Socialising and Leisure Activities

Socialising & Leisure Activities can Be Easy

Everyone benefits from meeting other people and taking part in social activities. Not only do socialising and leisure activities and positive relationships contribute to our wellbeing but they also improve our brain health too.

According to the Global Council on Brain Health’s 2017 report, “older people who are more socially engaged and have larger social networks tend to have a higher level of cognitive function”.

Life events, such as bereavement, ill health, lack of mobility and confidence, and retirement can all contribute to reduced social networks, making it more difficult to stay active socially. Our social activity support service is tailored to our customers’ individual needs and we can assist with overcoming many of the challenges older people face with socialising and leisure activities.

The Importance of Socialising and Leisure Activities

We know that loneliness and social isolation can increase health risks in older people and has been associated with health issues such as depression, sleep problems, hypertension, stress and mental health problems.

According to Age UK, nearly a million older people in the UK go for more than a month without speaking to anyone. It’s normal for social networks to get smaller as we get older and even just thinking about making new friends or socialising more and social activities can be overwhelming. And that’s where Caremark can help

Social activities can help you or your loved one in so many ways, from helping to maintain social connections and reducing feelings of loneliness to introducing new hobbies or skills or revisiting old ones. Socialising has also been shown to help us stay mentally sharp in old age.

If you or your loved one is recovering from an illness, getting out and about could speed up the recovery process and meeting new and familiar faces also has the simple positive impact of making one feel generally happier. If you spend a lot of time at home, joining a local club or participating in an activity provides a whole new experience, adding another perspective to your life. The important thing is to promote socialising and leisure activities.

How Caremark Can Help

When we draw up care plans with our customers, we always try to incorporate socialising and leisure activities. These are catered to you or your loved one and sometimes involve gradual steps towards a goal of becoming more socially engaged – especially if this is quite far removed from the current lifestyle or situation.

We’ll help you find the confidence

It’s totally understandable if you or your loved one feel nervous about socialising and leisure activities. Our care assistants can go with you or your family member to help you get started at a new club or just have a friendly face to go inside with. We’ll provide the boost of confidence you/they need to get started with something new.

We’ll do the research

Perhaps you or your loved one would like to try something new but have no idea how to get started. We can chat about what might be suitable and find out what the options are for socialising and leisure activities in your local area, before helping to complete any paperwork, if needed.

And we’ll help you or your loved one get there, even if mobility is a problem

If you or your loved one has problems with mobility, we’ll try to find a solution. We’ll help organise transportation and can even go with you/them to carry mobility aids or provide an arm to lean on, should you or your loved one need it. If going out is too tricky we can help to organise for friends or relatives to visit and we can also help enhance your/their social life (or assist with keeping up with people who can’t easily visit) through online messaging applications. Bringing a little of the outside world into your/their life can make a big difference.

Socialising and leisure activities can make all the difference, and when someone has reduced mobility or other disabilities it becomes even more important.

We’ll find activities to suit you or your loved ones’s needs

Our care assistants totally understand how daunting joining a new activity or club can be – especially if you or your loved one hasn’t socialised for a while. Physical disabilities, illness or mobility issues might even make socialising seem almost impossible. But we are here to help you or your friend or relative take small steps to start rebuilding your/their social life. We’ll help you or your family member or friend to focus on activities you enjoy, going through what might suit your/their personality, considering physical abilities and needs, too.

If you think this is something you/they would be interested in, feel free to reach out to us today!

Why choose Caremark?

You’ll be in safe hands – our services care for over 14,000 customers.

Personalised care

We provide care that is an individual as you are. You are unique, so your care plan must be too!

Excellent standards

Our quality of care is exemplary. You are extremely important to us, and we care for you like you were our own family.

Cheery visits

We employ our staff based on their personalities – caring, compassionate, cheery and fun!

Allocated Care Assistant

We spend time matching our Care Assistants with our customers and maintaining that pairing.

Family contact

We are open and transparent with family members and share details of each visit when requested.

Confidentiality

Customer confidentiality is extremely important to us. We are fully compliant with GDPR and data protection.