Journaling Tips for Seniors

One of the best things home care assistance aides can help a senior with is creating an amazing routine that focuses on mental health. There are so many things a senior can do to focus on mental health, like grounding work, meditation, and journaling. Home care assistance can help seniors figure out what they love to do and then add it into a daily routine that helps seniors thrive while they age in place. When your senior mom or dad starts to journal they should think about when they want to journal, where they are most comfortable, and focus on being authentic.

If your loved one is trying to figure out how to journal for mental health, here are some journaling tips.

Home Care Assistance Paramus NJ – Journaling Tips for Seniors

Think About Feelings and Dive Deep

If a senior is focused on smaller topics they may not be inspecting the root issues. Your seniors may like to talk about daily activities but they should focus more on feelings and reflections of the day. Diving deep can allow them to truly express what is going on underneath the surface and it can help them feel mentally healthier as they age in place. If they need guidance, home care assistance aides can ask them questions to help them think deeply about what they want to write about.

Always Be Mindful

It can be easy to start writing and then write meaningless things. When a senior is writing they should be intentional and very mindful. They should allow themselves to feel every emotion and write it out. This is a way to feel it, let it out, and then let it go. Being intentional about what someone writes about will help them get the most mental health benefits from journaling. Keep in mind that journaling should be done without judgment. Sometimes when a senior starts journaling they may want to read back what they wrote and they can judge it, but it’s important to not judge whatever they wrote.

Use Prompts to Start

When a senior starts to journal they may not know what to write about or how to start or what to think about. Home care assistance can help create a jar with writing topics or help a senior find a journal that has prompts written out. This will help guide a senior and allow them to reflect on important life questions without having to find those questions. Keep in mind that as a senior gets more comfortable with their emotions, feelings, and expressing things they may not want the prompts after some practice. Writing takes practice and examining emotions and mental health takes practice. Journaling will help all of those things the longer a senior sticks with it.

Take Time to Reflect

Your loved one should look back at where they started and reflect. Has life gotten better? Has their writing style changed? Has their focus changed? Seniors should look back with little to no judgment and just acknowledge how far they have come and look at all of the things they have to be grateful for.

If you or a senior family member are considering hiring Home Care Assistance Services in Paramus NJ, please get in touch with the caring staff at Caring Solutions Home Care LLC. In-home senior care servicing Bergen & Passaic Counties. Call today at (973) 427-3553.