Elder Care Pacific Beach CA
Anxiety and COPD
Anxiety is a common condition that people with COPD experience. Often it’s related to difficulty, or even perceived difficulty, breathing. People with COPD can become so worried and self-conscious about their breathing that they may make the problem worse and even cause mild hyperventilation. This then ramps up the anxious feelings and the entire process becomes a vicious cycle.
Treating the COPD
Your loved one’s doctor has a treatment plan for his COPD. It likely involves a combination of breathing exercises, medications, diet, and exercise. It’s extremely important that your loved one keeps his follow up appointments with his doctor and follows his treatment plan. Failing to do any of that can lead to additional problems breathing, which of course can affect your loved one’s anxiety levels adversely.
Treating the Anxiety
Treating anxiety can be a little trickier. Your loved one’s doctor may recommend home treatments, such as exercise, meditation, or even journaling. These are less invasive treatments because they don’t interact with other medication or have side effects that need managing. In more severe cases, your loved one may need medication to help manage his anxiety. It’s even possible that your loved one starts out needing anxiety medication but is able to taper off later once the worst of his anxiety is under control.
Managing an Anxiety Attack
If your loved one is experiencing an anxiety attack, try to help him calm down. Breathe with him, slowly in through your nose, and hold it for a few seconds. Breathe out slowly through your mouth, pursing your lips. Try taking longer to exhale than you do to inhale. If your loved one is still having trouble after a few breaths like this, it may be necessary to call his doctor.
Talk to your loved one’s elderly care providers about other suggestions for helping to manage anxiety related to COPD. They’ve got a lot of experience with these sorts of problems and can offer some great advice.
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 elder care in Pacific Beach, CA, and the surrounding communities.
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