Companionship At Old Age- Solution to many maladies!
Rahul Padmanabhan
Medical Director at Dr Rahul's Elder Care, Senior Care Consultant, Long Term Care Expert
Isolation has been now regarded as part of the ageing process. A 20 year old person been lonely is abnormal but a 80 year old lady undergoing loneliness is normal. Though we see it among older adults and as health care professionals, feel the need to engage older adults in day to day activities and make them socially more engaged, the challenge is who should be doing it. In Indian scenario, loneliness often creeps in with death of spouse or a very near friend. Many times, loneliness is also part of the caregiver burden. Another reason for social isolation also involves moving away from places where older adults have enough social support to better cities or 'facilities' where they often fail to make new friendship because of worsening communication skills.
What is companionship?
Companionship doesn't always mean between opposite sex or marriage. Forging a understanding and mutually supportive friendship is companionship. Companionship provides channels for venting emotions, care when someone is sick and support when needed. Companionship is a key part of older adults, not just because companions provide assistance with daily tasks such as housekeeping and personal care, but also because they provide a meaningful human connection that greatly improves quality of life.
How Does Companionship Help?
Various research has shown that social interaction is one of the most important aspects of living a long and healthy life.
Longer and Better Life
Older Adults who experience social isolation have an increased risk of poor quality of life, premature death, regardless of underlying health conditions. Companionship provides older adults with a social connection that combats isolation and depression.
Better Brain Functions
Social interaction has shown to improve cognitive functions. Older adults who maintain meaningful relationships exhibit a reduced risk of developing dementia
Better Health Outcomes
Older adults who have a companion to provide care and supervise the rehabilitation process have better outcomes compared to someone who is lonely.
Peace of mind
As seniors age, they may begin to lose physical strength and mobility, making it dangerous for them to live alone. They might worry about will happen to them in an emergency, or if they suffer from a fall. Companionship provides seniors with a sense of security knowing there is someone there to help keep them safe when necessary, and also provides peace of mind for family members.
Author- Dr Rahul Padmanabhan is a consultant in Geriatrics and Gerontology based in Coimbatore.
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5 年Rahul Padmanabhan You have nailed it. Most of us who are on the greener side are still not securing their future due to lack of foresightedness or the tendency of taking things for granted. We need to bring the change or support it atleast. We need to celebrate companionship even in the elderly age.
Founder at CovaiCare
5 年Having been creating retirement communities for over 15 years and providing services and care to elders, I agree with Dr Rahul that lonliness is a problem with elders and companionship is necessary. We mistake companionship with physical intimacy. As elders more than physical intimacy what one needs is someone to talk to, feel wanted and cared for and reignite the jest to live happily as part of the society,after one of the partners is no more. While caregivers do fulfill the roles as explained by thre Specialist doctor of great repute, what we notice is that when a man loses his wife,he is prone to lonliness and many get Depeession. Single women after the demise of their spouse are able to.cope up with the void and lonliness. Women are naturally stronger than men when it comes to tackling emotional loss. But is our society ready to accept this concept of companionship as the couple from Kerala who are in the news? The problem is that we accept the lifestyle of the current generation but if we want to have a companion at our age as seniors ( I am 70 years young!), the very same friends, relatives, children may not accept this union. But should we live for ourselves at that age or live for others views??