Senior Care in East Lansing MI
The use of tobacco is a habit that has absolutely no benefits and a long list of possible hazards and dangers. Now that your parent is receiving senior care it is more important than ever to encourage them to stop the use of tobacco products in order to protect their health and wellbeing. This can be an extremely challenging change in their lives. Fortunately the help of their senior health care services provider, along with your support, can be instrumental in guiding your elderly loved one toward a healthier way of life.
May 31 is World No-Tobacco Day. This is the perfect opportunity for you to take the initiative in helping your parent start on the path toward quitting. Just this one change can give them a stronger, healthier, and happier life throughout their aging years, and make the care that they receive more effective and beneficial.
Use these tips to help your parent start quitting on World No-Tobacco Day:
• Express the dangers. Your parent has heard about the dangers of tobacco use and likely understands that it is not a healthy life habit to have. This does not mean, however, that they have fully internalized the potential dangers of smoking or other methods of tobacco use. They come from a time when smoking was far more accepted and even considered healthy. This means that they need to truly hear the facts. Team up with their senior care provider and their doctor to talk about the dangers of tobacco use. Give them the facts so that they can understand what they are really doing to their bodies each time that they use the product.
• Appeal to their emotions. Do not just talk about the dangers to their body in terms of what it can do to them. Be sure that you also appeal to the emotional side of the issue. Tell them that you want them to be healthy and strong so that they can be around for you and your children. Help them to understand that the choices that they make impact you just as much as it impacts them.
• Seek out support. Quitting smoking may seem like something that should be an easy choice, but even if your parent understands the health implications, they still may struggle to actually make the change. Talk to their doctor about interventions that they can use to help them through the more difficult first stages of quitting. Just knowing that they have this "backup system" can help your parent to have the courage to move forward. Also consider finding a support group. Their senior health care services provider can bring your parent to this group and allow them to feel supported, encouraged, and understood by the people around them. This group will offer accountability and encourage your parent to make progress
• Find alternative activities. One highly effective means of helping a person quit smoking is to offer alternative activities. This coping mechanism helps to replace the smoking as an activity and eventually transfers the urge to smoke to the urge to do that healthy activity. Choose options such as taking a walk, drinking a glass of water, doing a craft activity, or listening to music. Anything that will distract your parent and help them get through the worst of the craving is beneficial.
If you or an aging loved one are considering caregivers in East Lansing, MI, please contact the caring staff at Seniors Helping Seniors of Lansing. Call today: 517-332-9953.