Companionship

Unfortunately, this new year starts the same as previous years when it comes to the predicament of loneliness among older adults. An end-of-2024 study released by the National Poll On Healthy Aging reports that even though rates of loneliness and social isolation among older adults have returned to “pre-pandemic” levels,…

Perhaps at no other time of year does a lack of friends become so glaring. If you’re not invited to holiday gatherings or not getting together with some buddies for a holiday gift exchange, this can be an especially painful time to acknowledge your loneliness and lack of friendships. Research…

The writer and activist Letty Cottin Pogrebin once said, “We need old friends to help us grow old and new friends to help us stay young.” The challenge, as an older adult, is maintaining and sustaining those long-term friendships while seeking out newer friendships as life evolves in your later…

It will come as no surprise to most of you that loneliness continues to be a significant public and personal health problem in our country, as new data from Gallup reports the ongoing significance of the problem. According to a just-released survey as part of the Gallup National Health and…

As with most things in life, men and women tend to do things differently. When it comes to aging, men fare better in certain areas and women tend to do better in others. However, when it comes to marriage, the impact on healthy aging now seems clear: Men seem to…

Dating is never an easy proposition, but putting yourself out there as an older person, with a history, experiences and a mature sense of who you are and what you want might be even more challenging. Dating is especially hard for older women, who may have difficulty finding a potential…