Pet Therapy for the Elderly

Author: Robbie

Dec 28

Linda’s mother had been receiving in-home care in NJ for several years. While the care was excellent, her mother just did not seem like her old self. Then one day, Linda, a 45-year-old mother, brought a puppy home for her own mother. It was then that she and her family learned firsthand the affect a pet can have on the health and outlook of a senior. Linda’s mother became more active: grooming, feeding, and playing with the new puppy rather than spending most of her time sleeping or watching television.

Although she may not realize it, Linda’s mother is benefiting from animal-assisted therapy, which is commonly called pet therapy. Animals can be used to help offset emotional and sometimes even physical problems to improve the quality of life for seniors; a group that commonly experiences loss of mobility, loneliness, and depression. With a small bit of careful planning, the pet-senior relationship can be happy and beneficial for all concerned.

Occasionally, as seniors age, they become more withdrawn and solitary, losing the desire and ability to develop new relationships. Pets offer much-needed companionship and can increase the quantity and quality of social interactions among their owners. Seniors who own pets have more frequent conversations. Rather than dwell in the past, senior pet owners tend to focus on current interests and activities, which can provide common ground with new acquaintances and increase the opportunity to form new bonds.

Loneliness and depression can be traumatic for seniors. It changes the production of hormones, function of body systems, can contribute to the start or severity of diseases, and prolongs the amount of time the body takes to heal. Senior adults are a lonely age group for several reasons, including the loss of friends and spouse, or retirement. Many senior citizens end up in long-term care facilities that restrict personal belongings, including pets. Residents in their facilities also have to deal with the separation from loved ones. Loneliness in these facilities tends to be a common problem, which animal-assisted therapy can help decrease.

Banks and Banks did a study with three long-term care facilities in Mississippi. Forty-five residents with no cognitive impairments, psychiatric disorders, allergies to animals, with a minimum of a sixth grade education and who could read and write in English were divided into three groups: 15 with no pet therapy, 15 with one 30-minuet session of pet therapy a week, and 15 with three 30-minuet sessions a week. It was found that the therapy reduced loneliness, though there was no difference between the second and third groups. This research showed that pet therapy can effectively reduce loneliness and therefore depression in older adults.

Ryan Brancato works with Assisted Living at Home to provide information that facilitates and promotes the enrichment of the lives of seniors and their families throughout New Jersey. For more information, go to www.assistedlivinginhomecare.com or call 856-273-6440

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/elderly-care-articles/pet-therapy-for-the-elderly-1619151.html

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You Can Over Come Your Feeling Of Loneliness

Author: Robbie

Dec 1

Feeling lonely all the time does not have to be a way of life. The conventional myth is that older people living alone because of divorce or the loss of a spouse are the loneliest of all people. Research shows that a young person with not significant relationship, who is living at home with parents, is lonelier than a senor living alone. For a young person being alone on a Saturday night can be a stigma.

Lonely people generally react in one of two ways. In a sad passive way, spending much of their time sleeping, eating, and crying. The other way to use the alone time is in a creative way, reading, learning new skills, working on a hobby or listening to music. People who spend their alone time in creative activities replace the feeling of being lonely with one of self satisfaction.

We allow ourselves to feel lonely. Loneliness is often another term for boredom. Those who spend their time being creative have learned to cope with solitude. Seniors adjust easier to being alone because they have grown more secure in knowing who they are. When you find yourself alone you should see it as an opportunity to discover yourself. Learn what you want of yourself, where you would like to go, and what brings you happiness.

It is our outer self that deals with family, friends, culture and all other parts of civilization. We compromise the outer self to avoid conflict with those around us. But the inner self is the true self and those who are in touch with their inner selves have a true sense of identity. By knowing your true inner self you can modify your outer self to better interact with others.

There are ways to deal with loneliness Another thing you can do when you are feeling lonely is start something new. This is an effective way to shift your focus on something other than being lonely. Start a new hobby or take some adult classes at your local community college where you will meet new people. You can start volunteering at a local shelter or hospital – anything that allows you to place your attention and focus on something else. When you can become passionate about something other than your divorce or your loneliness, it’s a great way to start the healing process.

People who are loving, who completely accept themselves and others can be happy and content in a crowd or quietly at home by themselves. Feelings of loneliness, depression and boredom are the result of affection deprivation. The sign that someone is heading in the wrong direction is self – preoccupation.

Start thinking about others first. If you wish to receive affection you have to become consciously aware of the people you feel affection for. When you focus attention on someone else, you feel better about yourself.The key to warding off loneliness is caring for yourself, for what you really feel, caring for others, caring for life and everything around you.

Feeling lonely is a diversion that takes your attention away from planning creative activities for yourself. Seeking companionship or a sense of belonging is an emotional hunger that we all have. You years of life experience can be used doing volunteer work, participating in organizations, which in turn will fill your need for companionship and self satisfaction.

Help For Seniors is a web site dedicated to keeping Senior Citizens informed about issues of Money, Health and Relationships. Help For Seniors

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/motivational-articles/you-can-over-come-your-feeling-of-loneliness-1523744.html