5 TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS AT AN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY
Do you remember how you felt on the first day of every school year? A tight knot developed in the stomach as the result of participating in an annual ritual that now has become part of your routine as a senior.
It’s called making friends at an assisted living facility in Lynnwood.
Transitioning to an independent or assisted living lifestyle at a senior living center in Everett, Washington can trigger a considerable amount of stress and anxiety. Gone are the old, familiar ways, and in their place, a senior has to navigate through an entirely different routine. Compounding the stress and anxiety that develops because of the transition to an assisted living facility in Arlington is the angst-causing need to make new friends.
However, seniors can make new friends much easier by following five effective tips.
Spend Time in Common Areas
Spending most of your days inside your apartment is not an effective strategy for making new friends at an assisted living facility. Spend time outside your new home exploring the common areas, from the indoor recreation center to the open spaces that we provide our residents to walk around outdoors. You do not need to attend a planned community event to meet new friends.
Participate in Community Activities
Our senior living center in Everett, WA offers a busy activities calendar that matches just about all types of interests. Choose one or two regularly scheduled events to attend, and you should be able to develop the start of a friendship with one or more of the residents. Group activities such as touring a local point of interest represent an effective way to spend the quality time required to make new friends.
Eat Meals in Our Dining Room
Although you have the option to cook inside your new home, consider spending some of your meal times in our community dining room. Meals are the best opportunity to socialize in an informal setting, and after all, aren’t meals considered the ultimate social event? Invite other residents that you meet to dine together at the same time, during the same meal every day.
Lean on Our Caregivers
One of the most effective ways to make a smooth lifestyle transition into your new home at our assisted living facility in Lynnwood involves introducing yourself to our team of caregivers. You can expect to receive compassionate support in your quest to make new friends. Introductions, as well as recommendations on participating in certain activities, should help you develop new friendships.
Lean on Friends and Family Members
If attending a group activity alone or eating meals in our community dining room by yourself causes you to feel intimidated, enlist the support of friends and family members to accompany you for the first few days or weeks. Being able to converse with people that you know should help build the confidence you need to introduce yourself to other residents.
Bonus Tip: Be Patient
The saying goes something like this: “Rome wasn’t conquered in a day.” The moral of the saying is to be patient in your search for developing new friendships. You cannot expect to make new friends on the first day of living in your new home at MorningStar at Silver Lake. Making new friends requires time, but regular interactions should be the seed that helps you grow long-term friendships at our assisted living facility in Arlington.