Everyone has their own set of habits, daily routines, preferences, and cultural beliefs. One or the other of these may clash with the other person sharing the room. For example, your parent may be an early riser but their roommate may be a night owl. Just this one thing is enough to set off an endless chain of angry arguments.
What makes it even more challenging is that we get set in our ways as we get older and find it difficult to change to accommodate somebody else, even if that person is your roommate in an assisted living facility.
Living with this constant tension is bad for your loved one’s mental and physical health. If you know this is happening, you should step in and intervene.
1. Talk To Your Assisted Living Administrator
The assisted living administrator may or not be aware of the tension between your loved one and their roommate. Start with speaking to them. More likely than not, they would have dealt with such situations before and will offer suggestions based on their experience. Assisted living administrations are committed to the welfare of their residents and to creating a harmonious atmosphere within the facility and will go out of their way to help resolve this.
2. Openly Discuss Conflicts
Listen to your loved one’s complaints about their roommate and start a discussion brainstorming solutions. Sometimes things feel much worse than they are simply because of the feeling of being out of control. If it’s something that can be resolved by just speaking to the roommate, suggest that your loved one do that instead of simmering in silence. Most times they will comply. Nobody really wants to live with constant tension.
3. Request A Different Roommate
If you’ve tried both the measures mentioned above but your loved one still complains about being unhappy with their roommate, changing roommates may be the best solution. Start by talking to your loved one about who they would consider an ideal roommate. Then speak with the assisted living administrator to determine the best way to go about this so everyone is happy.
4. Upgrade Your Parent To A Private Apartment
Sometimes, no matter what you try, nothing seems to work. The roommate may refuse to change their ways and changing roommates is not an option for various reasons. In that case, the only option left is to upgrade your parent to a private apartment. In the long run these can cost significantly more than shared apartments so give careful thought to your budget before considering this option.
Expecting all residents and roommates of an assisted living facility to get along harmoniously is unrealistic but there are things you can do to create a happier atmosphere for your loved one within the facility.
