Seniors Site

Then you are not alone in this battle as more and more older adults are facing the exact same problems you’re having right now!

One study was done within the medical community particularly to nurses and how they balance their work and family life. Although the study was primarily intended to determine the effects on a nurse’s life, what’s more stunning is the overwhelming number of nurses who clearly qualified for the study. Moreover, about half of this population belongs to our own age group—older adults.

What we need to know is that work-family conflict is not limited to the medical community alone. It exists anywhere else as long as there is a worker with a family to care for—even college kids who only have one parent supporting them. That’s what our society has become and sadly, there’s no other way around it.

Work-family conflict is stressful. Men were able to handle such conflicts better than women, maybe due to the fact that they have been balancing these two for such a long time that they no longer consider it a big deal—and partly because the pressure is not too strong for them just as long as they’re able to financially provide for the family’s needs. On the other hand, women, being the supposedly “primary caregiver”, are most of the time, forced to choose between work and family. Mind you, it’s not only once or twice a work-family conflict hits, it seems in this day and age, it hits almost everyday!

Just ask a person who belongs to the sandwich generation and they will know exactly what a work-family conflict is. They are neither too young to not care nor too old to be cared for so they are stuck in between, caring for a young child and an old parent. This serves as the “family” side of the conflict while the “work” side is the urgency of going to work every single day, mostly for financial reasons.

Alarmingly, work-family conflicts have health implications. One of them is depression. A person who constantly experiences work-family conflicts is bound to be depressed which some are known to end up in alcohol abuse. Others take refuge in binge eating leading to obesity—two of the most prevalent problems amongst seniors.

There are ways to lessen the impact of work-family conflicts, however, a decision still has to be made, one way or another. Making your work schedule a little more flexible is one way to go if your family obligations cannot be compromised but if your work cannot take adjustments then you will need help from other people. Accepting your limitations as a person will improve your current situation significantly. Bear in mind that as a person, you only have one body to do things. That being said, doing two tasks at exactly the same time is impossible. Delegate whenever you can and lower your self expectations. Also, seek counseling when needed.

Looking for an extra something this Christmas? Why not aim for extra money so you can add funds to your gift giving activities?

Earning your extra money doesn’t have to be an extra effort on your part too! Let’s just say that this is the season when people are willing to shell out their saved money for just about anything! Just look at how well department stores and retail stores are doing nowadays. Actually, as early as November, you would notice that plans are made and lists are prepared. December, on the other hand, would be the best month to hawk your wares and expect sales. It’s not bad to take advantage of the situation, think of it as giving something back to people we don’t know much and earn a little something in return. Do take note of the word “little” as we don’t have to charge too much for the services and products we are most likely to sell.

If you take a closer look on how sales work during Christmas season, personalized things do better than commercially made ones. It’s because personalized gifts, or things which are made by someone’s hand add charm and character to a gift. Of course, who better provide such things than a senior’s hand? That is where you can start thinking of what to sell.

Before this article gets you all excited, it’s important that no matter what you decide on selling, you must—first and foremost—enjoy doing it. For example, if you think your baked goods will sell well, you must enjoy your time doing it as you normally would. Your goal should be making your product’s recipients happy and not only for the money.

Since baked goods are the most easiest to make—and easiest to sell as well!—let’s start from that. Baked goods include cakes and pastries as prices of these things tend to go up when Christmas is coming nearer. You can get orders from your friends and coworkers to be delivered on desired time and date. Cookies also sell well during these times. Just package them festive and well by custom made boxes. Add red and green ribbons for final touches and they are good to go!

Handmade ornaments and accessories are also a hit this Christmas such beaded bags, hair clips and jewelry boxes. Photo holders can also be handmade according to your own liking and be sold at a much higher price considering the amount of time and effort you have put in it. All you need is your creativity and a little imagination on the side!

This Christmas, it becomes really important to have peace of mind, or else, you don’t stand a chance of having a jolly one! Personally I see peace and Christmas go hand in hand so when you say the latter, the former becomes hundred times magnified that sometimes it almost becomes depressing to even think of.

In this day and age when everyone seems to be restless and running from one place to another is a way of life, it’s quite hard to find some peace of mind amidst all. Due to this fact, peace of mind becomes the most sought after state but indeed an elusive one. For one, peace of mind is practiced. It’s something you follow to avoid stressful thoughts thus achieving calmer mind. This must be the reason why meditation became popular to our age group as the practice sets definite steps to achieve your own peace of mind.

