Four Reasons it’s a Big Deal When Your Senior Is Stubborn

It’s frustrating when your elderly family member is reluctant to accept your help, but when she’s really getting stubborn, that can be a big problem for both of you. On her part, it might mean that she’s not getting the help that she truly needs. But on your part, it might make caregiving almost impossibly difficult.

Home Care in Fairfax VA: Senior Stubbornness

You’re More Likely to Stay Worried

It’s challenging when your senior is stubborn. You might find yourself worried more often and for longer periods of time than you might if she were a little more cooperative with the plan you’ve laid out for her. When you’re spending a lot of your time explaining and cajoling to get her to accept assistance, that’s going to take a lot out of you.

You’re Not as Able to Anticipate Needs

When you’re worried all the time and your senior is pushing back about what and how much you can do for her, you’re not as able to anticipate needs. This applies to her needs as well as to your own. You’re in a constant state of readiness, especially when you know that your senior needs your assistance with something that she’s resisting.

Your Expectations May Be Out of Sync

When your senior is resisting your help, this can send your own expectations into unrealistic territory. You may start to believe that you should be better at reading her mind about what she wants and needs. Or you might start to believe you should be doing everything, all the time. This is an excellent way to burn yourself out because you can’t do all the things, no matter how much you want to do so.

Communication Is More Difficult

Communication with your senior and with other people becomes so much more difficult by this stage because you’re not being completely open with each other. It’s time to take a step back and to approach the situation from another angle. Remember that you’re doing the best that you can and that you’re not supposed to be able to read your elderly family member’s mind. From there, you can work toward better solutions.

Forging through your senior’s stubborn moments is something that you may find yourself doing more than you expect as a caregiver. But it’s also a good idea to get some help on your side from home care providers. They can help you to find workarounds that work for both you and your aging family member.

Are you or a loved-one considering hiring Home Care in Fairfax, VA? Please call the caring staff at Medical Professionals On Call today. Contact: 703-273-8818

• Author
• Recent Posts

Michelle DeFilippis

I graduated with a BS degree and had been selling medical equipment to hospitals, clinics and technicians. More recently, a family member was diagnosed with dementia and we, as a family, realized we were not prepared t care for her. We were thrown into that whirlpool of hospital stays, 24/7 live-in care, skilled care, caring for mom ourselves and finally, now daily home care. This was such a stressful time that I started thinking there had to be other people, other families as overwhelmed and unprepared as we were.

Medical Professionals On Call has such a caring, professional staff who are available to step in with whatever level of care necessary for loved ones and to relieve you of that stress.

Latest posts by Michelle DeFilippis (see all)

• Do Your Parents Face More Challenges When They Live in a Rural Community? - November 6, 2019
• Ways to Ease Arthritis Symptoms in the Elderly - October 24, 2019
• Tips for a Better Life with Fibromyalgia - October 9, 2019