Nov 25, 2019
Connecting with Loved Ones Over the Holidays and Beyond
The holiday season is fast approaching, and the Theora Care team has been thinking of ways we can better connect with our families and friends over the holiday season, with a special focus on those who require caregiving, and those who are caregivers – in other words, all of us!
While the approaching festivities sound exciting, in reality there can be some degree of stress involved. Our team have been or are family caregivers so we can completely relate. Many family caregivers have full time jobs, especially those with their own businesses, seven days a week work on top of caregiving – we marvel at how they do it all!
The following is a list of strategies and helpful links we’ve found useful to diffuse stress around the holidays for caregivers and create more inclusiveness for our family and friends who may have Alzheimer’s, memory loss, or other conditions. When people get together over the holidays, it’s a good time to check in to make sure everyone is okay, or maybe they might need a little more help.
Checking in on Older Family and Friends. During this time of year, we may see people we haven’t seen for a bit – an older relative, friend, even a neighbor we may wave to who lives alone (note to self: go see nice person across street). Are they okay? Do they need anything? Are there any changes in behavior since the last time you saw them that might warrant additional follow up? Here is an article about one family who noticed changes in a loved one, and tips on how to assess: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/finding-your-parents-in-mental-decline-during-the-holidays#A-difficult-discovery
Affordable, Easy to Use Remote Monitoring. If you should discover that an older family or friend does require more oversight, there is technology that enables them to stay in their own home, while giving you extra reassurance they are okay and notifying you if they might need assistance. One example is a true story about how Tammy in Texas keeps an eye on her Mom, Charlotte, who lives in Oregon and has memory loss https://bit.ly/37sb40Q (sign in may be required, and additional stories can be found here). The Theora Connect wristwatch-style wearable for her Mom, coupled with the free Theora Link smartphone app for Tammy, is an Alzheimer’s GPS tracking device and so much more. Charlotte loves that Theora Connect “watch” is non-stigmatizing like some medical looking devices or lanyards, and enables her to live independently in Oregon in her own home and social community, with a little extra reassuring oversight from Tammy. Tammy loves that she knows where her mom is and can communicate with her directly through the watch whenever she likes.
Ask for help. If you are a caregiver, don’t wear yourself out over the holidays! Caregivers can always use more “me” time, but over the holidays it escalates, and let’s face it, it’s probably not even “me” time spent on themselves. Caregiver burnout is real, and holidays add a lot more to your plate. Simplify meals and ask for help. Meals do not have to be elaborate, and if you are hosting a potluck dinner where everyone brings a dish minimizes the cooking and the cleanup! One of our team refers to herself as the “CEO of Thanksgiving” as she involves everyone in contributing to the dinner, and everyone likes to have their own special role in making it “our” Thanksgiving. Her project plan is available if you like!
Or, a caregiver you know might need some extra prep or shopping time, want to attend a party or other holiday get together, or just have a few quiet hours of downtime. Paying for a few hours of professional caregiving for a caregiver friend, or if appropriate, offering to stay with their loved one for a few hours could be a very nice gift – at the holidays or anytime.
If you have any holiday ideas for caregivers and care recipients you’d like to share, we would love to hear them. We’ll even post them in the December newsletter!
