There was a heartbreaking story in the Washington Post this week about an elderly man in China named Han Zicheng, who tried putting himself up for adoption. His wife had died years ago, and his adult sons had moved away and rarely called or visited. This 85-year-old man thought he would try to find a [...]
Last week’s post on people’s fear of catching the “old disease” got me thinking about a related topic that I often discuss when I present to groups: ageism and the so-called “invisible senior.” I wrote a blog post about this issue last fall, but I also recently gave a talk at the Key5 conference in [...]
March is National Nutrition Month. Created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, this annual campaign puts a spotlight on the importance of making informed choices about food and developing healthy habits around eating and physical activity. When it comes to proper nutrition for older people, it’s important that their loved ones be attuned to their [...]
The death of a spouse or partner is one of the most difficult experiences people will endure in life, requiring more psychological and behavioral adjustment than just about any other period of life transition. And there is ample research that confirms it. The Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) study, conducted out of the University [...]
The following article is a guest post submitted by Karen Weeks. After retirement, Karen was bored and struggled to find a new sense of purpose. She decided to learn a new skill and took a computer course. She learned how to build her website, ElderWellness.net. Now, she tries learning new things all the time. She believes [...]
What age group of adults would you think is the happiest? If most people were to guess, I’d venture to say that they’d assume people in their 20s and 30s are the most content. Why wouldn’t they be, right? They are young and likely healthy; they have their whole life ahead of them, full of [...]
In last week’s blog post, “’…but I love my home’: Is Staying in Your House the Right Move?,” I discussed a few of the common reasons that most people age 65 and older (80 to 90 percent) say they would like to stay in their current home as they grow older. Among this majority, they [...]
Recently, I was talking with a sales counselor at a retirement community who said something she often hears from prospective residents is, "I like what your community has to offer, but I just love my home." I truly understand this sentiment. My job necessitates a fair amount of travel, and while I enjoy getting to [...]
We’ve been hearing about various types of discrimination in the new headlines a lot lately. From issues of pay equity to debates around race, disability, and sexuality, Americans typically have vocal opinions about hot button topics. However, there is one demographic that frequently confronts discrimination, but it rarely makes the front page of the paper: [...]
I read an article recently from PBS Newshour entitled “How to Stay Out of a Nursing Home and Age Independently.” It discusses a recent study out of Sweden that identified several factors that predicted a senior’s likelihood of living independently into their 80s. Some may call this "aging independently." The study’s lead author, geriatrician Kristin Franzon, [...]
