Vibrant Elderly Living Often Involves Helping Others—Here are Good Places to Start

My friend, Karen, a gerontologist, is a brilliant woman in dealing with the elderly. Here is an article she wrote and is about to publish in several major magazines. I thought that you might like to see it too.

Aileen

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By Karen Everett Watson – gerontologist

There’s a lot of information about living longer. Most of it is wonderful information that can make our lives better. But I think living longer is only a good thing if there’s happiness in each day.

When I think about the older people that I truly admire, it’s not because they’ve lived to be old, but because they live each day with enthusiasm and purpose.

They’re interested in the world around them and do what they can to make other people’s lives better. Doing for others is just part of who most of our elders are.

While age can bring on some limitations, it doesn’t have to be the end of them contributing to others. Research has proven that those who volunteer for causes they believe in are happier and they live longer. While many of them may not be up to the task of helping Habitat for Humanity, they can contribute in so many other ways.

New programs are emerging that pair up older people with “adopted grandchildren.” These intergenerational programs are a huge success. Older people have so much wisdom to share and they also have the patience and time to give to younger folks.

They can help by reading to them, teaching them to knit, or do wood crafts. They can just be there to listen. Don’t we all relish someone who is interested in us? Many hospitals have programs set up for volunteers to come in and rock babies.

The human contact is wonderful for the babies, and probably enjoyed just as much from the rocker! Elders also value helping other elders. Maybe it’s just helping out with a daily phone call to shut-ins, or filling containers of food for Meals on Wheels.

The social aspects of volunteering and the physical activity can keep anyone “young.” Even seniors with mild to moderate dementia can contribute. Dr. Arnold Bresky, believes in keeping them active and enabling them to contribute. He believes that depression and a lack of purpose is a huge factor in cognitive decline.

It was this belief that inspired the Hands of Kindness program that he started with the Alzheimer’s unit patients in a Pasadena hospital. He asked his patients to knit blankets for the homeless that would be distributed by the local fire department personnel.

The results even surprised Bresky. “Research has shown that working with numbers and patterns can improve cognition,” said Bresky. “The numbers are on the left side of your brain, the patterns are on the right side. What I’m doing is connecting the two sides. It was like my patients were slowly waking up and recognizing where they were. They began smiling more often and laughing. That’s a powerful medicine.”

There are now two chapters of Hands of Kindness, one in Southern California and one in the Fresno area. Bresky hopes that other localities will promote new chapters which he believes will bring community awareness to the plight of dementia sufferers while easing their symptoms.I truly believe that being needed and appreciated is better than any vitamin or medication on the market. It’s not only good for seniors, it’s good for us all!

For more info about caring for your elderly, please contact me at (949) 289-1534.Or call and join me for lunch and a tour of our facility. San Clemente Villas by the Sea is located at 660 Camino De Los Mares, San Clemente, CA 92673. Phone: | Fax: (949) 234-0081. Contact: Aileen Brazeau, Co-Owner of San Clemente Villas by the Sea. www.SanClementeVillas.com.