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How Seniors Can Maintain Good Mental Health Using Occupational Therapy

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Many of us take our independence quite lightly. We do not realize that independence is happiness. Ask millions of older adults about the importance of independent living and they will tell you how essential it is to feel good. The younger generation and adults do not face problems such as reduced mobility, chronic pain, or degenerative illness, but many older adults do. All these problems limit seniors and older adults from properly taking care of themselves. And when they are not able to take care of themselves and remain independent, their mental health starts to suffer.

According to WHO, throughout the world, around 15% of older adults suffer from a mental health disorder. Depression is the most common mental health disorder among older adults worldwide. And the worst thing is, it remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. But the good news is, by seeking occupational therapy, seniors and older adults can learn effective ways of maintaining their independence, which improves their mental health.

Significance of Purposeful Living For Mental Health

Several studies have discovered that if seniors and older adults are able to function independently, they continue to live a purposeful life. What is a purposeful life? It is a life in which you set your own personal goals and work towards achieving those goals. When seniors are able to set personal goals and work towards achieving them, it provides them with a sense of accomplishment and self-worth, which prove helpful in reducing the risk of depression. In fact, working towards achieving personal goals can help seniors with good memory and a better mood.

Seniors do not necessarily need to set big personal goals. Completing daily tasks such as cooking, watering the plants, maintaining hygiene, caring for a pet, etc., can help seniors feel good about themselves, which has a positive impact on their mental health. But the truth is, as you get older, your ability to complete these everyday tasks gets reduced quite a lot. As a result, living a purposeful life becomes difficult. However, with the help of an experienced occupational therapist, seniors can regain a sense of autonomy.

Benefit of Occupational Therapy For Seniors

Any senior struggling with their independence and mental health issues can benefit greatly from an occupational therapy program. Occupational therapists make use of carefully designed activities and strategies to help seniors set meaningful goals, find hinderances to those goals, and change behavior to effectively deal with those hinderances. An occupational therapist may recommend seniors to set goals such as running errands, socializing with friends and family members, and doing light housekeeping. These goals might seem ordinary but they can lend structure to the day, prevent feelings of isolation, and provide feelings of productivity.

As you can see, occupational therapy can prove highly beneficial for older adults and seniors dealing with mental health problems. If interested, you can get in touch with some top brain and therapy centers online and book an appointment with an experienced occupational therapist. Your treatment plan will be determined after a thorough evaluation of your unique needs and goals by an occupational therapist.

Author’s Bio: The Author is a blogger. This article is about occupational therapy for senior’s mental health.

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