When is the best time to get help for the older person in your life? There could be a point in time, when we can see that some issues might be on the horizon, and want to make sure that these potential problems do not crystallize for our loved ones. But perhaps the older person is reluctant to make and changes? And can get upset if you mention it.
In these cases, in order to avoid any unnecessary upset, we would suggest that the first thing to consider is, does your loved one have any memory or thinking difficulties? In these cases our suggested response might be a little bit different.
But if your person is still fully capable of thinking for themselves, then the reality is that every person has the right to live in the way that they choose and to adopt the practices that they think will deliver the best quality of life for them.
What can be helpful is if you and your loved one work through a series of questions, where you get a chance to explore the values and beliefs of the older person, and then you can perhaps come up with suggestions that they might find useful, that also align with how they see themselves living.
Have a look at our free checklists to see how you could help the older people in your life.
