Mature Life Features

. . . Wednesday’s the day for it —

get your hearing and hearing aids checked

at 3 p.m.

in the 2nd-floor multi-purpose room.

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People Don’t Cure Loneliness, You Do

You don’t have to live alone to be lonely.

Senior citizens homes are crammed with lonely people. And there are hordes of people living alone who are not lonely. They enjoy the time they have to themselves and the freedom to do what they want to do whenever they want to do it and for as long as they like.

The starkness of lonely living ambushes many people after a loved one dies.

Walking into an empty house after all the final arrangement have been made can be devastating..

In some ways, residents of a senior-living complex can help because many of them have been through what the grieving person is going through. Instead of torrents of sympathy, the residents offer empathy and, in some cases, sage advice to help the bereaved breathe through the crisis.

There is a difference between missing a loved one and being lonely. Thinking about how great a person he or she was means you miss them. Remembering how and longing for sharing matters and moments with them indicates you’re lonely.

Everyone has or will experience loneliness at some time during their lives. Some folks, research has revealed, are born with loneliness in their genes. Giving in to it can damage your life. It can deepen dementia and depression, bring on physical disabilities, and shorten your life.

Friends, pets, exercise, and travel tours are cited among the curbs against loneliness. Keeping a journal reportedly helps divert loneliness. It allows you to get to know and like yourself and alleviates the stress of fighting off loneliness. Interacting with other people helps – coffee sessions with friends, joining hobby groups and volunteering your time with an organization you support are a few ways.

It turns out caregivers can experience severe loneliness as they’re world shrinks down to the individuals they’re caring for. They’re atop the list of folks who need to find time to devote to something they enjoy to fend off loneliness. If you’re a caregiver, you should do something you like to do, even if you have to do it yourself.

Take a weekend to visit the grandkids, visit your favorite restaurant, buy a bicycle and pedal around the neighborhood and get to know your neighbors, slip in a warm soothing bath, or learn to play the saxophone.