Dealing with Social Isolation During the Holiday Season

The holiday season can be exciting and a highlight of the year, but it can also be challenging and lonely for many seniors and caregivers. 43% of seniors report feeling lonely on a regular basis throughout the year, and those numbers can increase during the holiday season. Life circumstances and stresses, health issues, and the deaths of friends and family members can all make the holiday season hard. Social isolation can compound things like these and make enjoying December even more difficult. How can you help your loved one cope with social isolation this holiday season?

Easing Social Isolation During the Holiday Season

  1. Make an effort to regularly communicate with your senior loved one. Even if you can’t see each other in person during the holidays, phone calls and video calls are great ways to stay in touch. You can also encourage other family members to call in, send cards or write letters.
  2. If your loved one has a hobby or special interest, you should encourage them to pick it up again this holiday season. There are many in-person and virtual classes for crafts and hobbies that can connect them with like-minded people and encourage their personal pursuits.
  3. Visit your loved one at their home or virtually to get them in the holiday spirit. Sometimes when we are lonely it can be hard to embrace the joy and fun of the holiday season. Put on some holiday music, bake cookies together, take a drive to see lights in your neighborhood, or visit a holiday event in your town as a family.
  4. Encourage your senior loved one to talk with you or a professional about how they are feeling. Seniors are more likely to suffer with depression and other mental health issues in silence and not reach out to a therapist or family member.
  5. Finally, giving back to others is a great way to reduce social isolation and help anyone find a greater sense of purpose and meaning in the holiday season. Volunteering, baking cookies for the local firehouse, or even donating a toy to Toys for Tots can all help your loved one feel more connected to the world around them. 

Experience the Joy of the Holiday Season with Senior Care Lifestyles

Senior Care Lifestyles specializes in connecting seniors with the right in-home care, assisted living, or senior living community to meet their needs. We have helped hundreds of clients and treat each senior as a valued member of our own family deserving our personalized attention, compassion and respect.

For help, or questions please call us at 410-977-3718 or send a message through our website www.seniorcarelifestyles.com.

Deborah Bakalich, Certified Senior Advisor®
Deborah Bakalich, Certified Senior Advisor®
Owner, Certified Senior Advisor (CSA®) & Assisted Living Placement Specialist - Senior Care Lifestyles, LLC provides compassion, guidance and recommendations to families faced with transitioning a loved one into Assisted Living, Dementia/Alzheimer’s Care, Skilled Nursing, Temporary Respite Care or a Continuous Care Retirement Community. Senior Care Lifestyles was founded in 2014 by Deborah Bakalich, a Certified Senior Advisor and graduate from both Towson University and Stevenson. Senior Care Lifestyles is uniquely positioned as a local (not National) Maryland based placement firm familiar with Maryland senior care facilities and in-state financial assistance programs for senior residents. They meet personally with each family to understand the seniors care needs including medical, personal lifestyle preferences, budget, religion and desired geographic location. They pride themselves in locally guiding and educating families through the entire maze of senior living options available and will schedule tours on behalf of the family and accompany the family on visits of communities. They are passionate and committed to finding the perfect match to call home and stays with the family throughout the entire process, every step of the way, until a decision is made, and the senior is safely moved into their new home. Senior Care Lifestyles can also provide the family with trustworthy, vetted, and reputable experts to assist with the transition for organizing, packing, moving, sale of real estate, estate planning, legal services, and determining eligibility for State, Federal and Veterans Benefits to assist with care costs. Deborah is a proud member of the Maryland Senior Resource Network (MSRN) where she has served as Vice President on the Board of Directors. She is a member of the Alzheimer’s Organization, Society of Certified Senior Advisors, Mid-Atlantic Network Group and a member of the Business Opportunity Network (BON).

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