06-22-2022 Primetime Livnig - Flipbook - Page 6
6 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, June 22, 2022
MENTAL HEALTH
Mood Indigo
Mental health in
older adults
By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer
I
t’s been a long couple years for everyone no matter what their age: Coping with the what they had heard, the result was
pandemic, social distancing, lost jobs, loss of purpose, loss of community. And even if we
think we are managing, it’s taken a toll on our emotional and mental well-being.
“People everywhere are facing a lot
of unexpected challenges,” explains Dr.
Michael Young, medical director of The
Retreat by Sheppard Pratt, “but it has
been particularly difficult for older adults.
They are facing a variety of changes
happening at once, in tandem with their
plans for the future getting derailed. In
the past, they may have been able to
cope, but when it all occurs at once, it
can cause mental health problems.”
At first there was a novel aspect,
Young describes, with the initial onset
of COVID-19. People learned how to
cope with all that was happening. They
learned how to do Zoom meetings and
Zoom dinners with distant family and
friends. There was a sense of creativity,
constructing alternatives, and a feeling
we were all in this together.
“But in the background, the anxiety
of their circumstances was deferred as
they rose to meet the challenge,” says
Young. “And the longer it lasted, the
more it started to wear on people. From
an historical perspective, we’ve always
known there is safety in numbers; however, over the past two years many
older adults have been experiencing
the prolonged stress of social isolation.
When high levels of stress and isolation become a chronic condition, it can
damage one’s emotional and physical
health.”
With older adults, there has been an
overlay of vulnerability, awareness that
they were more susceptible to severe illness while also trying to maintain healthy
social connection. “When someone
can’t quite manage what’s happening,
it can cause a sense of shame, that
they should be able to do better,” Young
adds. “They need more support but
don’t always have a cohort upon whom
they can depend. The end result can be
anxiety, depression and physical health
problems, cascading all at once.”
As we approach various crossroads,
it’s our attitudes that define the future.
Too often, we absorb subconsciously
the negative messages and stereotypes
about aging that are replete in all media.
In a study by the National Institutes of
Health by Becca R. Levy, Ph.D., found,
as expected, that when subjects assimilated positive age stereotypes to combat
“strengthened positive self-perceptions
of aging, and improved physical function.” A side benefit was the improved
physical function continued long after
the study concluded.
Dr. Dilip V. Jeste, a world-renowned
geriatric psychiatrist and neuroscientist
who specializes in positive psychiatric
principles, found in his research that
older adults can have a greater sense
of well-being by focusing on what is
important to them and that their level of
well-being actually improved with age.
He also noted that while younger people
usually use only one hemisphere of their
brains, older people use both hemispheres, a more balanced outlook. “In
people who keep themselves active –
physically, cognitively and socially – their
brains continue to evolve, to gain knowledge, to retain neuroplasticity, and even
develop new synapses, dendrites, and
neurons in some regions. Emotionally,
they are calmer and more positive.”
Young points out, “Our own selfnarrative is very important; echoing selfcritical messages can really work against
us. Often the internal messaging that we
practice can affect our overall attitude.
Rather than telling ourselves, ‘I’m not as
strong or functional as I used to be’ and
‘my best years are behind me,’ a more
effective frame could be, ‘I’m actually
doing pretty well for someone my age
who has gone through what I have.’”
What can you do? “Transform your
internal soliloquy,” Young recommends.
“Use an optimistic approach, while staying realistic. ‘No matter what age I am, I
can contribute.’ Your physical wellness
is dependent on healthy habits: exercise,
hobbies that keep your mind sharp,
mindfulness activities. Say ‘what I do
matters,’ or ‘what I do in the moment can
lead to positive outcomes,’ and ‘what
I do now can affect the next phase of
my life.’ While a pessimistic approach
can detract from having a good life, an
optimistic approach of striving toward
the person we want to be at any age is
associated with a sense of well-being
and happiness.”
With a positive approach and a focus
on improved well-being, know that
you can influence what happens next.
Incorporate activities that strengthen
your brain. Yes, we do lose physical
health with age, we can’t run as fast, and
our minds may work a bit more slowly.
It’s about accepting ourselves at every
age – and every stage – of life.
Abraham Maslow, one of the great
Mood Indigo,
continued on page 28