Your parents raised and took care of you. Once they become seniors, the time may come when they need help from you to care for themselves. Depending on your parents' level of independence or illness, you may also find yourself needing assistance in caring for them from professionals or other family members. Unfortunately, not all the helpers you choose are guaranteed to be helping in your parents' best interests. Here are some signs to look out for that signal elder abuse may be happening.

1. Bruises

As people age, slips and falls can happen. As such, an occasional bruise can happen depending on the severity of the fall or accident. However, have you noticed that your parent seems to have an excessive amount of bruises regularly? If you're becoming suspicious of marks, or if any of them are oddly shaped or placed, they may be a sign of abuse. It may be difficult to imagine, but someone could be hitting your parent, pushing them down, or manhandling them.

2. Social Withdrawal

Physical abuse can be traumatic for anyone at any age. As you may know, trauma can show up in different ways, such as the person becoming socially withdrawn. Does your elderly parent or grandparent, who was once jovial and smiley, now appear sad and withdrawn? Do you notice that they appear to be self-isolating or more tense around certain people? If they are of sound mind and body, do your best to talk it out with your parent. If they can't verbalize the root of why they're suddenly sad and withdrawn, that should be your cue to hire an elder abuse lawyer or other professionals to intervene.

3. Lack of Appetite

For many reasons, it can be good to monitor your parents' appetite. It's natural for people to lose the taste of certain foods as they grow older. Plus, senior stomachs may shrink, and they may not be able to eat as much food as they once did. However, there's a major difference between the normal reduction in appetite that comes with age versus your elderly family member not wanting to eat at all. A lack of appetite is often a major sign of trauma or depression and should be treated with care.

4. Poor Sleep Patterns

According to the Sleep Foundation, people should get between seven and nine restful hours of sleep each night. As people grow older, they may need extra hours of sleep as they may be more likely to be more tired and have less energy than in their youth. Has your senior parent developed erratic sleep patterns? Have they appeared to develop insomnia or are they waking up with nightmares? If they've developed depression, they may want to sleep too much and avoid getting out of bed. After all, our sleep patterns are connected to our mental states. If your parent has erratic sleeping habits, it can be a sign of underlying problems such as elder abuse.

5. Unexplained Money Loss

Unfortunately, elder abuse has many forms. While signs of physical abuse may be the obvious thing to look for, that's far from the only issue to look out for. One of the ways many people take advantage of unsuspecting seniors is with their finances. Many scams specifically target seniors, particularly romance scams, email scams, and phone scams. Similarly, if someone else is in charge of a senior's money, they may take advantage of the fact that that person may no longer have their full cognitive ability. If the senior's bills are no longer being paid because money from their pension or savings is gone, that's a major red flag you should investigate with the help of a professional elder abuse attorney.

This type of abuse is more common than people may think. As people age, they may lose their physical and cognitive abilities which can make them easy targets for bad actors. Did you know that, according to the National Council on Aging, the perpetrator is a family member in almost 60% of elder abuse and neglect incidents? This doesn't mean a non-family member is always providing with proper care. If you suspect that a senior in your life is the victim of such abuse, don't hesitate to contact Goode Law Office, PLLC for legal services.