FMP - Information Research
Here I have collated a few different articles that interested me regarding loneliness as part of my research into how loneliness affects the elderly. I will use this information to improve my sketches and book work as now I believe I have clearer understanding of the mental state that elderly people have to live with while lonely and how that loneliness can even end in suicide.
Some articles also include ways we as a society can help elderly people when going through these problems and I will be using that information to create a poster as a way to inform people and try and gain awareness.
[1] Loneliness
Recent technology has left us doing jobs with more ease than before yet have made us busier and busier everyday and have made our elderly more lonelier and lonelier without company every day.
Gone were the days when children and grandparents sat side by side and read books or played board games together. Today, our kids are more preoccupied with playing video games and watching television than spending time with their grandparents. This is the age of secluded seniors.
According to recent studies, about one-fourth of the population of seniors live alone, while almost half report being lonely regularly. The studies have also found out that the more a senior gets lonelier, the more they are likely to decline and die faster. It is said by an US study that 60 year olds have a 45 percent risk in death when they report feeling lonely. There is also more than 50% mental and physical decline among seniors who feel lonely than those whose social lives have been active. Lonely people are also at risk of acquiring Alzheimer's disease. Lonely people oftentimes push other people away and isolate themselves from society.
And not only that, the US study reports that seniors who feel lonely were either married or have been living with a partner for some time. Experts think that it's not the more relationships you have but the quality of the relationships that you enjoy.
So why are our seniors so lonely? One reason for this is because they are alone. Some of them are placed in nursing homes, assisted living communities and other communities where they have limited contact with their family. Oftentimes, their family members pay little attention to them and do not have deep engaging communications with them. The other roots of a senior's loneliness include reduced mobility, reduced income and loss of friends and family members. Loneliness can greatly impact quality of life and health. There are negative health effects that may arise from being lonely. Loneliness is said to have negative effects on blood pressure and is associated with depression and risk for mortality. Loneliness can also predispose to vices such as smoking and alcohol consumption.
This problem among our elderly can be addressed by creating communities where seniors can befriend others at their age group, group services that offer help and support for seniors, and with the use of volunteers in the community who can give emotional, social and practical support.
Loneliness and Early Death
In a latest study by researchers from the University of Chicago, feeling extremely lonely can increase a senior's risk for premature death by 14 percent. The researchers studied the rate of physical and mental decline on seniors. They have found out that older people can eliminate their risk for death by having resilience and by growing from everyday stresses. According to these experts, loneliness can bring about negative consequences such as sleep disruption, blood pressure elevation, increase in the stress hormone cortisol, altered gene expression in immune cells, low well-being and increased depression. The researchers say that seniors can prevent this decline by staying in touch with family and friends, taking part in family functions and sharing good times with family and friends.
[2] Elderly men have the highest suicide rate - and ageism stops us from doing something about it
The most recent Australian suicide statistics from 2013 show that, out of the whole population, men aged 85 years and over have the highest suicide rates. While the attention these figures have garnered is a positive sign, this is hardly a new phenomenon.
Over 38 men in every 100,000 of that age group die by suicide, which is more than double the rate among men under 35. The rate is around seven times higher than in women of all ages.
With very few exceptions in Australia’s history, annual suicide rates have always peaked in older males. And while these rates fluctuate from year to year, there’s no evidence of any sustained increase in the past decade.
This is the common theme worldwide. Most countries record their peak suicide rates in this group. So why has the problem of suicide in older males not been an issue of concern for the general public?
A grim picture
It’s certainly not due to a lack of knowledge about suicide in older men, or its drivers. Numerous Australian and overseas studies have identified issues such as severe depression, loneliness, social isolation and lack of social support; physical health issues, such as pain and cancer; and loss of independence as being important in various ways.
Of course, how these issues affect someone varies considerably and often depends on the person’s life journey from childhood through to late life. Childhood adversity, personality attributes, experience of traumatic life events, relationships, employment and use of alcohol and other drugs can all affect someone’s suicide risk late in life.
[3] Loneliness among the elderly in the UK is on the rise, a survey shows.
The Age UK poll of 2,000 over-65s found 10% described themselves as often or always lonely - a rise from 7% a year ago.
Four in 10 said their TV or pet was their main form of company.
Research has shown loneliness increases the risk of ill-health and early death, prompting ministers to call on people to look out for people at risk of loneliness in their communities.
'Devastating impact'
The poll randomly selected and then interviewed people aged over 65 according to their gender, working status and the presence of children, said Age UK.
Last winter, the 'Friends' campaign appealed for a return to an "old-fashioned sense of neighbourliness" by encouraging people to check on elderly friends and neighbours.
Announcing the move, Jeremy Hunt said it was a source of "national shame" that loneliness was emerging as such a problem.
Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, said loneliness can have a "devastating impact".
She said: "Loneliness not only makes life miserable for older people. It is also really bad for their health making them more vulnerable to illness and disease."
Research has shown that the ageing population has led to an increase in people living on their own.
But Ms Abrahams said cuts to local services, such as lunch clubs and day centres, had exacerbated the problem.
The health effects
Living alone is linked to habits that are bad for health.
For example, eating poorly and having less motivation to be physically active can be a consequence of being physically isolated.
Being alone can also affect mental health, causing people to feel low and depressed.
However, feeling lonely can in itself be bad for your physical health. Studies have shown that social isolation can cause damage to the immune system leading to a condition called chronic inflammation.
[1] http://www.doctortipster.com/19859-for-the-elderly-loneliness-is-a-health-risk-factor.html
[2] http://theconversation.com/elderly-men-have-the-highest-suicide-rate-and-ageism-stops-us-from-doing-something-about-it-46923
[3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27247418
