Retirement Communities Prairieville LA
A Systematic Method for Making Difficult Decisions
A Systematic Method For Making Difficult Decisions
Everyday we make countless decisions. Most of them seem automatic, like deciding what to eat or wear or even driving to work. Other decisions require more information or time.
The difficulty of decision-making increases as we become less familiar with a subject or as the consequences of our decisions appear serious or permanent. Decisions affecting our happiness or the happiness and well-being of a loved one are particularly difficult. You may already be in the midst of considering such life-changing decisions as selecting a retirement community, dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease in a loved one, providing good home health care for an ailing senior parent or deciding on nursing home placement.
Like many people in your situation, you are probably feeling many emotions . . . anticipation, anxiety or fear of change, to say the least. If you are considering placing a spouse, parent or family member in a nursing home, these feelings could include guilt, depression, fear of censure and even resentment.
One good approach for dealing with these feelings and coming to a decision is to draw from how you dealt with previous difficult decisions in your life: changing jobs; making a long-distance move away from family, friends, and familiar surroundings; divorce; death; or a serious illness in the family. Here is one formal process that you might find helpful in making a decision. The steps are: assessing the situation; setting goals or determining a solution; gathering information; developing a plan to reach your goals; establishing a trial period; and evaluating the trial period/making adjustments.
Assessing the Situation
Sometimes this first step involves listing all the areas that are problems or that concern you.
Break through the isolation. Describe the situation and then ask someone else, a friend, family member or your adult children, to do the same. After this soul-searching, one or more problems will usually be evident. You may worry more than you think you should about your health, lack of significant relationships or social activities. Or you could be concerned about the fact that your senior parent forgets to eat or bathe properly or take her medicine. Perhaps you just wonder what services are available to you and your family.
Setting Goals
Once the problems have been defined, you need to clearly state your goals. This step is essential for effective decision-making. You can seek help through family, friends, health experts and support groups, but the goal-setting has to be done by you. Once you've set goals, everyone involved will have a better understanding of when changes might occur.
Gathering Information
The importance of this step can't be over-emphasized. At this time in your life, income is probably limited and the ability to bounce back from mistakes is less.
If you are contemplating nursing home placement for an elderly loved one, ask ...