Some people may have never experienced anxiety until they reach the latter stages of life. It’s then that anxiety can really become a problem. The good news is that anxiety can be managed, but it might take a little time to work out the best path.
Anxiety Burns a Lot of Energy for Your Senior
Your elderly family member only has so much energy at the end of her life. She might be sleeping a lot more often and she’s not eating as much as she did in the past. All of that might mean that dealing with anxiety takes up a lot of her time and a lot of her energy as well. This might mean it’s a good idea for you to step in with a plan.
Panic Attacks Are Common
Anxiety often leads to panic attacks, although this can be difficult to recognize at first. Panic attacks might be subtle, like having trouble breathing or generally feeling uncomfortable. But they can also be very complicated and involve multiple physical symptoms that seem out of control for your senior. Managing the anxiety itself can help to reduce the occurrence of panic attacks.
Anxiety Can Lead to Scary Thoughts
When your senior doesn’t realize that she’s dealing with anxiety she might start to have some pretty significant fears about what’s going on. She may think that “this is it” and that she’s far nearer to the end of her life. Sometimes panic attacks exacerbate these thoughts, firing up more anxiety, and generally making the entire situation that much worse.
End-of-life Anxiety Is Normal, Even if it’s New
You might worry that this is something that is unusual or wrong for your senior to experience, but it’s normal at the end of life to experience some anxiety. This is true even if your elderly family member has typically not felt bothered much by anxious feelings or panic attacks. This is something that you can get through together, though.
Anxiety Management Is Possible
Hospice elder care providers can work with your senior’s medical team to determine the best plan for managing her anxiety. Because of the resources hospice can put you in touch with, there are a variety of solutions you can try. Talk therapy, medication, and a variety of other tools might be ones that your senior is willing to try.
Understanding your senior’s anxiety is one of the early steps of helping her to manage it. Give several different solutions a try and see what works best for her.
If you or a loved-one are considering hospice elder care in Dunwoody, GA, please call the caring staff at Arcturus Hospice and Palliative Care today. Call 678-383-9973 today to speak to our care team.
Kate Gorinshteyn is the director of marketing at Arcturus Health Care. Arcturus is a fast-growing Hospice striving to provide the highest level of quality care to patients faced with life-limiting illnesses. Our goal is to make each patient as pain-free as possible and give physiological, emotional and spiritual support to both the patient and family. We understand that the decision change from curative to comfort care is difficult, and our team is trained to help you every step of the way!
We are proud to make a difference in the lives of those we serve.