Decluttering your life is the easiest way to achieve peace of mind. Here are some ways on how to find peace of mind and be able to live at peace with yourself:

·    Do without all things negative. Negativity invites negative thoughts because even if you refuse to acknowledge it, negativity seeps into you and settles into your subconscious mind. An example of which is a nasty humor you heard in passing or even a person with negative outlook in life.
·    Never harbor grudges. It’s okay to feel hurt as we are humans with humanly feelings but grudges are altogether a different matter as it sometimes compels you to act upon it in forms of revenge.
·    Worry no more. As long as you’ve done your best, there’s nothing much you can do about something so it’s better to let it go and not to worry about it anymore. If it turns out badly, you know you did your best and that was all you can do.
·    Don’t take everything personally. Things happen for a reason and most of the time, that reason is not you. It’s just that you were there and you got affected by the situation but it doesn’t mean the situation was meant to attack you.
·    If someone is causing you stress, stay away from that person. This person is not healthy for you, that’s all. It also applies to jobs you hate doing.
·    Don’t try changing something that is beyond your control. It’s not everytime that you can change something to your own liking. Learn to accept things as they come.
·    Be more flexible. With maturity comes flexibility. Learning to be flexible will help you adapt faster to your environment thus eliminating the possibility of stress.
·    Know where your limitation lies. As a person, there are things you can do better than others unfortunately, there are some you do only averagely. Trying to push yourself unreasonably will only induce unnecessary stress.

One of the most painful conditions to ever affect seniors is arthritis. Most of the times, it hits mildly, easy enough to manage but discomfort is there, other times, it’s almost crippling! For your information, pain brought about by arthritis can be managed thus allowing seniors to do other enjoyable stuff—things that really matter.

In a nutshell, arthritis is when there’s an existing condition that damages the joint. Literally, arthritis in Greek is inflammation of the joint however, there are many types of arthritis. One of the most popular—at least to us seniors–is osteoarthritis or degenerative arthritis. It is when the cartilages in our joints begin to wear off due to aging. when it becomes thin enough for the two bones to meet, there begins the most excruciating pain ever!

While arthritis in advance age seems inevitable, it’s good to know that it can be delayed and managed by altering our lifestyle. I don’t think arthritis is considered as a lifestyle disease but according to studies, those people who were able to maintain an active lifestyle somehow manage to delay the onset of arthritis. Included in these studies is how diet can trigger an arthritis attack i.e types of food.

But what if we realized all these things a little too late and now we’re stuck with an immobilizing pain brought about by arthritis? Here are some ways to ease the pain and somehow increase your quality of life:

·    Walk, walk, walk. Walking helps in toning muscles in the knee area thus giving your joints better support and lessens the impact on the cartilage. It need not be a mile long, just get yourself used to walking instead of always sitting while doing your chores. Consider this one as an investment as it will also tone the butt area making it look rounder than ever.
·    Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug—your bestfriend! Of course, NSAID has wonderful success rate in alleviating pain especially in cases of arthritis and it can be bought without prescription. Just go easy on it as it is also known to cause ulcers inside us so make sure you take it with food and never exceed recommended dosage.
·    Lose weight. Why? Because, not only will it make you feel and look good, it can also take off tremendous pressure on your knees! We all know that the key to not triggering the pain is to put as little pressure as possible to the joints but it’s quite impossible not to use your hips and knees right? The next best thing is to take off unnecessary weight and be light as possible.
·    Avoid foods that trigger an arthritis attack. Usual suspects:  red meat, tomatoes, eggplants, dairy products, nuts, and caffeine. Please do take note that not all these are to be avoided since a food-induced arthritis attack depends on your own body’s reaction.

Seniors probably have the longest gift list this Christmas! Just imagine those little tots and not so little ones lining up your doorsteps to receive their gifts or even your nosy neighbor inspecting what’s beneath your tree. No matter how hard life has been hitting you these past few months, Christmas still remains to be the season for giving and sharing. Gifts are the only thing that can complete the experience and indeed the best way to end your year right.

