Sins of Senior Isolation

Social isolation has long been victimizing senior people in our community. From being too embarrassed to take our aging parents out with us to a fancy place or too shy to introduce our friends to them, we’re all complicit.

On top of this, retirement from work and physical illnesses can further isolate them from social company. The same bed they used to crave during their work years becomes a prison that chains them during old age.

Here are some sins of senior isolation that you need to be mindful of.

1. Increased mortality rates

A study by the National Academy of Sciences revealed that loneliness and social isolation can increase the risk of mortality in people who are older than 50 years of age.  One possible explanation for this phenomenon may be that in the absence of someone’s company, elderly people are more likely to fall prey to fatal accidents. Delays in getting medical attention can turn into loss of life in many cases. Fatal outcomes may also occur if seniors have a terminal illness; this worsens in the absence of a vigilant helper.

2. Negativity and mental health

Sitting by themselves all day in their armchair can cause elderly people to develop a chain of negative thoughts. This leads to a vicious spiral of negativity that’s bad for their mental health.

Senior people who are subjected to isolation are also more likely to display signs of poor physical health. This is because your mental wellbeing has a serious impact on your overall health, and problems may surface in the form of physical symptoms.

3. Cognitive decline and dementia

Even though there’s a certain degree of forgetfulness and inattentiveness that comes with age, dementia is a more intense level of memory loss that can jeopardize quality of life. Social isolation can also trigger the process of cognitive decline and seriously dampen cognitive performance in simple tasks. These findings have been confirmed by doctors at the University of Chicago. The reason behind the problem being the same: humans are social species and they function optimally in the company of other people.

We’re an assisted senior living community in Beverly Hills, California that welcomes your loved ones wholeheartedly. Our doors are always open to those who are looking for new friends because no age is ever too old for friendships. You can find your lifelong friends among the family of seniors that our roof is home to.