QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE ELDERLY

Written by: nadine.baumann.meal
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010

Seniors who are excited about, or at least enjoy life, are active, well groomed, watch what they eat and do not sleep their days away. They do not seek to isolate themselves at home or in a nursing home. Those who continue to cultivate their minds and pass on their life experiences enjoy a superior quality of life.
One should never feel dependant and useless in one`s old age, but unfortunately many elderly often feel low and depressed. Loss of hearing can play a big part in the elderly “feeling out of it”, and then slowly withdraw from conversation or knowing what`s going on in a TV programme, etc, and the family so often think that it is “just the process of old age”. This is truly unfair, and whilst the older person`s conversation might be limited compared to a number of years back, we unfortunately so often fall into this trap of ignoring them, instead of respecting what `grandma` has to say, and stimulating her input into a wider aspect of conversation. This would make her feel worthwhile, and surely more of a pleasure to have around.
Start up an exercise schedule each morning, or if that is out of the question, what with rushing to get ready for work etc, just have a ten minute session in the evening, and encourage the older person to exercise during the morning on his or her own, with suitable uplifting music to get that zest for life again. If movement is restricted, even exercising in a chair would bring great stimulation and satisfaction to how one feels.


Exercise and music can play a big part in an older persons life, in fact for any age, so getting the family involved would be a great idea. This would create a feeling of togetherness and belonging, a bonding of the different generations, with possibly a few giggles in between.
We all too often think that the older person should be content to just sit around all day and enjoy having their meals handed to them, but let`s face it, don`t the younger ones also need to be spurred on occasionally, to get them out of that rut from time to time. We rely on each other, those around us, to a large extent. Happiness comes from within, but those around us do play a big part in our lives.
A happy person generally seems to be a healthier person. Stimulation in life prevents one from thinking of this or that little pain, which eventually grows into something out of proportion in one`s mind. I am of the opinion that we can truly make the effort to improve the quality of life for the elderly people around us, encourage them to knit us that jersey that “we so desperately need” , or to do some kind of art work, even something quite simple like painting cushion covers, making quilts, or having the job of cooking a simple meal for the family once a week. Give them a purpose for each day.

Adriaan van Niekerk

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