Dealing with Elderly Parents
We have known our parents our entire lives, and generally experienced them as capable adults who raised us, advised us, and nurtured us for decades, to the present. Eventually, the years catch up with them, and they show signs of advancing age.
Our response to our parents' aging will be extensively shaped by the relationship we have had with them through the decades. Has that relationship been healthy, constructive, pleasant, mutually supportive, and loving? Or, has it been unpleasant, conflictual, frustrating, and unhealthy?
Today, when some 13% of Americans are age 65+, many more adults than ever have living parents. In the vast majority of cases, "coping with elderly parents" is simply an extension of a meaningful and pleasant relationship. Most typically, it is only in cases of longstanding psychopathology (such as a personality disorder) or recent onset mental disorder (such as Alzheimer's Disease), that "how to deal with an elderly parent" becomes a mystery or a challenge.
When chronic or new mental disorder is indeed making this stage difficult, some general strategies are recommended by Dr. Chafetz. These include:
--- become educated about normal aging;
--- become educated about the specific mental disorder present in your parent;
--- clarify your values regarding justice, mercy, fairness, authority, responsibility;
--- communicate respectfully and cooperate generously with other family members who care about the situation.
Dr. Chafetz has worked with hundreds of families, helping them master the skills needed to successfully transition into this next stage of adult life. If this is your situation, call Dr. Chafetz today.
Our response to our parents' aging will be extensively shaped by the relationship we have had with them through the decades. Has that relationship been healthy, constructive, pleasant, mutually supportive, and loving? Or, has it been unpleasant, conflictual, frustrating, and unhealthy?
Today, when some 13% of Americans are age 65+, many more adults than ever have living parents. In the vast majority of cases, "coping with elderly parents" is simply an extension of a meaningful and pleasant relationship. Most typically, it is only in cases of longstanding psychopathology (such as a personality disorder) or recent onset mental disorder (such as Alzheimer's Disease), that "how to deal with an elderly parent" becomes a mystery or a challenge.
When chronic or new mental disorder is indeed making this stage difficult, some general strategies are recommended by Dr. Chafetz. These include:
--- become educated about normal aging;
--- become educated about the specific mental disorder present in your parent;
--- clarify your values regarding justice, mercy, fairness, authority, responsibility;
--- communicate respectfully and cooperate generously with other family members who care about the situation.
Dr. Chafetz has worked with hundreds of families, helping them master the skills needed to successfully transition into this next stage of adult life. If this is your situation, call Dr. Chafetz today.
