The holiday season is a wonderful time for many in Florida, filled with family gatherings, warm memories, and festive celebrations. But it’s also a reality that for many seniors, especially those living alone, this season can be a time of intense loneliness, anxiety, and holiday depression. This is a well-known issue, often stemming from once-busy homes feeling too quiet around the holidays. If you or a loved one are going through a similar situation, you might be pleased to know that assisted living and memory care facilities can benefit a senior’s health, wellness, and mood during every holiday season.
Holiday Depression and Anxiety in Seniors
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), seniors are at a much higher risk of holiday depression than others in the population. One point that they emphasize is that depression is not simply a natural part of aging. Instead, it’s a treatable condition, especially if seniors can also receive care for any existing conditions that may make depression worse. Compounded by the winter blues, existing forms of depression can worsen over the holidays and bring down the mood of seniors living away from family and friends.
Even if seniors want to venture out and see their family, it’s not always feasible. Seniors who live independently, often in the same home they have lived in for decades, can face logistical challenges that prevent them from participating in holiday festivities. Obvious issues, like health or mobility concerns, might prevent them from actually leaving the house and traveling, but finances can also play a role.
How Assisted Living and Memory Care Can Alleviate Holiday Challenges
The holidays should be a time for joy and fun, not sadness. Assisted living and memory care facilities are often the perfect environments to help seniors during this time, as their unique approach to care and independent living doesn’t feel overly restrictive during the holidays. Seniors living in assisted living maintain high levels of independence, specific to their healthcare needs, while being part of a supportive community—especially during the holidays. Unlike living alone at home, where each day can feel the same and holiday decorations might feel like a burdensome chore, seniors in assisted living are part of a vibrant, intentional community of like-minded people and staff that fully embrace the season.
More importantly, these communities foster participation and togetherness. It’s burdensome for seniors to travel far distances to attend activities or events, but it’s a whole different story in an assisted living facility with fantastic social opportunities just down the hall. Group activities like holiday movie nights, ornament-making sessions, festive dinners, and caroling are all common during the winter holidays in Florida, and seniors can replace the isolation they feel with new feelings of community.
One thing to note: events are not just about keeping seniors “busy.” In fact, since seniors in assisted living maintain high levels of independence, they can choose what events and activities they do and do not attend. However, when the alternative is isolation at home, it’s easy to see how being surrounded by supportive staff, friends, and neighbors will naturally make seniors living in assisted living engage with their community more than they otherwise would.
Seniors with memory or cognitive issues often suffer from even worse feelings of anxiety and depression, especially if they live alone. The core benefits of community living remain the same, but seniors with memory issues residing in memory care facilities can glean even more from supportive community living to help them enjoy the holidays each and every year.
If you are worried about your family member or looking to make a change in your own life, contact A Banyan Residence today. Schedule a tour of our facility this holiday season and learn how we can help make a difference.
