Companionship

While most of us want to age in place in the community, rather than live out our final years in a facility, that arrangement can sometimes require significant support and services in the home. Especially if the person at home has physical or cognitive disabilities, significant daily help may be…

It’s no surprise that older individuals often feel lonely, as close family and friends become distant or have passed away, and as illness and disability make it harder to connect and gather. We’ve covered this topic on many previous occasions but it’s still jarring to read new research that confirms…

It’s likely no surprise that loneliness continues to be a significant public health concern in the United States. As we reported last year when Surgeon General Vivek Murthy raised alarms about the public health crisis of loneliness in our country, loneliness is not only a subjective individual feeling of disappointment…

The list has been ongoing and in the public eye: Long-time couples, seemingly doing well from a distance, end up in divorce at a time in life when marriage dissolution seems unlikely (As one older divorcée commented, “Sixty was the age of leaving the house and returning for the car…

Though it’s not uncommon for older adults to live their later years in age-segregated communities, either by choice or by necessity, there’s also something to be said about mixing it up with younger people. In fact, the concept of an intergenerational friendship- that is, having a friend who is at…

Is there a difference between being alone and being lonely? At this point, so many older adults are alone, vulnerable to the health consequences that are more likely as a solo ager and without the supports that typically allow an older adult to remain active and engaged. But does being…