Happy Spring! Why talk about Loneliness when the weather is getting nicer? Well, it is a great season to get out of the house and engage in the world around us! While loneliness is a necessary condition sometimes, it should not define a life.
Seniors are often isolated because of physical limitations. While programs, paid help, and even pets can help, the real need is for seniors to find ways to engage meaningfully and naturally with others of different ages. Old stereotypes of what is appropriate for someone to do after retirement need to go. Finding mutually enjoyable activities and finding ways to fulfill a sense of purpose are things we need at every stage of life.
It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a village to include seniors. Some ideas here also include making sure that caregivers do not also become isolated. Reach out today, connect, find purpose!
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People need companionship. "Older adults who maintain meaningful, satisfying relationships weather life's stressors to emerge happier, healthier and wiser than people who do not," says psychologist John Cacioppo, Director of the Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience at the University of Chicago, in a USA Today Article about loneliness. People in one study, who reported feeling lonely, had a 43% increased risk of death. And elderly people are often lonely.
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Broken heart syndrome sounds like a myth, but it is real. Broken Heart Syndrome takes place in an older person who loses a partner after being together for a long time. Although this phenomenon has been around and "known" for centuries, studies have only recently been done.
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One of the hardest parts of being a full-time caregiver is the sheer "constant-ness" of it all. You have so much to do - especially if there are multiple doctor appointments, pharmacy runs, and children of your own. When is there time for friends? Between 40-70 percent of caregivers, when polled, will claim experiencing symptoms of clinical depression. These symptoms can be caused by the lonliness and lack of balance in the caregiving situation.
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