2019 should be the year that you discuss important health topics with your loved ones, as it can be unpleasant to talk about but is important to you and them.
Discussing your health with your friends and family can help them understand your wishes if anything happens or if you are unable to express them at that time.
It is also important to talk with your doctor about your health, wishes and goals for 2019, as well as your legal team to document your wishes.
Your Health
It is important to talk with your family and friends about your health in 2019, because your health goals should be shared with those close to you.
Your friends and family can help you focus on your goals as well as help you in any situation that you may not be able to help yourself.
Another reason why you should discuss your health with your friends and family is because there may be a time where they need to inform medical personnel of your medications and health history if you are unable to.
It is important that someone else besides you know about your medication and health, as if you are ever unable to help yourself or forget, someone else can make sure you still take your medications.
Your health is one of the most important topics to discuss with your loved ones in 2019.
Living Situation
More often than not, as people age they spend their later years in a home where they are better looked after than when they are living alone.
Even if moving to an assisted living home isn’t ideal for you, maybe you want to downsize in the future.
Discussing your wants, and what ifs with family and friends can help decisions be made when you get to a certain point in your life where you cannot live in your current situation.
If your health declines you may want to downsize and move to a place where you can be better looked after, or maybe that is what your family wants for you.
It is important to talk about it with family and friends so there are no questions when the time comes, and everyone knows where you stand on your wishes.
Insurance
Insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid are all important to speak about with family and friends as well.
Depending on your insurance situation, you should look into and discuss what insurance will cover/if they will cover a nursing home or assisted living facility (if that is your future wish).
If they do not cover your plan for living care as you get older, you should discuss the financial situation with family and friends to get a better idea of how you will pay for it.
Also check and see if there are any benefits that can help you afford you care, such as VA benefits or retirement savings.
Knowing where your financial support will be can help ease your mind as well as your family, knowing you will be taken care of.
Support
Your family and friends should be a wave of support with most everything you do, or every decision you make.
Take with them about your wishes and goals and ask for their support in accomplishing or going through with what you want.
They should support you no matter how big or small the decision is, if you change your living situation, or if you want to eat better.
The key is to express the importance of their support and ask them to hold you accountable for your decisions and actions.
Doctor
You should speak with your doctor about your end of life wishes, though it can be hard to talk about.
It is important to share so that if the time comes, you have expressed your wishes and know that they will be followed.
If you do not share your wishes before something happens to you, decisions you do not agree with may be made in your best interest.
It is also important to discuss medical treatment for 2019, what happens if there is progression in your condition, or if you start to improve?
You and your doctor should have a game plan for the year, and a goal for the end of the year.
Attorney
Sitting down with an attorney can help you draft a will about what you want to happen to all of your belongings can make it easier on your family and friends if anything happens.
This can also help you feel at ease if anything does happen to you, as a will expresses your wishes for who is responsible for executing your wishes (the will), who gets what, how they will get what and for any children under your care and who will become the legal guardian.
This will make it easier on everyone, as there is no need to fight over “what he/she would have wanted” as it simply states what you want.
They can also draft living wills that express your health wishes if you are in a situation where you cannot express them yourself.
Living wills are great for people with health complications (though everyone should have one), as if anything were to happen to you, your medical team is still able to execute your wishes.
End of Life Choices
Though it is not a topic many people enjoy discussing, it is important for your family, friends, medical team and legal team to know what you want to happen at the end of your life.
Depending on your wishes, your family and you can discuss what would need to be done if anything happens to you.
Choices about your funeral, medical decisions (living will) and assets (will) can make it easier on you and your family when the time comes.
There is no need to discuss these decisions when it is towards the end of your life, so you are able to enjoy the remaining time you have with your loved ones.
Conclusion
Though there are very heavy topic to discuss with your family and friends, it can make it easier on you and them if anything ever happens to you.
By lifting the burden of “what he/she would want”, you allow your family and friends to just worry about you and be there for you.
These topics are not easy to talk about, they are not fun to talk about, but it can make the future for you and your loved ones easier.