Isolation among older adults grows alarmingly in each passing of the year. This is something we all must look into because these elders should never experience this in the first place. Learn what you can do in order to help the senior member of your family avoid isolation so that he or she will remain healthy and have more years to come.

• Make transportation accessibleWhy do seniors prefer to be inside their houses? It is because they cannot find a transportation service that could accommodate them and their needs. A lot of seniors do not drive. This is primarily because of the fact that their ailments are getting the most out of their capabilities. As a family member, it is your duty to provide them a wide array of choices. Look into the different services available in your community. There are non-emergency medical transportation services that caters to providing transportation to elderly adults so that they can get to their appointments in time.There are also other providers of services that take a senior to their social gatherings, adult day care, to the mall and many more.
• Uphold their sense of purposeEngaged seniors are less likely to succumb to the negativity brought about by social isolation. Aside from giving them their sense of purpose, a lot of hobbies and interests are social in nature as it involves a group. If you do not have any ideas on how to promote your older adult’s sense of purpose, there are always senior centers and other adult day centers that can keep their day busy. Another way of doing so is to encourage them to be engaged in volunteer works and charity.Give them activities that will keep them occupied so that they will say goodbye to solitude once and for all.
• Encourage them to attend their place of worship (especially if they are religious to begin with)Good news for those seniors who have been regularly going to their place of worship for this regular attendance proves to be quite beneficial. Their attendance can open the door for them to be engaged in social activities thus giving them encouragements to stay active. It is even concluded that those who maintain their religious activities get to live more years than those who do not.
• Give your elderly something to take care ofA lot of experts have notices that the simple act of nurturing something or someone can alleviate their feelings of social isolation. There are numerous benefits one can get if they nurture a pet as these seniors get to remain engaged to these creatures therefore making them more social. Aside from encouraging socialization, the following are results on how the older adults can benefit from having a pet:
  • Decline their risk of depression
  • Gaining motivation to live day by day
  • Lessen their chance of being lonely
  • Sense of security
  • Decline in their needs to take more medication
• Encourage them to have a positive body imageAccording to a research, seniors often hate to interact with others because of the way they view their bodies. Those individuals who have poor body image resulting from being overweight increases their risk of isolation because of the shame they feel around people. If grandma or grandpa does not want to interact with other people because of the way he or she looks, the most ideal course of action is to give them a fair share of compliments and positive comments. In this way, their self-esteem will improve giving them the confidence to face the crowd once again.Aside from that, you can also recommend them weight loss techniques and exercises.

Superb Care, Inc., a non-medical home care agency in Sunrise, Florida, encourages all the seniors to stay positive out there. To all their family members and loved ones, do not let your older family member succumb to isolation for this feeling can increase their risk for mental, emotional and physical decline.