8 Arthritis Dressing Tips Make Life Easier for Seniors

Arthritis makes it harder to get dressed

Getting dressed and undressed is an everyday activity that’s often challenging for seniors with arthritis or limited mobility.

But this shouldn’t be the reason for your older adult to lose independence.

Fortunately, there are simple tricks and clothing options that make

dressing significantly easier. We share a tip sheet from Alium Adaptive Apparel that has 8 practical arthritis dressing tips. This advice helps you find clothing that’s easier to get on and off, learn how simple dressing aids and DIY add-ons can help, and Dressing for more. Arthritis & Immobility

Arthritis and immobility are often experienced as people age but new products on the market make it easier for a senior to prolong one’s ability to dress oneself and accommodate caregivers when immobility comes into play.

Look for garments that have wider or lower armholes that make it easier to get into, paticularly with ragland sleeve styles.

Raglan Raglan Garments designed to open in the back may be easier when shoulder immobility is experienced.

Dressing aid products such as dressing sticks, sock donners and shoe horns to make dressing simpler.

Add a metal ring with an opening or an easy-grip ribbon to a zipper pulls to make them easier to grasp. For the truly immobile, check skin for pressure sores and irritations and choose garments that have flat seams on the interior. Remove all tags to prevent skin damage. Smooth all wrinkles under bedbound people so as not to put undue pressure on the skin. If small buttons cannot be avoided, use a button hook for ease of fastening. Other devices like dressing sticks, sock donners and shoe horns can make dressing simpler.

Pants with vertical openings along each leg can make dressing bed-bound people easier. Otherwise, assist in doning pants while a person is seated to minimize the potential for falls. Choose alternate closures for garments, such as R magnets and Velcro.

For more information on adaptive clothing and dressing seniors, please visit: ALIUMADAPTIVE.COM

Expand Your Social Security Knowledge With These Four Terms

WE STRIVE TO EXPLAIN YOUR BENEFITS using easyto-understand, plain language. The Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires federal agencies to communicate information clearly in a way “the public can understand and use.” This can be particularly challenging when talking about complicated programs like Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicare.

Take a moment to learn a few common Social Security terms and acronyms!

COLA

This stands for “Cost-of-Living Adjustment.” With COLAs, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits keep pace with inflation. Most years, your monthly benefit amount will get a COLA, which usually means extra money.

Credits

As you work and pay Social Security taxes, you earn credits – previously called “Quarters of Coverage” – that count toward your eligibility for future Social Security benefits. You can earn a maximum of four credits each year. Most people need 40 credits to qualify for benefits. Younger people need fewer credits to qualify for disability or survivors benefits. For more information, see our publication covering Social Security Credits.

Earnings Record

This is the chronological history of the amount of money you earned each year during your working lifetime. Your credits remain on your Social Security earnings record even when you change jobs or have no earnings for a period of time. Review your earnings record with a personal my Social Security account.

FICA

This stands for “Federal Insurance Contributions Act.” It’s the tax withheld from your wages that funds the Social Security and Medicare programs.

Now, if any of these terms or acronyms comes up in conversation, you can help explain what they mean.

4 Ways to Reduce Caregiver Stress With Positive Self Talk

Positive self talk is a simple and powerful stress-reduction tool

Caring for an older adult can feel like a non-stop stress test.

Reducing that stress protects you from burnout, serious health conditions, and early death. It also improves quality of life, something you definitely deserve.

That’s why it’s important to find simple, quick ways to be kind to yourself and reduce stress.

One powerful stress-reducing tool you can start using right now is positive self talk.

We explain what self talk is, the difference between positive and negative self talk, and 4 ways to use positive self talk to reduce stress.

What is self talk?

You might not know it, but you already practice self talk all the time.

It’s basically the voice that’s always in your head. Self talk usually happens without you even noticing.

Positive vs. negative self talk

Positive self talk makes you feel good about yourself and the things in your life. It’s the optimistic voice in your head that looks on the bright side.

Positive self talk examples:

Dad loves that puzzle I found for him. It’s great that I did the research to find it.

The table is sparkling! I did a nice job cleaning up mom’s mess from breakfast.

I’m not happy about the doctor’s phone call, but the news could have been a lot worse.

Negative self talk makes you feel bad about yourself and things in your life. It brings you down and usually makes people pretty miserable.

Negative self talk examples:

I’m the worst caregiver ever, I can’t even convince mom to shower.

I should have known that dad has a UTI, how could I have been so blind?!

As long as I’m a caregiver, my life is going to completely suck and I’m going to feel like crap.

4 ways to use positive self talk to reduce caregiver stress

Hearing positive, supportive statements in your head is a lot more pleasant and calming than a steady stream of negativity.

To lower stress, work on reducing the amount and intensity of negative self talk while increasing positive self talk.

Here are 4 techniques to try:

1. Interrupt negative thoughts with “stop”

When you notice yourself saying something negative in your mind, stop that thought immediately by saying “stop” to yourself.

If you can, say it out loud. Saying it aloud makes you more aware of how many times you’re stopping negative thoughts and when they’re happening.

2. Use milder wording

Using a strong word can make an experience seem more intense.

If someone asked you to describe your “pain,” you might feel it intensely. But if you were asked to describe your “discomfort,” it might not seem so strong.

When you talk to yourself, turn strong negative words into more neutral ones. That helps make your experience more neutral rather than so negative.

Instead of using words like “hate” and “angry,” use words like “don’t like” or “annoyed.”

For example, instead of saying “I hate being stuck at home taking care of my mom!” try something like “I don’t like being stuck at home taking care of my mom.”

That’s a milder statement and helps make the feeling less intense.

3. Change self-limiting statements to questions

Saying things like “I can’t handle this!” or “This is impossible!” increases your stress and stops you from looking for solutions.

These are called self-limiting statements because they limit the possibilities of the situation.

The next time you think something like that, turn it into a question. “How can I handle this?” or “How is this possible?” sounds much more hopeful and helps you come up with creative solutions.

4. Address yourself by name

Research has found that talking to yourself using the word “I” will stress you out.

But, using your own name actually helps you give yourself support and advice. Weird, huh?

It’s like stepping outside yourself and talking to yourself as if you were talking to a friend. It’s often easier to be kind to someone else than it is to be kind to yourself.

For example, if you hear yourself think “There’s no way I can help dad with rehab like the physical therapist does.” change that to “Jane, you can ask the physical therapist to teach you how to help dad exercise.”

That type of positive encouragement is what you might say to a friend in a similar situation.