How to Deal with a Mother with Anxiety: 10 Tips for Caregivers
Caring for a mother who struggles with anxiety can feel overwhelming at times. The constant worry and stress she experiences may leave you unsure of how to provide the support she needs.
But with understanding and the right approach, you can help ease her anxiety while maintaining your own well-being.
In this post, we'll share practical and compassionate tips to help you navigate the challenges of caregiving for a mother with anxiety.
By fostering patience, empathy, and open communication, you'll be better equipped to offer the comfort and reassurance she needs while creating a nurturing environment for both of you.
10 Ways to Help a Parent with Anxiety Disorder
Supporting a parent with anxiety can feel daunting, but there are many ways you can help ease their emotional and psychological stress. By incorporating thoughtful strategies into your caregiving routine, you can create a sense of calm and security that helps your loved one feel more at ease
1. Create a Calm and Safe Environment
It is important to create a calm and safe environment to reduce anxiety triggers for mom at home. Start by minimizing the noise coming into the house using soundproofing materials to block sound from external sources.
Playing soft, soothing music can help to maintain a peaceful environment.
Establishing a daily routine is equally important, as predictability can reduce stress.
Set regular times for rest, activities, and meals. You can also communicate any changes with your mom to avoid surprises that might trigger situations of anxiety.
Adult children need to recognize that their parent's surroundings play a crucial role in how they manage stress.
2. Encourage Open Communication
As a caregiver, you can foster open dialogue between you and your anxious family member by showing empathy.
Listen actively and try to understand their feelings and concerns without being judgemental. This will help to build trust between you and your loved one.
Adult children must be patient listeners as their parents navigate their feelings. By regularly checking in and encouraging honest conversations, grown children can better understand the triggers of their parent's anxiety, even those who might not want to get help, and work together to find effective ways to manage it.
3. Help Her Stay Connected
Socializing and staying connected reduce signs of depression by minimizing feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and isolation.
A study by Penn State University found that seniors who socialize regularly with friends and family scored higher in cognitive tests than those who do not. Anxious parents with anxiety disorders socialize and have fewer negative feelings, more positive moods, and are physically more active.
You can encourage a loved one with an anxiety disorder to stay connected by reaching out to them through text, a call, or visiting them at home. Ensure you're in close contact with your mom; she'll feel cared for and less alone.
4. Promote Relaxation Techniques
Your mom can try out some relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing.
Here's a simple deep breathing exercise you can do with mom:
- Have her focus on making her exhale longer than her inhale.
- She can start by inhaling, and you, the caregiver, count to four.
- She will then exhale slowly while you count to six or more.
She can do this while sitting in her favorite chair or lying in bed before sleeping. Deep breathing helps to visualize stress leaving the body with each breath.
Anxious parents can use meditation to relax and regulate their emotions.
A family caregiver can guide your loved one to meditate. Meditation can help your mom to reduce emotional or impulsive responses to her thoughts. Instead of your loved one feeling like her thoughts control her, meditation gives her stronger control over her thought pattern.
Practicing gentle yoga also promotes relaxation, and it's also beneficial to the general well-being of a loved one. Yoga is particularly beneficial because of its focus on deep breathing and the connection of the mind and body. It helps to improve calmness, mental clarity, and concentration.
5. Encourage Physical Activity
Anxiety at any level may be challenging to manage. If you are searching for relief, try out exercising. Caregivers can organize bike rides, aerobic classes, or a simple walk at the park with family members and create lasting memories.
These physical activities can effectively manage symptoms of anxiety disorder. Exercising serves as a natural antidepressant and a mood booster that increases self-confidence.
Exercising indoors or outdoors reduces the negativity of anxiety, positively affecting the body's cardiovascular and immune systems.
After exercising, a mom with anxiety will often experience improved sleep.
If there are health concerns or mom has not exercised for some time, she should always talk to a doctor before engaging in a new exercise routine.
6. Monitor Your Parent's Health
Monitoring your loved one's health is crucial for identifying medical conditions early when treatment is mostly effective and to prevent anxiety situations triggered by unknown health conditions.
Early intervention prevents further complications-this includes managing anxiety symptoms, such as:
- Chronic pain
- Sleep apnea
- Hormonal imbalances
- Vitamin deficiencies
- Fear or excessive panic
Preventing anxiety is more cost-effective than treating an advanced disease, making regular health checkups for your loved one a smart financial choice.
