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How to Help the Elderly be Happier?
Give Them MORE Responsibility
by www.Sedona.com
“The man who works and is not bored is never old.”
--Pablo Casals
In the United States, increasing numbers of people are crossing the line into “seniorhood.” Your guess is a good as ours as to what age “elderly” actually refers to, as experts put it anywhere from 60 to 85 and beyond (“To me old age is always 15 years older than I am,” said American financier Bernard Baruch).
In 2006, there were 37.3 million people aged 65 and older in the United States, which accounts for 12 percent of the total population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This is up from 36.8 million in 2005.
The number of people aged 85 and older, meanwhile, reached 5.3 million in 2006, up from 5.1 million in 2005.
Increasing numbers of us are also entering nursing homes. In 2006, about 1.6 million elderly people resided in the United States’ 17,000 nursing homes, according to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, and that number is expected to quadruple to 6.6 million residents by 2050.
Yet, as people grow older, they face a variety of changes in their life. Retirement, physical limitations, and perhaps loss of their spouse or close friends. In the face of these changes, many seniors fare very well and continue to lead happy lives.
In fact, a study published in Psychological Science found that people are more likely to focus on the good things in life as they get older. The study recorded the brain activity of 63 people of varying ages while they were shown various positive and negative images, such as a bowl of ice cream or a dead animal.
The older people, it turns out, were 30 percent less reactive to the negative images than the younger adults.
Many other studies support the notion that as people age their psychological health improves, likely because they realize that their time is limited and they are able to live in the moment.
Quite simply, as we get older we’re able to appreciate the good times more, and worry about the bad ones less.
“At the same time, as we age we also gain wisdom so we bring that wisdom to our choices and responsibilities,” says Hale Dwoskin, CEO and director of training of The Sedona Training Associates.
However, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 7 million Americans who are 65 years and older may suffer from depression. Among them, 2 million may suffer from depression so severe that they risk committing suicide.
What can help someone who is older, yet feeling depressed or sad? Giving them a purpose.
“When we believe we have responsibilities and choices it keeps our minds more alive,” Dwoskin says. “There are still challenges to look forward to and people or situations that depend on us, which makes us feel needed. This is a great way to help us look forward to life.”
Take the classic 1976 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. It looked at the effects of giving nursing home residents choices.
One group of residents was given a communication that stressed their responsibility for themselves, along with a plant to take care of. In the second group, the communication stressed the staff’s responsibility for them, and the plant was taken care of by the staff.
Sure enough, the group that was given choices fared much better than the no-choice group, and experienced significant improvement in:
- Alertness
- Active participation
- A general sense of well-being
To translate these findings to your own life, you simply must keep active as you age, whether that means volunteering, keeping a part-time job, or spending time with family and friends.
“Often when you retire from all responsibility you wither away,” Dwoskin says. “However, if you let go using The Sedona Method you can remain full of life and happy whether or not you have responsibilities or lots of choices. And for the choices you do make, you will bring even greater wisdom to them.”
The Sedona Method makes an excellent gift for the elderly friend or loved ones in your life, as it can provide them with a greater sense of well-being, regardless of what circumstances they are currently in.
If you are caring for a loved one who is elderly , The Sedona Method can also help you to overcome the emotional challenges that it brings up.
The Sedona Method will help you focus on the big picture in life, whether you are young or old, so that you get the maximum amount of joy out of each and every moment.
“Ultimately,” Dwoskin say, “it is not about whether or not you are responsible. It is about how alive you are in this moment.”
Sources
U.S. Census Bureau News May 17, 2007
Psychological Science Volume 18 Issue 9 Page 838-843, September 2007
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1976 Aug;34(2):191-8.
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