Christmas need not break your bank account further. Yes, it may give it a little dent but it should be no more. Unless you are planning to give a gift to an overly-materialistic person, a simple gift that expresses you thinking of the receiver is enough to be appreciated. In fact, a well-thought-of gift is much appreciated than an expensive one, although receiving one is also nice—anything half way is certainly out of the question so stay clear of it! The idea is to make your sincerity be felt and the message to come across so creativity means a lot during these times. Here are some tips on how to save money this Christmas but still make your family and friends feel special and loved:

·    If tradition has it that you give out—and never miss—giving cards to families and friends but it proves to be costly this year, find another alternative for your card giving activities. While making your own cards seems to be a good idea, time apparently, is not on your side. The best solution for this is to send ecards instead. There are hundreds, if not thousands of them over the internet, have a field day!
·    Gift giving is still the best but wrapping them up will cost you an extra. Gift wrappers can be bought in bulk which will automatically give you a discount and then be divided among friends who also need them—of course, paying you for their share. This can also be done for gift tags, or just skip the tags and slip a love letter instead.
·    Christmas decors strongly contribute to the festive mood so it is really important that your house sport the right accessories but changing it every year is not practical anymore. Opt to recycle your old ones, or rotate by year. If your friends are open with it, swap with them and for sure, no one will ever know.
·    Christmas is also a season of discounts—or is it their way of giving something back to us?—take advantage of them by knowing exactly what you need and what stores are selling them in discounted prices.
·    Some families mark the season by going out of the country. You, on the other hand, can scour the area for this Christmas’ happenings and enjoy your own city!

It’s not easy to spot an abused senior. These cruel acts certainly don’t happen outside of home; it always occurs during private moments, when seniors are left alone with their abusers. I’ve come across several cases in which their loved-ones, the ones who truly care for them, are the last ones to know and often times, it’s a little too late for them to intervene as the damage has already been done.

One of the known factors which triggers such hatred and anger toward frail and defenseless seniors is frustration. When a person is blinded by frustrating tasks and seemingly endless chores, it’s really easy to divert fury to a senior who are incapable of defending himself, much less tell others of what the abuser did. Seniors seldom tell, they usually just take it all in, believing they really are a nuisance and the abuser has all the right in the world to do such inhuman acts when in truth, it’s their abusers who deserve to be punished and jailed!

What’s more amusing is that an abuser knows no color, intention or relation, contrary to popular notion that only hired help abuses seniors. They can be someone whom the seniors trust dearly, a relative, a partner, and even their own family. They just manifest without a warning. Also, they come in many forms. Do take note that an abuse has been made if there are verbal and physical attacks made to the senior in question. Also, the term also applies if someone is trying to transfer senior’s assets to their names, either by manipulation, threats or falsification of documents.

In general, taking advantage of a senior’s poor and helpless situation is automatically called or defined as an abuse. There are different types of elderly abuse:

•    Physical abuse. Easiest to spot. There will be, at the very least, bruises.
•    Emotional abuse. If an action causes a senior some emotional discomforts and the abuser is certainly benefiting from the situation, it’s automatically an abuse. It’s either yelling, threatening, hateful words, and blaming or the other way around such as ignoring a senior, even if he is in dire need.
•    Sexual abuse. Yes, it happens.
•    Fraud and scams to financially benefit from seniors.  Aside from the traditional transferring of funds, some cases were reported to be committed by health care providers themselves. Since seniors and their families trust and respect these people, it’s easy to get money from them for unnecessary services and referrals.

Most of the reported cases were from concerned neighbors, people who are quick to notice that something is not right. It’s very unlikely for seniors to report themselves in cases like these, it means, if we ignore silent pleas from them, the abuse will just go on and on. If you’re in doubt about a situation, or you refuse to acknowledge your suspicion, it’s best to talk separately to both the senior and caregiver to find out more about their situation. Sometimes, all they need is your help.

Back then, it’s common for seniors to acquire multiple homes by the time they reach their retirement years. Some even tag their homes as “vacation homes”, “weekend houses” and even their “city house” if they need to stay within the city for an extended time. These houses were considered as an investment, something that they can pass on to their offspring in due time. Those were the days when taxes were manageable and cash overflowed. Today, “manageable” means keeping your house and “struggle” means maintaining two.

