Meaningful Ways That You Can Help Your Parent Honor Their Spouse

Losing a spouse is one of the most difficult things that anyone can go through in their life. If you are a family caregiver for an elderly loved one is going through this type of grief, you can help them to handle it more effectively and bring greater meaning into this process and to the rest of their lives. April is Worldwide Bereaved Spouses Awareness Month. This is the ideal time for you to find meaningful ways that you can help your parent honor their spouse so that they can achieve and maintain better mental and emotional health as they work through their later years.

Let these ideas inspire you for meaningful ways that your aging parent can honor their lost spouse as they deal with their grief:

• Share family stories. Ensure that future generations know this person by recording family stories about them. Have your aging parent write down memories about their spouse, such as when and how they met, what they used to do together during their dating years, or the dreams that they had. You can also record a video of them talking about their partner and add pictures so that future generations can learn about their family member.

• Create holiday traditions. Ensure that their spouse continues to be a valuable part of future holidays by creating traditions for your parent to follow through. This can include decorations such as Christmas ornaments, specially decorated eggs for Easter, or a place-setting for Thanksgiving. Work with your parent to come up with these traditions so that your parent can continue to be connected with their partner as they age in place.

• Use art. Arts and crafts are meaningful ways for your aging parent to express themselves and connect with their emotions, personality, and imagination, and stimulate their mind for improved mental health and cognitive functioning. Encourage your parent to choose mediums that they enjoy and create art projects that express their love for their partner and the life that they had together.

Starting elderly care for your aging parent can be an exceptional way for you to help your elderly parent as they are working through their grief at losing their spouse. An elderly home care services provider can be with your aging parent on a customized schedule to ensure that they have access to all of the support, care, and assistance that they might need to help them manage their individual needs, challenges, and limitations, as well as to help them to achieve and maintain a higher quality of life even in this difficult time. Even if your parent has lost their spouse many years before, they might still be struggling with the challenge of not having that person in their life, and the highly personalized care of an elderly care provider can help them to stay healthy, safe, and comfortable while also maintaining as much independence as possible and seeking a lifestyle that is active, engaged, and fulfilling.

Source
https://www.addictionhope.com/mood-disorder/grief/
https://www.sharecare.com/health/grief-emotional-health/article/coping-with-grief

If you or an aging loved-one are considering in-home elderly care in Middletown, CT, please contact the caring staff at Franciscan Ever There Care. Call today 203-630-2881.