Seniors' Health Focus
Growing Old Gaeul
Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life for which the first was made.
-Robert Browuning
A lthough aging is a lifelong process that starts
the moment we are born, most of us generally
view it as something that begins when we are in our
60s or 70s.
We don't hear or see as well as we used to. Our
joints may be a little stiffer in the morning. Our hair
becomes gray. We retire. We become grandparents.
We may lose a spouse or close friend. We may move
out of our house and into a senior complex or
nursing home.
These are realities of aging. For this segment
of Seniors' Health Focus, we step aside from phys-
ical health issues and look instead at spiritual health
as it relates to growing older. Catherine McAuley
Health Center's Office of Health Promotion spon-
sors several programs for seniors that address spir-
ituality in aging.
"When we work with seniors, we see them
going through a lot of transition," says Sister Paula
Chermside, assistant director for the Office of
Health Promotion. "They experience many losses
through changes in their lifestyle, death of a spouse
or friend and changes in their health. We focus on
spirituality as an attitude-a way you approach life
and how you accept life's transitions."
Despite the often painful transitions, there are
many ways to approach your aging in a positive
light-ways you can learn to "grow old gracefully"
Get in touch with yourself
Sister Marilyn Donahue, a chaplain at St.
Joseph Mercy Hospital, says that something every-
one can do, whatever the loss or handicap, is to "go
within yourself and seek to become comfortable
with yourself." One way to achieve this is through a
form of prayer or meditation.
"Sometimes you need to just let go of all the
bothersome things and get in touch with what does
matter," adds Sister Paula. "When you are able to
relax (see article on facing page), you can reduce
anxiety and approach things with more insight and
energy. The insights help you experience hope-
fulness and thankfulness. You begin to focus on
what you have, not on what you don't have."
Fograms offered through the Health Centerfocus on
aging as an attitude-a way to approach life and
accept its transitions.
Adapt to role changes
A wife becomes a widow. A man retires after 45
years in the work force. A person stricken with ill-
ness goes from being a care giver to a care receiver.
Role changes such as these are common in our
later years. Some changes simply must be accepted.
Others can be opportunites to grow, according to
Sister Marilyn. "Seniors can ask themselves, as they
go from working to retirement, 'Can I expand upon
what has happened? Can I establish a new role for
myself?"'
Developing a new interest or hobby may be a
start. Volunteering may be another. A widow may
consider remarrying, renewing an old friendship
or starting a new one.
Seek e support of others
Maintaining close ties with family members