Being Single Can Kill You. Can Your Pet Help Keep You Healthy?
The Problems of Ageing.
When society idealizes "growing old gracefully," it asks a great deal of the ageing person, for the over-sixty-five years often bring the most stressful changes of a persons life. Consider the following changes, at least several of which confront every old man and woman.
Retirement
Many people look forward to the period of their lives when they will be free from the demands of the clock and commuter traffic. And, some do find their retirement years to be "golden'--particularly those who are healthy, happily married, financially comfortable, and well equipped with interests that they are eager to pursue. However, these people are in the minority. Many others--the majority-- cut off from their, long established, daily routine, from the activity that has lent them an identity for a lifetime, feel bereft. In a society that defines and values people according to their CELEBRITY STATUS or career/work roles, it is easy for the retired to feel FUNCTIONLESS AND USELESS. In addition many miss now independent children, friends from the job , and the camaraderie of the workplace.
Poverty
Again: Those who have no money worries in their old age are a minority. Many, now living in LEGISLATED POVERTY find that their pensions (many of which--eg. union pensions--they may not know how to even access), Social Security checks, and savings do not all them the comforts or even the basic necessities (often forced to resort to "food banks") they once could afford. Furthermore, what income they have is always depleted by inflation. Seniors are always a deprived group. The deprivations may be subtle, such as not being able to afford to go on a "trip" or to buy one's granddaughter a graduation present, or they may be starkly obvious, such as cold, hunger, living in vermin infested living quarters, or suffering physical abuse. In any case, they are stressful, to say the least.
Loneliness
Many people in the over-sixty five years must survive the death of a child or spouse; two of the most traumatic changes that can occur in the life of a human being. The surviving partner may be ill equipped to lie alone--most of us are, and other choices--such as living with one's children--may be unattractive or unavailable. To compound the problem: The longer people live the more our society wants them to die and get out of the way of progress. The more likely they are to see their friends die one by one, leaving them more and more isolated every year.
Physical Changes
Older people must accept the unpleasant fact that in a society that overvalues the looks and concerns of youth--while much of it is necessitated by the expectations of our society-- they no longer act or look young. They are "old fogies". Both men and women may be chagrined at their deepening wrinkles and sagging bodies. In addition old people may begin to notice that their bodies don't seem to work as well as they used to: eyes and ears are not as keen as they were, their walk is not as spritely. Worse still, more than 80 percent of those over sixty-five suffer from some form of chronic illness: heart disease, arthritis, problems with digestion and sleep, and so on, and so on-- none of which they can adequately afford to confront.
An old man or woman may feel stress from every one of these sources. Add to these circumstances the generally negative attitude of the larger society toward the aged--where even the fact of ageing must be hidden under euphemisms like "senior citizens"--and it is hardly surprising that depression and anxiety are common among old people.
And what becomes of the old person who responds to such stresses with anxiety or depression? The most pernicious result is that he or she may be labelled "demented",or "senile" without showing real signs of organic brain pathology. It is easy for family members, nursing home personnel, and especially doctors and nurses who deal with geriatrics and the ageing to make this mistake. Consider the woman of eighty who seems sad and withdrawn, who complains about the food, her health, and reminisces about her past, who talks to herself because she has no other audience, who begins to neglect her appearance and hygiene because she has nowhere to go and no one to see, and whose memory doesn't seem what it used to be. Our reaction is too often to conclude that "Aunt Jane's mind is wandering" rather than "Aunt Jane is depressed." This error has sinister ramifications. For while depression is something that we have ways of treating, senility is not. Senility eventually kills. The senile are generally put away in nursing homes or in the back wards of general hospitals--a huge huge drain on the health care system--where they continue to deteriorate.
Given the stresses associated with ageing, it is not surprising that some older people experience depression, anxiety, and other psychological problems. Sometimes, of course, psychotherapy may be helpful But greater support from our government--society as a whole--and the recognition that even normal ageing can be stressful in our day and age--would seem to be in order.
Presently the best advise is: Don't get old.
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