WE WERE one of a number of charities celebrating recently, after receiving a share of the £20m awarded in Wales by the Big Lottery AdvantAge Programme, which aims to improve the quality of life of older people through overcoming loneliness and social isolation.
Wales has a higher proportion of older people than any other country in the UK, which presents a wide range of challenges to health and social services.
There is a widespread belief that depression and deteriorating mental health is a natural part of the aging process, but this is not the case.
The majority of older people remain in good mental health, and with the right care, support and social contact there is no reason why poor mental health should be an inevitable part of growing older.
There are steps all of us can take, regardless of our age, to protect and improve our mental health and wellbeing.
Taking regular physical exercise, eating and sleeping well all have positive benefits on everyone’s mental health. Socialising and spending time with friends is also important.
For some older people, retirement allows them the freedom to develop their social network and spend more time doing the things that they enjoy. Others – especially those who are confronted with some of the other common challenges of aging, such as bereavement or becoming a carer – may find themselves experiencing feelings of loneliness and isolation, which can have a detrimental impact on their mental health and wellbeing.
Reducing that isolation benefits all of us.
As well as the obvious benefit to the individual, and to those who care about them, improving people’s mental wellbeing can save money by reducing the likelihood of them needing to receive health and social services.
Enabling people to get out and about more helps them to stay physically active, and so also benefits physical health, as well as allowing them to play a more active role in their communities.
This can have a whole range of benefits – from supporting projects which rely on volunteers to enabling more inter-generational contact and understanding.
Service providers also have a role to play. Sadly, so much of the care older people receive is limited to crucial tasks such as bathing, feeding or cleaning.
The time spent in a person’s home is often timed down to the minute, and fails to value social interaction as a critical part of maintaining health and wellbeing.
In addition, front-line staff are rarely trained (or given time) to notice the early signs of mental ill health; a missed opportunity in terms of early intervention.
This, coupled with the breakdown of traditional communities where neighbours knew and looked out for each other can leave older people facing increasing isolation and all the risk factors that go with that.
Read More
Wales has a higher proportion of older people than any other country in the UK, which presents a wide range of challenges to health and social services.
There is a widespread belief that depression and deteriorating mental health is a natural part of the aging process, but this is not the case.
The majority of older people remain in good mental health, and with the right care, support and social contact there is no reason why poor mental health should be an inevitable part of growing older.
There are steps all of us can take, regardless of our age, to protect and improve our mental health and wellbeing.
Taking regular physical exercise, eating and sleeping well all have positive benefits on everyone’s mental health. Socialising and spending time with friends is also important.
For some older people, retirement allows them the freedom to develop their social network and spend more time doing the things that they enjoy. Others – especially those who are confronted with some of the other common challenges of aging, such as bereavement or becoming a carer – may find themselves experiencing feelings of loneliness and isolation, which can have a detrimental impact on their mental health and wellbeing.
Reducing that isolation benefits all of us.
As well as the obvious benefit to the individual, and to those who care about them, improving people’s mental wellbeing can save money by reducing the likelihood of them needing to receive health and social services.
Enabling people to get out and about more helps them to stay physically active, and so also benefits physical health, as well as allowing them to play a more active role in their communities.
This can have a whole range of benefits – from supporting projects which rely on volunteers to enabling more inter-generational contact and understanding.
Service providers also have a role to play. Sadly, so much of the care older people receive is limited to crucial tasks such as bathing, feeding or cleaning.
The time spent in a person’s home is often timed down to the minute, and fails to value social interaction as a critical part of maintaining health and wellbeing.
In addition, front-line staff are rarely trained (or given time) to notice the early signs of mental ill health; a missed opportunity in terms of early intervention.
This, coupled with the breakdown of traditional communities where neighbours knew and looked out for each other can leave older people facing increasing isolation and all the risk factors that go with that.
Read More
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