7 Little Known Social Issues that Greatly Impacts Seniors’ Health

Elders are facing a lot of issues more than we know. As people grow older, there is a great possibility that they experience isolation from the society. This is a very prevalent issue that continues to increase. Little do we know that this isolation can lead to several health problems that could get worse through time and could trigger psychological disorders. Social seclusion can promote poor quality of life. They feel less important and unwanted at the same time that is where self-pity comes in and they turn grumpy as part of their defense mechanism.

In times when seniors get too hard to handle, some of their families opt to put them in retirement homes or villages for them to be properly taken care of. However, we’re missing the point exactly why they are acting as they were. To shed some light regarding the struggles of the elders, here are the social issues that take its toll among our beloved elders’ health.

Social Issues

#1: Loneliness

· Those elders who suffer great loss of a loved one feel deeply alone and melancholy. As days go by they neglect the importance of health and do not look after their selves anymore. Medicines and other prescription drugs are left untouched which is why their health gets worse. Most common health conditions suffered by elders are Dementia and Alzheimer’s.

#2: Incapability To Be Independent

· As aging strikes, seniors tend to be more dependent towards others in things they do like in walking or even in reading. They feel like they can’t mingle with others due to their inability which is why they prefer to stay at home. They don’t do exercise because they think they can’t do it anymore. Their bodies tend to deteriorate due to lack of movements.

#3: Striving To cope Up With Changes of Aging

· Coping up with aging is really a difficult stage. Physically, the body can no longer support the activities that elders want to do because they get easily tired and their memory starts to depreciate.

#4: Boredom From retirement

· After retirement, elders feel easily bored because their interest in things is not as quite as it is before. It is hard for them to find an activity to occupy their attention span and will suit their likes. Their eating habit changes as well and they lose their appetite. They are not getting the nutrients they need which is why their system has low immunity and make them susceptible to illnesses.

#5: Monetary Stress

· Medical prescriptions get more expensive through time, having no more source of income, elders stress themselves out on how to pay the bills which causes mental and physical health to fail.

#6: Social isolation as adult children are engaged in their own lives

· Seniors just wanted to feel loved and wanted by their own children. So whenever their children move away from them they dwell on sadness and thoughts of the past; back when their children were still with them. It saddens them and psychologically they are no longer fit. They seek attention and once it is not given, they set aside their health.

#7: Frustration with Medical Concerns

· Medical bills, prescriptions and requirements can be hard to manage if illnesses start to pile up. Payables are everywhere which makes it frustrating for seniors to catch up especially that they are retired and don’t want to rely on their children for it. Their mental state declines as well as their body due to stress caused by frustration and lack of sleep.

Elders are much just like the rest of us. If we work together we all can avoid social isolation to occur among our elders. A happy way of life is more conducive for seniors to feel that they are not alone. Let us help them in conquering the sad truth about aging and let us all be there to stand for them at the final years of their lives. Making their lives worthwhile is the least we can do for them.