Mental Health

We live in an era when problems outpace solutions and more help is necessary than we can possibly provide. We also live during a time when volunteers are stepping up in significant numbers to provide much-needed help. And at the same time, evidence is mounting to demonstrate that valuable health…

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,…

We’re at that time of year when the days are short (and likely cold), precipitation may be in the air, and your food consumption may have gone up with all of the holiday goodies and gatherings. Your head may know that it’s critical to keep physically active but your heart…

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’s not inevitable that you’ll feel lonely as you get older, but it is common among older adults (estimates are that more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely). And as we’ve previously written, it’s a feeling that can deeply impact both your physical and mental health….