What to Do When Parents Must Live Separately – 6 Tips to Help Them Cope
When parents must live separately, it creates a strain on an entire family. That’s the same for young parents, and more so for senior citizens.
Elderly couples are usually separated illnesses, and in recent accounts, because they could not afford to pay for the separate care where they were living. Almost never in their lives they have become so lonely and helpless feeling.
To live apart from partners and to cope with the pain of separation appears to them as an insurmountable task. Seniors who live separately often feel helpless and experience loneliness. Couples who have spent decades together are suddenly faced with a huge void in their lives.
Many give up their remaining will to live. One thing is for certain, the thought of living without your partner is difficult, and it is a long process that has no easy answers. Everyone is unique, and there is no magic way to deal with living away or without a partner.
6 Tips to Help Elderly Parents Cope with Separation
Here are six tips to help the elderly parents cope with a separation:
1. Stop Denial – One way for the elderly to cope with living separately is to recognize that pain is part of the grieving process. Do not allow them to keep the pain and grief bottled up inside, and pretend that it does not exist.
2. Use Support of Family and Friends – There will always be some family members who will reach out to your parents. They can be invaluable in situations like this. This is also a time when true friends will step up and provide their emotional support, as well. There is never a need for them to go it alone.
3. Remain Socially Active – Elderly parents who are separated run the risk of social isolation. This is especially true when many of their group of friends are friends of their partner. It’s advantageous to join other groups and functions to keep your mind active and to prevent isolation.
4. Avoid alcohol and Other Drugs – Don’t let your loved one depend on the help of prescription drugs or alcohol. Either will add to the depression that they are already feeling.
5. Stress the Positive – You can help your elderly loved one cope with separation by focusing on positive living. How about getting your loved one to join a fitness class? How about gardening or some other hobby? If you have an elderly parent who is religious, help them spend more time with their church. The idea is to demonstrate the positive aspects of life while helping them deal with a separation.
6. Be Happy Again – Hopefully, there will be a time when your parents will be happy again. It’s going to take a lot of time, but both of them can move on with the remaining part of their lives and be thankful for the times that they had. Life is full of ups and downs, but in the end, we can always be happy with the simple things that we have had.
What to Do When Parents Must Live Separately – Conclusion
Probably the biggest difficulty facing elderly parents who must live separately is that both are probably suffering from some other medical issues, as well. This can complicate matters, so family members should step in and help them get the loving support that they need.
If you follow some of the tips in this article, it should be helpful to your parents.