How Are You Doing? The Rapidly Changing World Has Created Uncertainty - How to Feel Better

Between the pandemic and inflation, overheated politics and a hotter planet, it’s been a challenging start to the decade.

For older people, this is especially true. Yet it’s often difficult for seniors to find the help they need in the realms of total health and wellness. However, there are resources that can lend a hand, as well as things you can do as an individual to ground and calm yourself.

Mental health encompasses not only psychological but also emotional and social wellness, and it influences not just how we feel and what actions we take for our own wellbeing, but how we interact with others.

Wellness, on the other hand, goes way beyond being physically fit and disease-free to include emotional, social, intellectual, financial and spiritual factors, which further impacts your mental health.

One of the hardest things to come to terms with as we age is no longer feeling resourceful or useful in our daily lives. Being retired and perhaps not being as physically fit as one once was can exacerbate this. Setting goals and sticking to them helps. It could be as simple as clearing your closet of clothes you no longer wear or attending one of the many courses offered for seniors at local colleges and universities. Here are a few other things seniors can do to maximize their emotional wellness.

Four Initial Keys to Wellness

Step up and help: There are a multitude of volunteering opportunities for seniors at museums, zoos, parks and more. For instance, AmeriCorp recruits, trains and leads volunteers to staff nonprofit programs at a community level all over the region. And Habitat For Humanity is always looking for new volunteers to build homes for disadvantaged people.

Rest up: Getting enough sleep is also vital to mental and physical health. Even if you don’t have anything important on your agenda, sticking to a sleep schedule and turning off those TV and computer screens before bedtime helps you achieve a better nightly slumber.

Smart nutrition: Eating healthy, having regular meals and keeping well hydrated are tremendous boosts to both physical energy and mental focus. Consider getting a food delivery service to ensure you’re getting enough nutrition without too much effort

Think happy: The power of positive thinking and challenging negative thoughts is also important for mental health and wellness. Some people find practicing gratitude and actually writing it down very helpful.

Keeping Fit, Keeping Contented
Staying as active as possible is crucial for both the brain and body. Multiple studies show at least 30 minutes of movement each day helps to improve memory, boost your mood, relieve stress and induce better sleep.

Southern California offers myriad opportunities for seniors to engage in exercise on their own or with others for little to no financial outlay. A great place to start is reviewing what’s available through your local parks and recreation department -- nearby recreation centers, senior centers, golf courses, and more.

Joining a gym isn’t just a thing for younger people. With 26 branches in L.A. County and nearly a dozen in Orange County, the YMCA offers senior discount rates and a variety of ways to work out.

Some Medicare Advantage insurance plans include Silver Sneakers, Silver & Fit, or Peerfit Move programs with no-cost or low-cost membership to various national brand gyms and classes at local community centers.

In fact, the Southland offers so many groups, teams and classes for seniors to join that it’s often a case of if you can dream it, you can probably find somewhere to enjoy it.

Across the nation, pickleball has exploded in popularity as a low-impact, highly social, fun sport and Southern California is one of its hotbeds. PicklePlay Ambassadors are community club leaders who can help you organize a foursome that meets your age or skill level. If physical disabilities prevent you from engaging in traditional sports, consider joining a water aerobics or chair yoga class.

Try Something New
Sharing hobbies with others is another great way to meet and connect with likeminded people. From knitting to genealogy, to bridge or mahjong, you can bet that somewhere nearby there are folks with a similar passion.

Your local library probably has information on groups you can join and lectures to attend. Or check out the website meetup.com to find fellow senior enthusiasts to explore everything from book clubs and church choirs to altered states.

Club WISE, a partner of the national Oasis institute, is a $20-a-year membership program for people 50+ that offers classes and events as well as domestic and international group travel trips.

The Future of Senior Wellness
And more help is on the way. To deal with a demographic shift toward an older population, the city and county of Los Angeles in cooperation with the AARP, local colleges and universities, and other regional cities, have launched a new venture called the Purposeful Aging Los Angeles Initiative (PALA) with the aim of creating the world’s most age-friendly metro area – so stay tuned!