How to Help a Loved One Who Is Anxious
Provide a comforting setting
- Confusion can increase a person's anxiety. Guide your loved one to familiar surroundings. Adding structure to his or her day can create a sense of security.
- Sometimes pets can be very therapeutic! If your loved one doesn't have a pet already, talk with him or her about adopting a dog or cat. Talk with a vet or animal shelter in your community about local pet adoption programs for seniors.
Make sure that he or she sees a doctor
- Counseling with a therapist, doctor, or a social worker can help.
- If your loved one is taking one or more medications, ask his or her doctor if anxiety is a side effect of any of these drugs.
- Sometimes conditions like depression can go hand in hand with anxiety. Treatment for the depression can make the anxiety go away.
Help your loved one to get moving
- Regular physical activity may help.
- Breathing exercises and yoga can be calming. Rent or borrow a video about yoga from the library and try it together. Who knows? You may feel calmer, too!
Music or relaxation tapes and CDs can also be quite soothing. Try classical music, Gregorian chants, ocean waves breaking on the shore, waterfalls, birds singing, or whales "talking" to each other. Try out several kinds and find the one that is most relaxing.
