How to Handle Anxiety Moving into a Senior Living Community

Moving out of a home you had lived in for decades can be physically and mentally stressful, especially for a senior. Besides the exhausting process of packing and decluttering, there’s the anxiety that comes with relocating to a senior living community.

A part of them is excited about this new chapter of their life, but there’s also the part that worries about making new friends and adjusting to an entirely new environment. Furthermore, transitioning can also trigger sadness and grief because seniors often equate it to their loss of independence.

So, if you or a senior loved one currently experiences relocation stress, then here’s what you can do to help them manage and move past it.

1. Plan Ahead with Your Senior Loved One

The most crucial step in easing your loved one’s transition to a senior home is to include them in the planning process. Suddenly springing it upon them will surely trigger their anxiety and make them feel betrayed and ostracized.

Make sure to include them every step of the way—from choosing a community, touring, and even the packing and settling process.

Additionally, it would also be helpful to start planning months before the actual move-in day. This gives your senior loved one enough time to process everything healthily.

1. Show Compassion and Empathy

Emotions are fleeting so expect your loved one to have mixed feelings about moving during the whole process. Make it a point to always show empathy and compassion towards them, especially during packing and decluttering.

Let them have a say on what they want to do with the belongings that cannot make it to their new home.

1. Surround Them with Familiar Belongings

Another way to ease their transition is to surround them with their treasured items and familiar belongings. Decorate their new living space by adding a personal touch to make them feel comfortable and at home.

This can be as simple as lining the family photographs on the shelf, bringing their favorite power recliner, or using their favorite bed sheets and comforter to cover the bed.

1. Prepare for Moving Day

The days leading to your senior’s moving day can cause them a lot of stress and anxiety. You can help them by making a day out of it so they won’t have to see their belongings being packed or their empty home.

You can take them out to lunch or do something enjoyable that would take their mind off of it. Meanwhile, another family member or the moving company can take care of moving their belongings.

Make sure to spend time with them in their new living space and accompany them around the facility.

1. Stay in Touch

Stay in touch with your loved one during the first few weeks in their new senior living community. Stay connected with them regularly through phone or video calls, and make sure to visit them as often as you can.

Help them adjust by sometimes joining them in community activities, mealtimes, and other social events.

Heritage Woods is the full-service assisted living & independent living retirement community serving the area of Winston-Salem, NC.