What is Care Anxiety?
While it’s recognised that many people have a fear of hospitals (‘nosocomephobia’ for anyone who wants to know) it’s less common for people to admit that they have a fear of health care in general. However, it is a reality that many people are anxious at the thought of having to have medical treatment and especially the prospect of needing long-term care. This can be a new sensation, or surface due to an existing anxiety disorder. If you already live with anxiety, then it may be more likely that you’ll be anxious about future care needs, as none of us want to feel we’ll lose our independence as we age. This isn’t a given though, and by having additional support from a company such as Helping Hands, it’ll mean you’ll get the help you need without losing your independence at home.
How Common Is It To Be Anxious About Care?
According to Harvard Medical, “Health anxiety is a relatively common condition, known to affect some 4% to 5% of people.” Therefore, concern about receiving care isn’t uncommon and affects many more people than you may have realised. There is a big difference between having occasional concern about your health, such as worrying that a headache is lingering or thinking that an upcoming hospital appointment may reveal something unexpected. But if you are worrying about your health and care needs to the extent that it’s taking over your life, then it’s something that needs to be addressed.
How Care Providers Can Reduce Customer Anxiety
Helping Hands is unique among home care providers in that we’re not an agency; we’re a private home care company who have been delivering personalised, high-quality care since we were established in 1989. This is itself can help to reduce your or a loved one’s anxiety around care at home, simply because we are the UK’s trusted experts in keeping you as independent and comfortable in the place you love. You can also meet with us in your own home for your initial care assessment if you wish, which may make you feel more relaxed, and having a trusted person there for your first few carer visits may also help.
Provide a warm first welcome
At Helping Hands, we only hire the best people to work for us, and we’re very discerning about the carers we employ. This ensures that when your carer arrives for the first time, you’ll be met with a warm smile and a friendly greeting, instantly putting you at ease that you—or a loved one—will be comfortable with the person in your home.
Offer suitable distractions
Sometimes the anticipation of something new can be worse than the reality. We all build up events in our minds to often unrealistic levels, especially when it’s something we haven’t experienced before, and the same is likely for a carer arriving. Keeping occupied during this period of transition may be all you need to reduce your anxiety.
Give an overview to the customer
All of Helping Hands’ thousands of customers have a detailed care plan in place, ensuring that they will always have their routine respected and their preferences recognised. This ensures that our carers and their trusted advocates know exactly what their carers will be delivering on a daily basis and there are no unpleasant surprises.
Ensure the office is calm
While we can come to your home to deliver your initial assessment and explain your options to you, many people feel happier visiting one of our branches across England and Wales. We have 155 locations where our friendly staff will be happy to welcome you, and many of our branches are recognised dementia-friendly spaces too.
Explore Support With Our Friendly Team of Experts
We’ve been in the business of delivering exceptional, fully-regulated visiting and live-in care in our customers’ homes for so long that there’s no-one more trusted than us across England and Wales. You can trust us because of our long-established values that have been in place since we were founded as a family company in 1989, and despite growing steadily since then, we still hold our values dear and work to honour them every day. Another reason we’re so trusted is that we don’t sell franchises – instead, retaining ownership of all of our branches and staffing them with our local, dedicated care teams. Our carers are all directly employed by us too, which means they are protected by UK employment laws and don’t have to worry about self-employment. And what they’re not worrying about neither are you, meaning you both just get to focus on making your days as enjoyable as possible.
