What to Do When Your Loved One Complains about Assisted Living

November 27, 2015 by ·

Assisted Living in Pascagoula AL

For some people, complaining is the only way they know how to communicate, especially if this was consistent with their personality throughout Assisted-Living-Pascagoula-ALmuch of life. Even though your mom was in agreement that assisted living was the best option for her care needs, she has done nothing but complain. You are beginning to reach the end of your patience and find yourself avoiding her calls now. You find yourself wondering if there is anything you can do at this point to ease her out of this bad habit.

When a person complains, it is mostly a result of negative thinking. In order to change this negative behavior, a person needs to change their way of looking at their circumstances or a particular situation. For a person who has developed this negative attitude early on in life, it will take some time to correct this behavior.

Here are a few things you can try when your loved one is complaining about assisted living.

1. Verify that the complaints aren’t justified.

First and foremost, you don’t just want to dismiss complaints because it seems to be a normal habit of your loved one. Most assisted living facilities are staffed with experienced and trained people who care about the needs of your loved one but you don’t want to just assume their complaints aren’t really true if they are making claims of abuse or feeling threatened or neglected. If they are just complaining about trivial things then consider the next three options.

2. Address their fears.

Sometimes when a senior moves into an assisted living facility, they feel that they will be forgotten about. They may use negative behavior, such as complaining, as a way to get attention from their loved ones.

Whatever their concerns may be, it often helps if they are able to talk about them and feel like you understand their perspective. Listening is a great opportunity to show you understand and then turn a negative into a positive by shedding a different light on the situation.

3. Spend quality time with them and be positive.

There is no better way to reinforce the fact that you love and care about someone than to spend quality time with them. Maybe your loved one is feeling lonely or forgotten. Let your loved one know in advance the days and times you will be able to visit with them. Your positive attitude while spending quality time together can very well start to rub off on them.

4. Encourage your loved one to be active.

Many times a senior will move into assisted living and just stay in their room or apartment for a majority of the day. This only allow them to stay in their own head meaning their thoughts can quickly turn to gloom and doom.

Encourage your loved one to get involved in one or a few of the activities that their facility has to offer. If they keep busy, they will start to feel good. They will even meet new people and make friends. Some assisted living facilities will even let you join in the activities with your loved one.

 

If you or an aging loved one are considering Assisted Living near Pascagoula, AL, contact Ashbury Manor Specialty Care and Assisted Living at 251-317-3017.

 

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About Cindy Johnson

Ashbury Manor’s Administrator since 2008, Cindy Johnson is a long-time expert in the assisted living field. Prior to her arrival at Ashbury Manor, Cindy managed acquisitions and crisis management for existing and new larger senior care project developments for eleven years. As regional manager for an Oregon-based assisted living management company, Cindy was directly responsible for operations for five 50-65 bed assisted living facilities. As manager during the transition to new ownership, Cindy reorganized internal operations and conducted leadership training for Executive Directors. As a result of her management and expertise, one of the company’s facilities (in Ocala, Florida) received a deficiency-free survey, resulting in the lifting of a moratorium on operation.

A nurse for 36 years, senior care has always been Cindy’s passion. Desiring to work more closely with residents, Cindy became a Category II Administrator in 2005. As Ashbury Manor’s Administrator, Cindy understands the complexities associated with dementia and cognitive impairment and she has fallen in love with seniors with dementia or cognitive impairment and their families.

Cindy is Treasurer of the local “Senior Coalition” chapter. She enjoys mentoring new candidates who want to become administrators.

As a 16-bed facility, with Cindy's training and experience, our residents and their families can be sure Ashbury Manor’s carefully selected staff provides the expertise of a larger facility while maintaining the individualized personal care of a small special needs home.
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