Elderly Lady Working on Her Age Related Challenges
Mental and emotional challenges changes that occur as we age are two key problems that most people face. In the past, society, and even some doctors, saw mental/neurological changes in a patient as strictly something emotional that the person needed “to get a handle on”. This largely was assumed about women when they were having problems with pre-menstrual syndrome, post-partum depression, or just clinical depression. Men who suffered with clinical depression or post-traumatic stress syndrome were also seen as people who were just not able to control their emotions.
The effects that aging has on our brain are physical effects just as the physical changes that cause pms, post-partum depression, post traumatic stress syndrome or clinical depression are. When your body’s nervous system is creating mental issues, you will likely suffer emotional problems as well. The two usually happen around the same time, making a person wonder, what came first? Which one is causing the problems? Is it emotions that “just need controlled”? Or are there really some neurological issues happening here?
The “mental problems” (neurological problems) that happen as we age are things like Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and memory loss.
The way that we respond to these neurological problems is the emotional challenge of growing old. We also respond emotionally to normal physical changes that come with old age like:
- Hearing Loss
- Vision Loss
- Loss of Mobility
- Delayed Reaction Times
- Loss of Energy
All of these changes present challenge to keep an upbeat attitude or keep up the pace that we used to as a younger person.
The mental/neurological changes that may happen to us can be dealt with in a couple of different ways. We can use preventative methods like:
- A healthy diet
- Regular exercise
- Mental stimulation like puzzles, reading, engaging in conversation and community
These things have been shown to improve mental functioning, memory, energy levels, and to prevent or alleviate depression. They will likely help you with some of your emotional problems as a side effect.
Emotional challenges that come up as we age can also manifest as unavoidable physical problems like genetically inherited vision or hearing loss or just the challenge of coming to terms with needing to move a little slower as we age. Losing people that have been supportive in our lives, like parents or grandparents, also represent emotional challenges, and as much as all of the above steps will help, there are still purposeful steps you can take to maintain your emotional health. Here are a few to try:
- Pay more attention to the positives in your life than to the negatives.
- Stay connected with friends and family.
- Make new friends.
- Become part of a community. A spiritual one if you are a spiritual person, or volunteer organization if you prefer a secular community.
- Do activities that make you happy. Try new activities that you think you may enjoy.
Growing older presents new challenges, but you are an “old” pro at facing challenges, right? You can do anything that you put your mind to.
