Living a Full Life While Homebound

One of the greatest misconceptions about home health care is the patient’s quality of life. No matter what your preconception of home health is, the reality is that most patients who are homebound live full, fun and complete lives during this stage of their care — especially Pallatus Health patients. It boils down to having a strong, loving caregiver system, compassionate clinicians, and a positive attitude. 

Here are some tips patients and their families can use to enjoy life while homebound:

Don’t get stuck in the boredom trap

Newton’s First Law of Motion states that an object in motion will stay in motion, and an object at rest will stay at rest, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. When you are bored and feel unmotivated, you are the object at rest, and you will likely stay at rest until boredom consumes you entirely. At that point, you can either give into boredom and go stir crazy or decide to get up and get busy. 

Likewise, if you stay busy while homebound and fill your days with things that bring you joy, you are the object in motion, and you will continue to feel a sense of motivation during your days. This begs the question: how should we fill our time? 

Engage in a hobby

Fill your days with things that bring you joy. Explore a new hobby or reengage in an old one. Do whatever you feel called towards, and do it completely. Maybe you’re a tech-savvy senior who always wanted to start a blog, now is the perfect time. Maybe you want to get back into photography after a long hiatus, or maybe reading books and journaling are calling your name. The list is endless and your opportunities reach as far as your imagination. 

Give yourself tasks

If you think back to your school years, high school or college, you may wonder how on earth you got so much accomplished in one week or even one day. The answer is that you were probably given set tasks and deadlines. While you should certainly be a lot easier on yourself that you were in school, setting tasks and giving yourself purpose is a wonderful way to ensure you remain productive. 

Set realistic and attainable goals, such as reading one book a month, finishing one puzzle a week, or whatever else you want to accomplish for yourself that will keep you motivated. 

Redecorate

If you ever start to feel a little stir crazy, one of the best things you can do is change your surroundings. While you may not be able to travel too far, you can spice things up in your own home by redecorating. Not only is redecorating fun, but it can also help you declutter and get rid of things you no longer need, helping you be productive during your day as well. 

Redecorating doesn’t have to be huge. Maybe you want to add a few new framed photos to the walls, arrange some new potted plants, or change up your throw pillow collection. Even getting new bird feeders for outside can help brighten up your day when you look out the window. 

Turn to a loving support system

While there are more good days ahead of you than bad, rough days are bound to happen from time to time. That is why it is so important to have a loving support system through friends, family or a compassionate care team. Pallatus Health’s Home Health services provide the comprehensive care that homebound patients need to feel empowered through this stage in their life. 

Learn more and get started today by calling 818-740-7672.