Daniel Leffingwell MS, RN
December 2013
The role of cleanliness. The old saying by Benjamin Franklin, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" gets truer as the years go by. When suffering, sickness, and mental deterioration come upon older people it is more difficult for them to keep clean. But, it is a necessity, even if we must hire someone to help. To be unkempt is the surest way to hasten the problems of old age.
Why Exercise? A body at rest tends to stay at rest, a body in motion...commercial.
How many folks have arthritis as we age?
What do we know about Arthritis and exercise and motion?
The role of food in our lives; Eat a little less, eat balanced, eat reasonably.
Give yourself an eating vacation one day per week.
Weight gain and illness
The controversy of the BMI (Body Mass Index)
Gradual weight loss is the key.
Give the example of Poppy's
diet.
eating
and feeling better.
Use the funeral
examples of reminiscence and food.
Unfortunately, many times weight loss is based on depression or some other serious condition. Talk about depression and weight loss and gain
Get Rid of those bad habits. It's never too late to stop smoking, boozing, or kicking any addictive condition.
Give the example of the 90 year old in the emergency rom with the resident telling him that smoking will shorten his life.
Fight back at sickness and disease. In our day of Social Security and Medicare there is little excuse for older people to let health conditions slip up on them. With little expense, we senior citizens can get regular checkups; and if something is coming, we can take preventive steps. If you have a medical problem find out as much as you can about it.
Can the internet be helpful?
It can't be on the internet if it is not true commercial.
. A major rule in coping with old age consists of taking care of our machine – our body.
Talk about balancing the mind and body. When one is down, boost the other.
Memory problems and balance.
Depression and Balance. The role of animals – use the patient example when drugs did not help and getting her a dog did.
Keeping Busy with purposeful activities; Speak about the role of volunteer work. Don't let yourself sit around and stare into space. Get occupied. Be careful for people who can and will take advantage of you; but, usually we have friends, family, or church that can advise and keep us from being hurt.
Senior Trips and Senior Centers
The role of the Community Center and Senior Centers.
Have the group give examples of activities that they engage in.
Write letters to relatives and friends.
Maintain your hobbies and get some new ones. Hobbies are fun things to do. What are you interested in?
Read good books. The role of ebooks now.
Play games and enjoy sports. Why not. Give the example of Dad and shuffleboard...humor on how serious they take it.
Avoid negative daydreaming about the past the role of reminiscence. Who has not made a mistake? remember the pleasant and good times, but don't even dwell on them. Provide for yourself some new pleasant good times.
Go back to school and take some courses/Monitor college courses;
The cranky old man or woman;
Avoid crankiness and bad temper. Record your slips. Give yourself a daily grade on temperament and strive to improve through daily monitoring.
Avoid seeing only the negative side of things by counting your blessings, not your curses. It is so easy to become negative. Older people have lots of aches and pains and sometimes severe financial worries. We older people must fight hard to keep a positive attitude and maintain our faith.
Maintaining
a Positive Outlook/ Focus on the positive:
What has happened
good to me today?
Now that I moved around my arthritis is better.
Good and Bad Stress
THE ROLE OF HUMOR
Why Humor?
defense mechanism that allows someone to cope with difficult situations (use death and dying examples)
-Most recently, health care
professionals have studied humor as a therapeutic
intervention.
-Norman Cousins attributed humor as responsible
for curing his collagen disease in 1977 (The healing heart).
Humor
to break the ice
COMMUNICATION
discharges tensions
associated with fear anger and grief
Humor to establish the
bond in therapeutic relationships humor to cope with stressful
situations
A DEFENSE MECHANISM
You will worry yourself
sick
The mind and body question revisited.
Quotes
"Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you
don't mind, it doesn't matter." Jack Benny "You
don't stop laughing when you grow old; you grow old when you stop
laughing." Unknown
"Do not regret growing
older. It is a privilege denied to many. " Unknown
Youth
is wasted on the young" Unknown