Senior Care Tips Pacific Beach CA

Most people have at least one habit or ritual activity that they do on a frequent, even multiple times daily, basis that they wish that they did not do and that they know make a negative impact on their health, wellbeing, and ability to live a consistently high quality of life. If you have recently started a senior care journey with your aging loved ones, you may have noticed such bad habits that you did not recognize before, or realized just how detrimental these behaviors are to your parents’ wellbeing. Whether it is something seemingly minor such as biting their nails that can introduce germs into their body and can escalate to infections, or something more serious, if your parents have a bad habit, helping them to end it can be a meaningful part of your senior care efforts.

Ending bad habits and replacing them with healthy ones is not always an easy journey, and you may encounter some resistance from your loved ones, but if you are determined that you are doing what is best for them and for their future, you can stay consistent and help them toward a healthier lifestyle.

Some ways that you and your parents’ senior health care services provider can help your parents work through ending bad habits include:

• Identify the bad habit. Make sure that your parents are clear about exactly what you think is their bad habit. If you are concerned that they watch too many true crime television programs that give them nightmares, make sure you tell them that rather than just that you think they watch too much TV. This helps them to clearly understand what you are concerned about, and why you are concerned about it, rather than a large blanket concept that might be overwhelming when they think about it
• Make a list. Sit down with your loved ones and make a list of all of the benefits you can think of, and why your parents should end their bad habit. Having a clear visual of what they could experience without that habit can be extremely motivating.
• Find an alternative. Habits are habits for a reason. Your seniors do the same things all the time because that is what they are used to, and if they do not have something else to do when they would be doing that bad habit, the compulsion will be even stronger to go back to the behavior you are trying to eliminate. Work together to come up with alternative behaviors that your parents can perform in place of the bad habit, such as putting on hand lotion rather than biting their nails or going for a walk rather than watching the upsetting television show.
• Be patient. Just like starting a bad habit does not happen overnight, changing it will not happen immediately either. On average it takes 30 days for a new habit to really take hold, so be patient and encourage your parents to stick to it. Even if they have a few setbacks, just get back on track and keep going.
• Counteract negative thinking. One of the biggest threats to changing behavior is negative self-talk. If your parents talk themselves out of being able to change their bad habits, they will be very unlikely to accomplish their goals. Encourage them to counteract this negative thinking with “but” statements that cut off their thoughts and replace them with affirmations. For example, if the bad habit you are trying to encourage your parents to end is eating unhealthy snacks at bedtime, they can counteract negative thinking by reminding themselves of the benefits with a statement such as, “I do not think that I can avoid eating my favorite snack for long, but every day that I skip them does something good for my body.”

La Jolla Nurses Homecare can help your aging parents remain in their own homes, call 858-454-9339. We are a home care agency providing quality and affordable senior care in La Costa, CA, and the surrounding communities."]” data-sheets-userformat=”[null,null,767,[null,0],[null,2,10667209],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],2,2,null,0]”>For more information about how the caregivers at La Jolla Nurses Homecare can help your aging parents remain in their own homes, call 858-454-9339. We are a home care agency providing quality and affordable senior care in Pacific Beach, CA, and the surrounding communities.

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Brittnei Salerno

Owner at La Jolla Nurses Homecare

“My mother, Lorraine Salerno, founded La Jolla Nurses Homecare in 1977.

Today we are the oldest and most experienced private duty agency in San Diego County.She saw a need for quality private duty home health care and she worked diligently to build an agency that filled that need.I am proud to say, her vision is carried on today with our dedicated staff.

I believe our tenure in the community speaks well for us.We have had the opportunity to be of service to countless interesting individuals, including local and worldwide celebrities.It is the people we care for that makes this a fascinating industry.Whether high profile or a more ordinary citizen, we are proud that thousands have entrusted us with their care or the care of their loved ones.Our Mission is to provide high quality, very secure and the most compassionate home health care.We believe that patients heal faster and are happiest when they can stay in their homes.”

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