Daystar Senior Living Blog

One of the keys to understanding our parents as they age is to get a grasp on the things that worry them. Our parents may not talk openly about these things, but you can be assured that they think about them—a lot. A recent study conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care network identified the top 10 things seniors fear most.

Caregiving is a strenuous work of love: the physical, mental, and emotional stress can be high and when you're caring for a senior the level of stress usually rises gradually as their health declines. Caregivers often face burnout similar to the symptoms of depression. If you're a caregiver in West Seattle and are starting to feel overwhelmed it a good idea to find some support groups to help you cope with your daily challenges. Usually, it's a matter of starting at the top and working your way down: from the national level to state, county, and local. Here are some ways you can find great support groups in West Seattle:

A power of attorney gives you the legal oversight of your parent's financial and medical decisions. The laws concerning power of attorney are clearly defined in order to prevent elder fraud: in order to grant you power of attorney your parent must be of sound mind. There are different types of power of attorney but the most common for seniors is a durable power of attorney, which grants you the right to manage all of your parent's affairs should they become unable to do so. If your parent is suffering from dementia you will probably need to have the court appoint you conservator of their estate. Here are the basic steps you'll need to take in order to become your parents' power of attorney:

We've all heard the horror stories: adult children think their elderly parents are living comfortably on their retirement income only to discover in reality the bills are overdue and they're having a financial crisis. What happened? Sometimes it's a matter of parents being too proud to admit they don't have enough income to make ends meet, but often they have become victims of elderly fraud and may not realize their investments have been depleted until it's too late.

You already know how important exercise is for all age groups and you've probably heard that yoga is a good choice for seniors, especially those with mobility issues. Yoga can help you lose weight and improves both flexibility and balance, which are two of the biggest challenges seniors face as they age.