Spending a little extra time with your elderly loved one can help curb their feelings of the holiday blues and even depression.

It’s a time of celebration, parties, and get-togethers, but sometimes, the holiday season can also be a source of the blues, especially for older people. Older adults may think about how quickly time has passed, or miss loved ones more during this time of year. Health conditions or concerns about money can also make it harder to enjoy the holidays.

Fortunately, there are ways to help cope with the melancholy that may accompany the holidays and the AGS Foundation for Health in Aging offers the following tips:

If a senior parent or elderly loved one is feeling blue, try to:

Get them to get out and about: Offer help in traveling to parties and events. Invite family and friends over to their home to celebrate.  Invite them out and to get-togethers. Take into account their needs – for transportation or special diets.

Get them to volunteer with you:  Helping others is a great mood lifter. To volunteer contact your local United Way (it’s listed in the phone book or check www.unitedway.org); or call local schools, churches, synagogues or mosques and ask about volunteer opportunities in your neighborhood.

Limit the eggnog: Too much alcohol can lower their spirits.  Take it easy or eliminate alcohol.

Help them to accept their feelings:  There’s nothing “wrong” with not feeling jolly; many people get the blues during the holidays.

Be their confidant and a good listener: Help them to talk about their feelings; it can help them understand why they feel the way they do.  Acknowledge “difficult” feelings, including a sense of loss if family or friends have died or moved away.

Be on the lookout for the warning signs of depression in your elderly loved one: Holiday blues are usually temporary and mild but depression is more serious and can linger unless the person gets help. Look for these signs:

• sadness that won’t lift; loss of interest or pleasure
• changes in appetite or weight or sleeping a lot more or a lot less than usual
• crying often
• feeling restless or tired all the time
• feeling worthless or helpless or guilty
• slowed thinking
• thoughts of death or suicide

Help them start the healing process: If your parent or grandparent is depressed, see your healthcare provider. Depression is very treatable.

Lend a hand: Offer help with shopping, and preparations for get-togethers in their homes.

Encourage him or her to talk with a healthcare provider: Many older people don’t realize when they’re depressed, so if you suspect depression, you may need to bring it up more than once. Let your loved one know depression is a medical illness and is nothing to be ashamed of.

Where to get more information: For more on depression in older adults visit the Web site of the American Geriatrics Society’s Foundation for Health in Aging (FHA).  

And if you’re caring for a senior loved one during the holidays and they (or you) may need a couple of extra hands to ensure their holiday is joyous, then don’t forget that the caregivers at Home Instead are simply a phone call away.  Just call 707.586.1516 anytime and we’ll most often be able to meet with you same day to assess the situation and find a solution that works for you and your elderly loved one.