When you were a child, where did your fears tend to come from? The unknown, right? As a child, everything in the dark can be frightening, but is it rational?
To the untrained mind, sure. Well, the same thing holds true when we’re adults. Just because we have a better grasp on reality and know monsters don’t actually lurk in the dark parts of our closets doesn’t mean we can’t be fearful.
We can most certainly be fearful about a lot of things, like how we’re going to pay this month’s bills after we lost our job, what’s going to happen to our elderly parent when they’ve been hospitalized, or whether our long-term relationship or marriage is going to fall apart under the constant stress and strain of difficult times.
When we finally get through those tough times -one way or another- we may look back and wonder why we worried, especially when they finally worked out the way we wanted in the end.
When it comes to assisted living, there are also many fears, but again, they are often rooted in the unknown.
Why more seniors don’t know a lot about assisted living.
Assisted Living in Mobile, AL: Fearful of Assisted Living
Mostly, it’s because they never had to think about it before. Sure, some might have had friends, their own parents, or someone else they knew who moved to assisted living in the past, but if they didn’t visit often, or at all, it’s just a term.
A term has no real value or meaning until you truly understand it.
It’s too easy to conflate assisted living with other types of facility-style care. That is often unfair to the assisted living industry because this is a quality level of care that truly seeks to benefit the seniors and help them maintain dignity.
How to overcome these fears.
The best way is through education and knowledge. When seniors learn more about the truth of assisted living, they can see more easily how it can benefit them, not just in the short-term, but longer term as well.
The best way to gain this level of knowledge is by taking a tour.
Sure, the pandemic has changed how many assisted living facilities provide tours, with many turning to ‘virtual’ tours, but that can be beneficial, too. Be sure to ask questions, even if you take a virtual tour of an assisted living community.
Questions elicit answers and answers bring about information, knowledge, and understanding. When you have that, the fears begin to naturally fall away.
About Cindy Johnson
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