It is very important to have a positive social network that is also very supportive. Generally, the two main motives for social interaction are for information seeking and emotion regulation. Someone who does not hold all of his or her emotions in and can talk to someone is bound to be psychologically healthier than someone who does not have that opportunity. It is easy for older people to feel lonely when they are losing their friends, spouses, and family member to old age. Someone with more social interactions with others can also be physically healthier. Whether it is because they have someone there to help him or her complete tasks that they struggle to do or the fact that they can get out of the house and interact with others. The textbook states, “Decreases in negative affect and increases in positive affect and emotional control indicate that the emotional lives of older adults are more pleasant and manageable relative to their younger counterparts.” According to …show more content…
Friends actually play a big part in someone’s life just as much as a family member would. A good example of this is the story of Warren and Arden who met at Wal-Mart. Both of these men were trying their best to cope with the stresses of aging on their own until they met each other. Arden struggled with a lot of things including taking care of his wife, who had some disabilities. Warren was a very good friend and tried to be as helpful as possible. After Arden’s wife passed away they still continued to be just as good of friends. According to activity theory, “older adults strive to maintain their level of social interaction by substituting new roles when old roles are lost.” I think this is exactly what Warren did Warren basically took care of Arden. He cut his hair, took him shopping, and even cooked him breakfast. After Arden passed away Warren continued to live on his
The last side of the health triangle is social health. Social health is your relationships and your reactions to the people around you. Social health is about having and maintaining friendships and relationships, getting along and working well with others, and giving and receiving support. Some ways to improve your social health are to join a sport , meet new people, and going out with friends. Some things that I do to improve my social health are going out with my friends to the movies. It helps us keep our relationship and gives us an opportunity to meet new people. Another thing I do is talk on the phone because it helps me make arrangements and keep in touch with family and friends that live far away.
Wellbeing and quality of life for most people is enhanced through meaningful involvement and activity. It is crucial that individuals are involved in decisions that affect them. There are many ways in which such involvement can be facilitated and encouraged. Services should recognise the importance of social contact and
In fact, many theories on aging regard maintaining social relationships as having a significant impact on aging outcomes. For example, “maintaining strong social relationships is one of the three components of successful aging” and “one of the four parts of active aging” (Wethington, April 12).
Loneliness has become an epidemic among young adults and spared out in elders’ everyday life where social isolation has become a cause of early death because we cannot cope alone.
Some experts in the field have concluded that the health effect of social relationships may be as important as established risk factors such as smoking, physical activity, obesity and high blood pressure.
According to Vaillant, creating a new social network is a key to a healthy retirement. My grandmother has more of a social network than I do. She is a member of the Moose Lodge in downtown Middletown. At the moose my grandmother and grandfather meet with old friends to catch up and play darts or pool. My grandmother's biggest social interaction is with her grandchildren. She has a social encounter with at least one
Keeping yourself healthy emotionally, physically, and spiritually will help you build; develop a happy, productive life. Studies were done and it was found that people who volunteer, go to church, or belong to a club are more likely to have better health than people who don't engage in social activities on a routine basis. This information that I read I found to be very interesting only because I guess I
Everyone needs social interaction. They need that one friend or family member that they trust and can talk to. Loved ones are there for comfort and support. If you keep everything bottled up you could fall into depression. Being near family and friends is important also. Once our parents left us with our aunt for two weeks. I took care of my younger siblings. My little sister cried because she missed them. My aunt was always there comforting us and making us feel better. Being a nice person is also very vital for both mental and social health. If you are mean and rude or obnoxious no one would like to be near you. Having a bad character might also get you into trouble. So it is important to have a lovely character.
The impact of loneliness on physical health can also be better understood by the study conducted by Uchino and colleagues (1996). They found that social individuals have lower blood pressure, better immunity and lower levels of stress hormones than the socially isolated people. In contrast another study described by Arthur 2006 demonstrated that it is not yet clear that group therapy or socialization can improve the secondary prevention of Coronary heart Disease. After considering all the studies and arguments by different authors it can be conclude that it is necessary to do more research on the impact of socialization on physical health of individuals.
This study investigated the difference between emotional and social loneliness using structural equation modeling, evaluated whether a two-dimensional or unidimensional conception of loneliness provides a better fit to the data. Second, the extent to which positive and negative social exchanges are associated with older adults’ loneliness was examined. Third, they also investigated whether the structure and social-exchange correlates of loneliness differ for currently married versus formerly married older
Therefore, psycho-social vulnerability and social isolation were significant factors which enhanced both mental and physical functional vulnerability leading to frail older adults. Thus, the fall in social support may affect psychological and physical vulnerability, while social vulnerability has a potential to predict an increase of frailty in the
There are many reasons to why elderly persons can fall at risk of social isolation and loneliness. These factors can range anywhere from
The ability to support the older people keep up social ties with the use of technical devices such as telephone is vital, and there is indication that older people may benefit from the use of internet as a befriending opportunity (Skingley, 2013). According to Age UK (2009), there is no evidence to effectiveness of services aimed at reducing loneliness and social isolation among older people, but concludes that there is a need to focus on befriending services for older people, in particular the effectiveness of such services in terms of their impact on older people’s quality of life and their overall preventive value.
High-quality social relationships, wherein people experience camaraderie and happiness, yield substantial health benefits. For instance, social ties such as marriage and religious involvement have been linked to healthier choices with diet and exercise, possibly because these connections promote positive behavioral norms (Umberson and Montez, 2010). High-quality social relationships also promote mental health by offering individuals a sense of place within a meaningful environment. When people feel connected and supported, they tend to experience a greater sense of control, a psychological state shown to be both associated and causally linked to good health (Lachman and Weaver, 1998). Positive psychological effects of social relationships improve physical health by making it easier for the body to maintain chemical homeostasis over long periods of time by alleviating its “allostatic load” (Umberson and Montez, 2010). Ultimately, these components of high-quality social relationships make people less likely to get sick and die.
1) The article from The Gerontologist supports the activity theory of aging. This states that as people age, it is very important for them to be engaged in various activities and social roles. As described in the lecture, studies have shown that those who stay involved have less signs of depression and have a lesser decline in mental health. In addition, they are considered more competent than others in their age group by the general population since they are actively participating in society. The research described in the article proved that those who had moderate or high participation in activities such as working, volunteering, and caregiving had a better psychological well-being. It is not necessarily just taking part in these, but the level in which one does so is also crucial. It appears that moderate participation is the best way to a better psychological well-being, as one does not want to be overworked, but should still be involved.