Not only did chapter 6 stress the importance of friends in
family in later life, it also highlighted the importance of religion and
spirituality. These can bring together members of a community and give purpose
to the elderly population therein. Hillier and Barrow (2011) state, “Subjects
with high-intrinsic religiosity and spiritual well-being had significantly
higher levels of hope and lower levels of negative mood states than subjects
with low spiritual well-being and low intrinsic religiosity. The researchers
felt that subjects with high religiosity could use their religious patterns for
coping (prayer, religious objects) and subjects with high spirituality were
able to maintain a greater sense of wholeness than those with low spirituality”.
This makes sense, because if you did not feel that you had a greater purpose
then you would not see what there was worth living for. Especially for the
elderly, the sense of something greater makes nearing the end of their lives
not as scary. There are many community or church groups that can help the
elderly stay involved and productive in later life. Hillier and Barrow (2011)
say, “People aged 65 and over are the most likely of any age group to belong to
clubs; fraternal associations; and other church-affiliated organizations, such
as widows and widowers groups, Bible-study groups, and volunteer groups serving
the sick and needy”. These groups are a benefit to society and a benefit to the
elderly involved within. Social bonds can be formed that give a person strength
and support through those trying times in later life.
I think that it is very important for the aging to be involved in some sort of outside activity. As you grow older, people you know are dying and it is nice to have a group that you can fall back on for support. My grandma does dancing classes to keep her active as well as allowing her to make friends, this is so important. She told me that without these dance classes, she would sit at home on the couch and be lazy. These dance lessons have really changed her way of viewing aging. So like you mentioned it is very nice for the elderly to get involved in something like church, sewing classes, cooking schools, dance, or community organizations.
ReplyDeleteI agree Sara, Chapter 6 was a powerful chapter about the importance of family especially for the elderly. The family and support systems are unlimited accesses to resources for emotional, physical, financial, and spiritual support. I have already been thinking deeply about plans for my elderly ages.
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