Home About Writers Categories Recent Issues Subscribe Contact File Transfer





Charlie Traffas
Charlie Traffas has been involved in marketing, media, publishing and insurance for more than 40 years. In addition to being a fully-licensed life, health, property and casualty agent, he is also President and Owner of Chart Marketing, Inc. (CMI). CMI operates and markets several different products and services that help B2B and B2C businesses throughout the country create customers...profitably. You may contact Charlie by phone at (316) 721-9200, by e-mail at ctraffas@chartmarketing.com, or you may visit at www.chartmarketing.com.
Senior Living
2009-08-01 13:52:00
Feelings of loneliness - series
Question: Last month you answered a question regarding a person’s mother and the things she was doing, in respect to her being lonely. Can you provide more information on this and what one might do to counter such feelings?
Answer: Sure - upon doing some research, the following article was as good as I have seen recently on the subject. It was taken from http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/srfriends. It is written by Chris Woolston – Health After 60, Seniors and Friendship. The key concept in his article is that loneliness can have a negative impact on one’s life and socializing can extend your life. What more can we ask for – permission to become a social butterfly! In this day and age retirement communities and aging services abound, making it even easier to extend your social network. Below: Socializing extends your life by Chris Woolston When Marge Burger’s husband died of a heart attack seven years ago, she made a sad discovery: Widows don’t get invited to many dances…or card games…or dinners. “I still had loyal friends, but I just didn’t seem to fit in,” she says. Like many seniors her age, the 74-year-old resident of Portland, Oregon, slipped into a quiet, lonely rut. She enjoyed time with her children and grandchildren, but she spent most of her time sitting around her house, trying not to miss a minute of her favorite soap operas. It was a comfortable life, and she hated it. “Living alone is the pits,” she says. “When you enjoy a conversation with a cat, things are pretty bad.” Nobody in her situation would disagree: At any age, loneliness is a curse. And for older people, a lack of a social life can even be hazardous to their health. People who don’t get out much often succumb to depression, a condition that in turn makes them vulnerable to many illnesses, including heart disease, alcoholism, diabetes and perhaps…cancer. Socializing extends your life But just as loneliness can destroy a person’s life, socializing can save it. In a 13 year study published in 1999 of almost 3,000 senior citizens, Harvard researchers found that social activities such as playing bingo or attending church were as important to survival as regular exercise. That’s right: When it comes to adding years to one’s life, looking for bingo’s O-62 is right up there with jogging. Seniors get more out of socializing than just a few extra years of life. Friendships and activities reduce stress, help people feel worthy and needed, and stimulate the mind. According to a recent report in the Annals of Internal Medicine, strong social contacts offer powerful protection against the mental declines that often go along with aging. And, having strong friendships can also add years to one’s life. A Spanish study published in the journal BMC Geriatrics in 2007 found that having a confidant was linked to a 25 percent less risk of dying prematurely than an elderly person without a strong friendship As Marge Burger found, it just takes a little effort to cash in on the benefits of friendships. A few months after her husband’s death, she got involved in programs at the Elks’ Club. She joined a bowling team for the first time in 40 years. She soon made friends with another woman stuck alone at home, and the two started attending symphonies and church services together. Going back to church made the biggest difference in her life, she says. “I feel very secure there,” she says. “There’s always somebody who wants to reach out to you.” Now 81, she appreciates her friends, family and her social life more than ever. “When I get chances to laugh, reminisce and share, I’m not thinking about how much my back aches or how much my feet hurt,” she says. “Any situation improves when you have people around you.”
 
The Q & A Times Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.Materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Thank you.
 
Wildcard SSL Certificates