Nursing Convalescent Homes - Nursing Home Adjustment Part 1

It is crucial to help the elderly resident make the nursing home adjustment.

Chances are, both you, your elderly loved one and the rest of the family know that they need to move to a nursing home. This fact, however doesn’t make it any easier to face and you must realise that moving into a nursing home is an enormous life-changing event for the senior citizen. It's a good idea to put yourself in their shoes so that you can better understand how they feel.

Here are just a few factors that might play on their mind and contribute to sadness and depression:

Having to sell a home.

Having to sell or give away many possessions, including heirlooms, favorite pieces of furniture, etc.

Moving away from friends and family.

Moving away from a familiar neighbourhood.

Moving away from a place of worship and the church community.

Losing the freedom to chose what and when to eat etc.

Having to share access to a bathroom, kitchen, living room, etc… now all living areas are communal.

Loss of independence.

Losing certain "routines" such as sitting at the kitchen table having coffee while watching the neighbors go to work.

Having to leave a much loved pet. When senior citizens live on their own, a pet can become an extremely important part of their life. As such, the senior citizen may grieve heavily for having to give away the pet, as much of his or her routine probably used to revolve around it. Be sure to be sensitive to this.

Loss of personal preferences, such as how the clothes should be laundered, when to watch TV (more difficult with a roommate), etc.

Losing access to a regular and trusted doctor and dentist.

When preparing to move them into a nursing home be alert for signs of depression and grieving. Undoubtedly you will see them experience various emotions as they process this life change.

Grief can take many forms. They may get angry or sad. There may be a period of disrupted patterns of eating and sleeping. They may be tempted to use alcohol or other drugs to numb the pain. There will be good and bad days but hopefully the good days will soon outweigh the bad. They may also become disorientated and have trouble concentrating. They may also be withdrawn.

Perhaps most upsetting is if they direct their anger at you. It’s common to feel anger when experiencing a loss, and it’s also common to try to blame someone else. As such, children and other family members are often first in the firing line. Unfortunately, unless this is confronted it can result in a permanent rift between family members. This further compounds the feelings of sadness and abandonment.

Nursing Home Adjustment

Making The Nursing Home Adjustment