assisted living, their families have a different struggle that may be disregarded in the transition period. Guilt may shadow over what can be a pleasant transition. Caregiver burnout and compassion fatigue add to the other stresses of life, and there is a generation of people caught between raising a growing family, and caring for a parent who is growing older, and needing more care.
When dementia is involved, an adult requires more supervision over time, and may not be aware of their confusion, leading to increased conflict with and among family members. Schedules at a home full of children change quickly and often, increasing the sense of chaos. A senior’s need for privacy and an independent social life may be overlooked. A lack of routine can make the senior’s day more disorienting, and concerns about wandering or accidental harm can restrict the social lives of the entire family, leading to increased stress and resentment by younger members of the family who are not yet mature enough to have compassion for an elderly loved one who looks fine, but somehow, is not.
In the face of this destabilizing chaos, a person with dementia can find comfort and serenity in assisted living. A home-like environment, like the homes at Mayberry Gardens, is a perfect transition from chaotic family care to supported independence. They can create their own schedules, and in this way, hold on to a sense of time and order. Small-scale residences give privacy for visiting friends and family while allowing new relationships to grow, with people of a similar age, who may share parallel memories. Activities geared toward seniors, with music they enjoy, and shared memories from the distant past become available, rather than focusing on more recent events they cannot recall.
Though families struggle with the decision to move a loved one into assisted living, it is important to remember that there are new joys to be found there. They may simply find more comfort in a quiet, self-made routine, than in the busy, frenzied life of the modern family. They can once again take pride in the care of home and self, and more fully enjoy visits from loud and busy young people, and from adult children, when there is no longer a need for conflict over personal autonomy.
Contact Mayberry Gardens today to learn more about the benefits of assisted living.