The holiday season is meant to draw families together and spread joy. Unfortunately that isn’t always the case for elderly individuals, especially when living on an island like Hawaii. When family lives close it’s easy to keep your heart light, but for those of us who aren’t able to fly to visit family, or who won’t have family over, the holidays can be a bit of a disheartening time of the year. Wilson Care wants to keep our seniors feeling joyful during the holidays, so we’ve provided a little bit of information so that you can keep your heart light this season.
You may be wondering what it is about the holiday season that can make elderly hearts heavy. It isn’t necessarily just the holidays, in fact, there is an increase of depression around these colder months just in general. This derives from a lack of vitamin D in most states, as well as the daylight savings change. This temporary depression is known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), among other names like winter depression and seasonal blues. Signs of SAD in an elderly individual can be seen through irritability, weakness, exhaustion, weight loss and anxiety. While you may not notice these signs all at once, noticing a loss of appetite or an loss in energy, taking note of these signs early on could minimize the effects of SAD in the long term.
If you have noticed these signs and symptoms in one of your loved ones, taking initiative as soon as possible is necessary. One of the easiest ways to improve the feelings of depression is through a program that focuses on these feelings. There are various centers that provide group sessions for elderly coping with these feelings. The ability to relate and find comfort in a group of individuals helps provide the social interaction that usually counteracts these feelings of depression. Otherwise, scheduling out time to visit your elderly family members can make a great deal of difference!
Make sure that you’re checking in on your family this holiday season to ensure that none of these hard, disheartening feelings are happening to them. The smallest effort on your end could make an incredible difference in the life of your family member. If you’re unable to help your family member during the holiday season, contact Wilson Care in Hawaii. We provide the highest quality of in home health care services so that your family member goes cared for throughout the season.
