Surviving the Senior Citizen Years

  Water under the bridge for senior citizens I’m sure many of us wish there was a time machine to take us back to a place where we made decisions that affected our future lives. We can’t do it. Dwelling on the past can be debilitating and emotionally draining. Things would have been great if we had just done this or that. I’m guilty of this as well. I wasted time in college pursuing an economics degree. Why economics? It was easy and didn’t have a heavy class requirement. That was my thinking: to get through college the easiest way possible, and like magic, I would have a job waiting for me. Of course, it didn’t happen. Jobs were hard to come by when I graduated in 1980, and a vague degree like economics wasn’t helpful. I wish I had investigated other career paths, but I didn’t think of that then. So, I ended up at a shoe store for a year. After another year of wasted time, I moved from Pennsylvania to Georgia, which was a good move. It took a while to find a good job, but on...

  Not everyone has a large family or many friends to share time with. Isolation is a problem for senior citizens. I have many relatives, but they live far away from me. I see some of them on Facebook, but that’s it.   I’ve always been a bit of a loner, so I don’t have friends in the Atlanta area. (I know this is sounding a little whiny) It’s a problem because isolation ties into developing dementia . I’m not sure how I can change this. I am lucky that my wife and son are supportive of me. So that is a positive. Human interaction is powerful in the fight against health issues for senior citizens. Many places have activity centers for senior citizens. You should investigate that or even go to church if you’re comfortable with religion. It’s always good to talk to someone about anything, really. As I might have mentioned, I’m also hearing impaired. But that’s enough complaining. Here is an excellent link from the National Institute of Aging. Loneliness and Social Isolat...

  While physical exercise is essential, exercising your brain is just as important. Dementia is a scary prospect when you get older. Everyone knows someone or has a family member in those dire straits. It’s sad to see and frightening to think it could happen to you. There is no absolute cure for dementia, but there are things you can do to reduce your chances of having it. Can I Prevent Dementia? (alzheimers.gov) It is a great site and very informative. I worry about dementia quite a bit because of my Parkinson’s disease diagnosis and my isolation. I have been writing for many years, and I believe it has helped me. I also read a lot as well. You can also do other things like crossword puzzles, problem-solving games, jigsaw puzzles, and more. Proper diet and exercise combined with critical thinking are a great combination. Comments are always welcome David  

What’s holding me back from improving things in my life? Well, me, I guess. I can blame the health issues till I’m blue in the face, which makes matters worse.   I’ve found that being negative about everything in life is easier than trying to find happiness and contentment somewhere. Change can be difficult. It’s difficult for me as well. I’m attempting to change my diet to include more fiber. Reece’s cups do not have fiber. Never do chocolate ice cream or potato chips. I’ve never loved fruit , but I add an apple or an orange daily.   As well as low-fat yogurt. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a start. I’m also walking a little with my wife. It's not much, maybe 15 minutes, but it helps. I’ll increase the distance as I feel more comfortable with it. I have found some stretching exercises that seem helpful. You must start somewhere. Just don’t overdo it. If you do, you might injure yourself or get frustrated and quit entirely. You don’t want to do that. I’ll ...

  Starting out... I am in the dreaded Elderly category. I’m almost 67, and I feel it. But then again, it might be the assorted ailments that I deal with, like Parkinson’s disease, Meniere’s disease, and depression. I’m trying to deal with all this the best I can.  Maybe this blog thing will work out. Although my physical ability has decreased, I don’t think my cognitive skills have dropped much. My short-term memory is a little shaky, though. For example, why am I in the kitchen, and what would I look up on Google? Everybody gets those moments, I think. What will I do about all these problems (should have said challenges)? I read, write, and try to push myself. I hope that works. Over the past few years, I've self-published fiction books , which helped shape my cognitive skills. I never made much money from them; I probably broke even, but I enjoyed writing them anyway. I’m now writing short stories and submitting them to online magazines. Writing, for me, has alw...