Everything about Stress and Tips for Seniors to Overcome Stress

These days, stress is a common term for humanity worldwide. Blame it on our lifestyle, eating habits, hectic work cultures, imbalanced routine, ambitious perspectives, personal affairs, etc.; stress has become an unwelcome guest in everyone’s life. It seems that we are “inhaling” tension more than life-providing air. Aren’t we?

As said, a little tension is good for our brain, but if it stays long, it negatively affects our thinking routine and daily activities. However, the worst impact of stress is seen in our seniors. And being conscious of people around them, we need to help them overcome the same. Read this blog to get some stress reduction tips to reduce anxiety signs in seniors.

Reasons for stress in seniors

Life is all about changes at every stage, and it is normal to have a little bit of stress when you have so much on your plate. But tackling tensions or any pressure becomes troublesome with age. Therefore, anxiety symptoms seem to be more prominent and persistent in seniors. Here are some reasons for anxiousness in seniors:

1. Change in routine: For many years, when you follow a particular type of routine, you become habitual with that, and in case of any temporary or permanent change, it triggers anxiety.

2. Loss of independence: If one has been independent for a more extended period, getting dependent by any means, be it financial or physical, seems mentally stressful.

3. Death in the family: Losing a nearby or loved one sometimes leads to emotional vulnerability and relentless tension in a senior’s life. Such losses create a sense of void and loneliness in seniors, as they miss companionship.

4. A sick person in the family: Providing continuous attention to a sick person is tiresome for many. But for seniors, it may lead to unavoidable pressure.

5. Chronic illness: Having a fit body is a boon; any long-term chronic disease makes things stressful, especially in seniors.

6. Strained relationships: Any difficulty in personal relationships make us upset and may lead to strain in our life.

Signs of stress in seniors

Many factors lead to anxiety in a person’s life, like job, money, relationships, a crisis in the family, illness, etc. Whether the focus is short-term or long-term, the body responds similarly. Identifying the physical signs of stress in seniorsis crucial. Some noted signs of strains in seniors are:

1. Difficulty in sleeping: Stress’s first effect is sleep quality and duration. Too little sleep aggravates anxiety and leads to other mental or physical issues.

2. Change in eating patterns: It is seen that people like to eat high fat, high-calorie food or nothing at all at the time of pressure. It may lead to weight gain, cholesterol, or weight loss in people, especially seniors.

3. Physical discomfort: In response to tension, our body automatically shoots heart rate, blood pressure, metabolism, respiration, and blood flow to your muscles.

4. Not able to focus: Continuous strain hampers the functionality of the nervous system with cortisol and adrenaline hormones, which affects critical cognitive functions.

Tips to overcome stress in seniors

One should not ignore the persistent signs of anxiety in anybody, but in seniors, it becomes more important to tackle them at the earliest. Below are some stress coping strategies for seniors:

1. Exercise regularly: One of the basic activities to de-stress themselves and keep themselves fit is regular physical exercise. Daily exercise releases certain hormones that help reduce the signs of depression and strain.

2. Start sharing: Encourage the stressed senior to talk about their feelings with whomsoever they want to. It will help them unburden and lessen the symptoms.

3. Making a sleep routine: Make a sleeping and waking up routine and adhere to it. It will give the brain much-needed relaxation and help ease your symptoms.

4. Relaxation techniques: Various relaxation techniques for seniors, like meditation, deep breathing, yoga, aromatherapy, massage, and art or music therapy, can help reduce strain on seniors. It will allow them to have some “me” and relaxing time, keeping all worries aside.

5. Pursue a hobby: Encourage seniors to pursue their hobbies, whatever they want to do. It can be anything, their unpursued dreams, activities like gardening, singing, collaboration with old friends, etc.

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Conclusion

Stress is a regular part of our lives, and we can avoid it, but by adopting a healthy lifestyle, we can minimise its negative impact on our lives. Learn to love and prioritise yourselves over everything. The essential learning is that if we are okay, everything is OK and can be managed sooner or later in life.