Two Common Catalysts That May Suggest You Should Move to Assisted Living Facilities
Most elderly people choose to move to assisted living facilities for several reasons. However, sometimes there is one particular incident that serves as the catalyst that causes them to make this decision. Here are two such catalysts.
1. A home security incident
People tend to become more vulnerable as they age. They may, for example, not be able to physically defend themselves if someone attempts to hurt them or to protect their home if they're targeted by a burglar. However, because this increase in their physical vulnerability happens so gradually, many elderly people do not truly realize how defenseless they are until they experience a home security incident.
An experience like this can result in an elderly person deciding to move into an assisted living community. Those who run assisted living facilities are aware of their residents' vulnerability and go to great lengths to protect them and make them feel completely safe.
They often have security staff patrolling the facility around the clock, as well as an on-site helpdesk that residents can call at any time of the day or night if they ever have security concerns. Some examples would be when a resident hears a weird noise outside their apartment or notice a suspicious stranger wandering toward them. Moving into this safe environment after having a wake-up call like the one described above could help them to relax and start to feel safe again, instead of becoming more and more worried about their ever-increasing vulnerability.
2. The sudden passing or moving away of close friends
It is inevitable that as people reach their seventies and beyond, some of their friends will pass away or need to move to nursing homes to receive full-time care. Many elderly people decide to move to assisted living facilities if things like this happen to several of their close companions in quick succession. When they no longer have people that they can or visit each day, an elderly person might find themselves craving more companionship than they can get in their current living situation.
Moving to an apartment in an assisted living complex can remedy this issue, as the person will suddenly be surrounded by dozens of new people, many of whom will be of a similar age to them (and so can relate to their own experience of aging and the challenges that come with it) and will be seeking out new friends that they can bond with. This can reignite their social life and eliminate the loneliness that they felt after losing their old friends.
Learn more about assisted living by contacting various options in your city or state.