Due to the economic struggle we all face today, having two houses at the same time is not practical and can definitely give a senior a hard time—more, later in life. For one, there’s the need to always set aside money for medical expenses and even if you live a healthy life, there will still be things you need to pay for in order to retain your healthy body. While retirement houses is not at all ridiculous to acquire nowadays, most seniors find themselves in a so-called “crossroads” where they need to choose between an adequate retirement community and your current house you’ve grown to love. Finding a new house is easy, even exciting at times but selling your home, even if it seems easy enough is also hard work and requires a lot of effort from your part.

When selling your home, you can either sell it yourself or use a broker. If in the past, someone expressed interest in buying your home, you can give them notice before deciding to go for a broker. Of course, selling the house yourself is the easiest way out IF there’s an existing buyer but for many others, the best route to go is using a broker especially if the house needs some more advertising. A broker can help you set a reasonable price for your home—enough to compensate for your lost, and also, he or she can help you pinpoint parts of the house that need “touch ups” . Try to get a broker that you are most comfortable working with and make sure he or she is indeed a broker who already sold homes in your area. To know this, you need to interview a couple of them prior to selling your house. Ask for referrals too, and check them.

Preparing your house for sale involves fixing things up and setting the place to make it more inviting to the eyes of the buyer. Your broker can help you with this by giving you a “third party” point of view and when they do, make sure you respect their opinions. Have house damages fixed even before a potential buyer visits the house. Remember, if you want the house sold in record time, eliminate all possible hindrance—defects are certainly one of them. Of course, keeping your house clean at all times is a must!

Research about how market value works. In a nutshell, it applies to family houses only. Do take note that the market value of your house may go up or down depending on the market’s pulse. There are three main elements in knowing your house’s market value: neighborhood, current condition of your house and the amount of time it stays “for sale”. The faster you sell your house, the better. Do consult neighbors and family members as well but always take their advises as a suggestion only. In the end, it should be between you and your broker—you being the seller and the broker being the “guy from inside”. After considering these elements, and more or less you have a reasonable price in mind, have a talk with your chosen broker to determine if indeed this can work. If somewhere along the line, you felt uncomfortable, it’s still your right to bail out. However, when a situation calls for your signature, make sure there’s another person on your side who can assist you in examining a paper for your own safety and protection.

Since these two affect our body’s system to some extent, it is but normal for them to sometimes not agree with each other. If you take a closer look to most prescribed medications and even OTC ones, they bear warnings of types of food not to take when the medication is supposedly still active within our bodies. Even the seemingly harmless ones can sometimes worsen your current state if you are not too careful. One of the most popular amongst which is alcohol.

Let’s take alcohol first since it really does affect the body even without the presence of any medication and because of the nature of the substance, it can sometimes be considered as drugs. Truth be told, it alters the body’s composition resulting to impaired judgment and diminished alertness.  When taken together with common drugs, it can heighten intoxication proving to be lethal at times. If you are a diabetic, you know better than to take anything with alcohol since it makes sugar levels go higher even without meds. Take it with antibiotics and you get stomach cramps. Alcohol is also known to induce rapid absorption to time-controlled release capsules just by dissolving its shell faster than it normally would. Due to its poor interaction with most—if not all kinds of—medications, seniors are forewarned not to take them unless approved by their health care providers.

While simply warning a senior not to have a drink due to rounds of medications they are currently taking is manageable, it’s one of those things that is easier said than done since it’s a known fact that alcoholism is also an existing problem for the senior population hence the need for close monitoring of the senior in question.  Geriatric doctors have also reported that pinpointing an illness when a chronic drinker is involved is much harder than diagnosing a nondrinker as alcohol tends to mask the uglies and mislead professionals.

If there’s one drug that probably has established authority over your medicine cabinet, it’s the ever popular aspirin. Aspirins are popular for saving us from potential heart attacks. Taken during the first hour of a suspected attack, it can instantly give relief to a person but please note that aspirins are never intended for such purposes much less serve as a maintenance drug which is a common practice to most seniors. This discovery—aspirin being a first-aid med for heart attack—is purely accidental. Furthermore, aspirin is also prescribed for treatment of arthritis since it is mostly safe to consume even on a daily basis. However, years of aspirin intake can cause bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract later in life. Also, it depletes iron in the body.

Mismatched food and drug can occur anytime and definitely at any age. Seniors however are more exposed to these things since their bodies can no longer process both properly.