While there are no imaging scans or blood tests able to diagnose anxiety, your healthcare provider can run other tests to rule out hyperthyroidism, for instance, which can cause anxiety.
If the medical practitioner can't find an underlying physical cause, your loved one will be referred to a mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist, for further investigation.
7. Be Patient and Supportive
Caregivers are essential in helping mature adults manage their emotions and maintain a positive mindset.
One way to show unwavering support to a mother with anxiety is to be patient with her, listen, understand, and give her your full attention.
Acknowledge her feelings without judging, show empathy, and always offer comforting words to build trust and harmony. Also, listen to seniors as they talk about their fears and reassure them that their feelings are normal. Be relaxed and use clear, concise language anchored in hope.
8. Seek Professional Help When Needed
It doesn't matter what type of anxiety your mom is experiencing. Anxiety can create a state of uncontrollable fear with a sense of impending danger.
Seeking help from a healthcare professional is not a sign of weakness or fear but rather a critical step toward recovery. Your parent may need professional help if their physical health is being affected.
Persistent feelings of anxiety can result in different physical signs, such as nausea, frequent colds, and headaches. Unexplained pain around the neck is also a sign of anxiety disorder. Seeking therapy from a professional anxiety therapist can be helpful if your loved one has any of these conditions.
If your mom struggles to control her emotions over an extended time, monitoring the intensity and frequency of her emotions is essential.
Consulting a therapist about the issue is a trustworthy outlet for diving into your loved one's emotions and positive transformation. A therapist imparts the necessary skills to regulate emotions in a confidential setting, ensuring your loved one can embrace the journey to recovery without being judged.
9. Utilize Technology to Stay Connected
Modern technology offers a wide range of tools to help caregivers stay connected and reduce anxiety in seniors. From video calls to health-tracking apps, technology can make caregiving more efficient and comforting.
One way to leverage this is through platforms like JubileeTV, which makes it easy for seniors to access their favorite TV shows and for caregivers to stay in touch through simple video calls.
Sharing familiar shows and creating lasting memories, even for parents with memory loss, can help ease anxiety while promoting a sense of independence.
JubileeTV's user-friendly features allow for seamless communication, ensuring seniors feel supported while maintaining autonomy.
10. Practice Self-Care as a Caregiver
Some caregivers don't care for their physical and overall health due to their role in caring for their loved ones. For instance, they are less likely to practice self-care and go for check-ups annually.
As a result, they have a higher risk of health problems, high blood pressure, lack of sleep, and premature death.
The emotional and physical demands of caring for a loved one with anxiety can be overwhelming and lead to burnout. It's crucial to look after your health to care for your loved one more effectively.
How JubileeTV Can Help Ease Anxiety in Elderly Parents
JubileeTV makes it easy to stay connected with your loved one through simple, intuitive video calls right to their television. With just a tap on your smartphone, you can video call them while they relax in their favorite spot, offering comfort and reducing feelings of loneliness, isolation, and anxiety. This seamless communication helps reduce anxiety and strengthens your bond, even from a distance.
Your loved one can enjoy watching their favorite shows on JubileeTV from the comfort of their favorite sofa without interruptions. The platform offers insights into your loved one's daily routine through JubileeTV, their movement in their space, and their routine. Caregivers can receive alerts from JubileeTV if something is out of the ordinary.
The platform simplifies caregiving with features like reminders, allowing you to schedule notifications for medications, doctor's appointments, or important events, all displayed directly on the TV.
JubileeTV's remote caregiving tools offer caregivers real-time reassurance by showing whether their loved one is resting or moving about, bringing you comfort and support while helping your loved one maintain their independence. Learn more about how JubileeTV works here!
Dealing with a Parent with Anxiety Disorder
JubileeTV is here to help make caregiving a little easier, especially when managing seniors' anxiety challenges. By offering your loved one access to familiar shows that bring comfort and joy and providing easy-to-use communication tools, JubileeTV fosters connection and promotes a sense of independence.
As a caregiver, applying the tips from this post can make a meaningful difference in your loved one's daily life. And with JubileeTV, you'll have a trusted platform that helps you provide care remotely and in person, giving you peace of mind.
Ready to simplify caregiving and bring calm to your loved one's day? Explore how JubileeTV can help you stay connected and provide the best support possible.
