The Township Senior Living Prepares for Possible Holiday Blues

For many the holiday season is a joyful, happy time built around togetherness, family, and friends, but for some it can be very stressful and filled with overwhelming expectations, depression, and anxiety. The holiday season can be a reminder of those who are not with us anymore, financial limitations, sadness from being separated from loved ones, and the loss of treasured traditions. Celebrating this time of year doesn’t have to be a sad or overwhelming time. It can be a peaceful time of reminiscing, volunteering, spending time with friends, and creating new traditions!

Stress during the holiday season can be caused by many factors including financial concerns, family gathering expectations, and the first holiday season after losing a loved one. Signs and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress can include, no longer enjoying activities that you previously liked, feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or hopelessness, change in sleeping patterns, and weight gain or loss.

The best thing we can do to help our residents to eliminate the holiday blues is assist them with engagement. Try to have residents participate in activities and preparation for the holidays. We can help combat depression in the elderly by giving our gift of time. Be present, engage them in conversation and let them know we care.

The holiday season means different things to each of us. The holidays are about family, friends, food, and tradition. For many, the smells, taste, and decorations bring memories flooding back. We at The Township Senior Living hope some of these ideas will be helpful as the holidays approach.