Health and Wellbeing
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Health and Wellbeing
At Care in Hand, we strongly believe everyone should have the freedom to choose how they want to receive their care and support. Our aim is to provide our service users with the opportunity to live a life as fully and independently as possible.
The well-being of individuals we support every day is therefore of key importance to us. Mental health can affect anybody at any age and the conditions can be common in older people but are often be harder to recognise, diagnose and treat. Ageing with good mental as well as our physical health can make a huge difference in ensuring that life is enjoyable and fulfilling.
Our staff make every effort to ensure that the health and wellbeing of the individuals we care for is a high priority.
Living Healthy and Maintaining Independent Living
We recognise that living a healthy life is essential to maintaining good mental and physical fitness levels at any age.
Staying strong, being safe and maintaining your independence can have such a positive impact on individuals and we encourage healthy living at any opportunity.
At Care in Hand, we can work directly with individuals to introduce a tailored home plan that works for them. No matter what their age is, the best exercise for them is the one they enjoy the most. Doing any physical activity is better than doing none but that doesn’t mean they have to do regular activity straight away. We suggest doing some and then gradually build up to what would be a recommended amount. We will work with individuals to help them identify what that might be. This can range from small activities within their home environment or taking part in activities within the wider community.
Health and wellbeing activities designed to help
We work together to identify what individuals want out of life and how we can help achieve what is important to them.
Some basic physical activities could include walking or dancing or some simple exercises that can be done from the comfort of their own chair. At Care in Hand, we make physical exercise as fun and enjoyable as possible so the individuals we work with can feel rewarded by their efforts by improving their functioning.
The benefits of physical exercise
If an individual expresses an interest in their own health and wellbeing, we will support them every step of the way. For us, it is crucial that they feel that they can live as independently as possible and with our support, they can.
Some benefits of physical exercise could include:
- Reduce health problems including risk of heart attacks and high blood pressure
- Improve an individual’s balance or prevent a fall
- Reduce levels of anxiety and stress by having something positive to focus on
- Lower the risk of osteoporosis by improving bone and joint strength Manage weight better
- Improve daily functioning
A healthier state of mind
With exercise, we can see that the individuals we care for feel better. They often demonstrate more energy, they are in a better mood and it even helps them sleep better at night. We want to focus on promoting the positive mental wellbeing of individuals we care for at any opportunity.
We recognise that mental stimulation also produces positive results with individuals, keeping us alert and our minds sharp. Arts and crafts keep the mind active and the hands nimble. By engaging in logic–stimulating puzzles to brain quizzes such as crosswords or traditional board games, they can all have a healthy impact on the mind.
Some of the activities we can help them with can act as a distraction to their daily, prolonging worries and remove any negative thoughts. Some healthy activities including exercise are known to change the chemicals in our brain which include stress hormones, serotonin and endorphins. It is important to note that some individuals may require professional treatment for their mental health and our carers will work to recognise any symptoms that might require professional help.
If you are worried about a family member and their mental health, we recommend contacting Mind or Mental Health Matters for further advice and support.
Mind – https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/mind-cymru/
Mental Health Matters – https://mhmwales.org.uk/