The best books to read on stress and anxiety management for San Gabriel Valley Residents

No matter what, everyone will feel “overwhelmed” and “stressed” out over something. Stress is part of an every day life, whether it is financial, mental, physical, relationship, or work-related. Here, at A-1 Home Care Agency, we often see stress contributing to most of our seniors‘ health and even mobility–note heart attacks and strokes. Our certified trained caregivers are aware of the steps that it takes to either recover and monitor after one has a stroke and heart attack. Our twenty-four hour in-home service puts each caretaker through an extensive background check and additional tests from medication to skills set in order to place the perfect match with our senior patients.

Most of our seniors have experienced difficulty of mobility, therefore, limiting numerous of physical activities including lighter ones such as walking and yoga. However, most of our seniors have sought comfort and joy in more sit-down tasks such as reading. One of our goals is to build and maintain a working relationship amongst our caregivers and seniors and this makes it easier for many hobbies to be done together.

There are many books on stress and even anxiety management out there. Here are a few to check out and for our caretakers and seniors to read and discuss together:

1. Monkey Mind: A Memoir on Anxiety — Daniel Smith
2. Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence — Rick Hanson
3. Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: An Updated Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases and Coping – Robert Sapolsky, Ph.D.
4. Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness – John Kabat-Zinn, M.D.
5. Undoing Perpetual Stress: The Missing Connection Between Depression, Anxiety and 21st Century Illness – Richard O’Connor, Ph.D.
6. A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook — Bob Stahl
7. The 10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques – Margaret Wehrenberg, Ph.D.
8. Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong: A Guide to Life Liberated from Anxiety – Troy DuFrene
9. The Worry Cure – Robert L. Leahy
10. Self-Coaching: The Powerful Guide to Beat Anxiety – Joseph J. Luciani, Ph.D.

Please do give our San Gabriel Valley branch a call at 626-287-0250. OR, you can visit our website www.a-1homecare.com to find your nearest branch to discuss with one of our agency representatives.

Dementia Games with Seniors

Not very many people know but seniors and the elderly who have dementia can still enjoy the fun of crafts. We often think of those with dementia as having no sense of their surroundings and sometimes being impossible to do anything with. And while it’s true that seniors with dementia are often prone to experience bouts of confusion, they are still capable of finding joy in even the simplest of things. So why not try to bring out that joy with some fun crafts and games? Here’s a few to try:

Balloon Volleyball: Most elderly residents don’t have enough strength and endurance to play a real game of volleyball with a ball that can certainly do some damage. But substituting a balloon in place of a real volleyball can make playing possible again. And even more fun since there’s no risk of damage.

Holiday Toss: Have a fun game of “Toss the Hat” This is pretty simple, and it’s a game that can be played anytime (just switch out the hats according to the season). All you have to do is grab a hat (and since it’s the holiday season, I recommend a Santa Hat), fill it with candy, get in a circle with friends, family, caregiver and your elderly loved one,  and try tossing it among each other without letting any of the candy drop.

There are certainly more activities you can try. Our caregivers at A-1 Home Care certainly know enough to keep seniors and the elderly occupied. Aside from caregivers, A-1 Home Care provides many other services such as Companion Care, Live in and 24 Hour care for your loved ones. We serve Altadena, Arcadia, City of Industry, Diamond Bar, Rowland Heights,San Dimas, and all other cities throughout San Gabriel Valley.

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