Ways You Can Help Your Parent Manage Their Stress After a Disaster

Homecare in Natick MA

September is National Preparedness Month. This is the ideal opportunity for you as a family caregiver to help your parent not only get prepared for the possibility of an emergency or disaster situation, but also to help them cope with the effects of that type of experience. This type of experience can be extremely stressful and upsetting for your aging parent, so it is important that you help them to manage their stress so that they do not suffer from mental and emotional health consequences related to this stress.

Use these tips to help your aging parent manage their stress after a disaster:

• Make sure that they understand what happened. Take some time with your elderly loved one to make sure that they really understand the disaster. Talk about what happened, why it happened, and what, if any, damage occurred because of it. Answer any questions that they might have about the disaster and about what you might need to do in the future to help them feel more prepared for such an event.
• Encourage them to talk about their feelings. One of the most effective means of working toward relieving stress is talking about the feelings that are occurring because of the stress. Encourage your aging parent to tell you what they are going through and if they are experiencing any difficult emotions that they do not know how to deal with. Be open and honest with them, and let them know how you are feeling as well.
• Seek support. While getting back to a routine as soon as possible is important, you do not want your parent to just pretend as if nothing has happened. Seek out support and encouragement that will help your parent to deal with their emotions, including the fear that another emergency or disaster will occur.
• Participate in relief and memorials. The thought of being even more involved in the emergency or disaster might seem like it would only make the experience more difficult and painful for your aging parent, but the reality is that participating in things like relief efforts, volunteer opportunities, and memorials for those lost to the disaster can be extremely therapeutic and help your parent to feel more in control.

If your parent is dealing with serious stress after an emergency or disaster situation, starting non-medical homecare for them can be a fantastic way to help them to manage this stress and get themselves back to their normal quality of life. A non-medical caregiver can be with your elderly loved one to help them get back to a familiar and comfortable routine, support their ongoing mental and emotional health, and encourage them to move forward from the stress and challenge of this experience. This will not only help them to recover from this particular emergency or disaster situation, but also to also to maintain a better outlook on life as they head forward and age in place.