No matter the circumstances, moving into an assisted living arrangement is a huge change that requires immediate adaptation. Here are three ways you can maintain control over your life, and improve the quality of it, as you make the leap into this brand new world.
Tap Into Your Personal Power
More than a third of assisted living residents experience depression, and that's no way to live. To make matters worse, the transition often causes disturbances in sleep. Naturally, when you don't get adequate sleep, your whole life is thrown off balance. These two forces combined, if left untreated, may make your new life miserable. What's the one thing you can do to combat both depression and sleep troubles? Yoga.
Studies have proven the value of this ancient practice to people calling assisted living facilities home, and incorporating yoga into your new life should help you to control problems with sleep, and curb incidents of depression. Yoga also has numerous physical benefits, such as strengthening your muscles, so that living with different bone ailments is more bearable. In addition, signing up for yoga classes in your new residence means socializing more, and that too is a powerful tool in your better living arsenal.
You Are Never Too Old To Make New Friends
Unfortunately, depression is also closely linked to social withdrawal. Anyone, young or old, moving to a new home is likely to feel socially isolated to some extent, due to the fact that good friends have been left behind. Also typical of any age group is the difficulty associated with making new friends. Because you're moving into a community where you probably don't know anyone, you may be at risk for feeling lonely and blue, adding complications to the adjustment process.
While you probably won't be inclined to throw parties or make instant connections with your new neighbors, it is very important that you make a concerted effort to socialize. Besides signing up for a yoga class, look for other community activities you can participate in. In the even that the assisted living facility doesn't offer a yoga class, see if you can start one, or organize a group that can attend classes at a local establishment. Combining social encounters with something healthy is good for everyone, and you're solving two potential problems at once.
Going Back To School
If you think you're too old for the classroom, consider the case of Nola Ochs. She holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest college graduate at the age of 95. This wasn't just some stunt to get into the record books either, she greatly benefited from the experience, and went on to get her Master's, write a book and even talked of getting a job on a cruise ship as a storyteller.
Although such an adventure may be a bit too much for you, as it probably would be for many a third of Mrs Ochs' age, it goes to show: You're never too old for school, and it can change your life in so many wonderful ways. Consider taking a single course in communications, art, psychology or business. Any subject you endeavor will exercise and strengthen your brain, something doctors say can extend cognition and memory much longer than if you simply choose to sit and stare out a window. Of course, you'll have the added benefit of an expanded social life as soon as you take a seat in the classroom, thus, continuing education is beneficial on many fronts.
Yes, moving into an assisted living senior care facility is an enormous change compared to what you may have been used to, but there are so many ways you can still control the direction your life takes, and the happiness you can find each day. Take care of major obstacles like possible depression, likely sleep problems and the challenges of a new social environment. You should find your new way of life falls into place nicely, and you've got a lot more to look forward to than you could have ever imagined.
