by Pratyasha Bisht, Nurse Practitioner; and Dr. Ganesan Keerthivasan, MD, PhD

Recognizing the difficulties or challenges experienced by parents living alone in India while their offsprings are living abroad is very important. The heavy emotions the elderly could deal with ranges from a simple loneliness to feeling alienated and consider them of no use to anyone in their family. Often times they go to a stage where they feel dejected and do not have anything to look forward to.

To truly comprehend the parent’s thoughts and worries, one need to get into an active listening mode and build trust so that they open up and share their feeling. When they do so, it is very important to listen without any judgment. Afterall, they were so patient raising us when we were kids and we should be supporetive to them during their old age.

Once we know that parents are having some emotional breakdown, the response and reaction should be swift and sincere. Please do not ignore those early signs that would push them to depression and promote dementia of old age. Start finding the root cause for their emotional stress. Be there for them when they need you the most. Listen what they say and help them understand with patience. A lot of times, their beliefs and culture is different from the current young generations and they will forget to take that into account when they advice us. Politely remid them and educate them. Help them to understand how to manage stress. Engage them in activities. Keep them busy and let them spend more time with their friends, grandchildren and spiritual activities. Support them on those activities.

Next is to have a plan to check on their mental well being every 1 to 3 months. Evaluate how they are doing and find if their are any issues they are facing. The parents when they are old, constantly will need reassurance from their children that they still respect them, that they give importance to them and they should feel that their life is worth living. Your engagement and session with them once a month will keep them in a good mental health and they will be happy. You can see a smile on their face. In case you cannot make a difference in their emotional well being, please seek help from a psychologist or a couselor. 

We understand how difficult it is to live alone, and we at Health4Silvers pay attention to the mental wellbeing, wellness and healthy lifestyle of our members. We even provide advice on their diet and exercise activities. Please visit our website and enroll your parents as our privileged member for a healthy and happy life.

The above blog is not a medical advice and should not be considered as one.