Aging can be stressful at times. You might experience feelings of loneliness, new aches, and pains, or even a decreased sense of independence. But while these changes can feel overwhelming, just know you aren't alone.
Increased anxiety levels for seniors are completely natural. Luckily, there is a multitude of ways to manage your stress and improve your mental health. To help you get started, we've outlined a couple of different ways to destress for seniors below.
One of the best ways to practice self-care for seniors is to establish a routine of mindfulness. When you think of mindfulness, you might think of a monk meditating under a waterfall or a yoga teacher contorting their body in an intense pose, but it's much less intimidating than that. Anyone can engage in mindfulness.
Being mindful is essentially the practice of checking in with the present moment. Whether you sit still and pay attention to your breath, practice Tai Chi, or even just focus on the sensations that you feel when you're doing day-to-day tasks, you can practice mindfulness in everything that you do.
Sometimes, the best way to mitigate stress is to get your body moving. After all, exercise is an activity that releases chemicals called endorphins, that promotes stress reduction and feelings of well-being. Some senior-friendly exercises include:
Remember, how you exercise is less important than how often you do so. What's most important is that you're establishing a consistent routine. So you may want to try out a couple of different methods of exercise listed above to see what works best for you.
Living in a state of disorganization can feel overwhelming, particularly when it comes to health information. If you're constantly juggling doctor's appointments and being prescribed new medications or treatments, it's essential to keep your medical information tidy and organized.
Here are some of the best ways to keep your medical information tidy.
To start, you'll want to make sure your basic health information is neatly laid out in one place. To this end, consider printing out the sheet below. Simply fill out your essential medical information and keep it on hand whenever possible. You never know when it's going to come in handy.
Whether you give it to your physician or caretaker for reference, having this simple medical cheat sheet can help physicians to treat your ailments with ease. What's more is that you can rest with peace of mind, knowing you don't have to have all of this information memorized.
As your list of medications grows larger, a medical chart becomes more essential. This information is vital for doctors to have handy, particularly if they're planning on prescribing you something new. Using a medical chart will help you avoid possible negative interactions between existing and newly prescribed medications.
Fortunately, tracking your medications is easy. You just need to be proactive. Start by printing out the medication tracker below. Fill out your medications and their dosages and other relevant information. From there, keep your medical chart handy whenever necessary.
Depending on how often you're visiting your doctor, keeping track of your appointments can become stressful fast. This is where keeping an appointment tracker comes in handy.
With an appointment tracker, you can record any upcoming appointments while keeping track of any advice shared by your doctor. This is particularly helpful when you're under someone else's care. Give this sheet to your caregiver and update it whenever necessary.
Simply print out the appointment tracker below to get started. Using all of the printables provided, you can even put together a medical binder so that you have a one-stop shop for all your medical information.
To set yourself up for a healthy and happy life, being proactive about stress management is a must. By practicing mindfulness, exercising regularly, and staying organized with our medical binder printables, you set yourself up for a happy, healthy life in your golden years. And remember, try not to get overwhelmed if you can't implement all of these tips at once. Simply implement one new healthy habit at a time and you'll be feeling stress-free before you know it.
Rhett Rivera is a content marketing specialist at Siege Media with a passion for digital communications. In 2021, he graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies.
