Do You Feel Lonely and Forgotten? Play Mahjong!

Photo Credit: IntegraCare.com

I found the following article on my Face Book Page several weeks ago. It reminded me of the plight of numerous Senior Citizens in this Country who are in Nursing Homes. I  am in a slightly similar situation, but my space is 1000 sq ft, 2Bedroom, 2bathroom apartment and I do not live in a Nursing Home as some of my relatives in the Philippines think. I am residing an Active Senior Living Community, which just won the  2024 Best Senior Living Award from a Place for Mom.com    

I am not lonely and every now on then two of my children residing nearby visits me or drive me to my doctor's appointment.  I was able to bring a few pieces of what I owned ( antique furnitures and souvenirs from our travels) from my previous home to my apartment. Most important, I do not feel isolated and participates in most of the scheduled activities sponsored by my senior community management employees and made new friends and acquaintances among my fellow senior residents and senior community employees. 

I feel lucky, but the following story touches my soul and break my heart reading it.  

Here's the article for your reading pleasure.  

   "I am 82 years old, I have 4 children, 11 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren and a room of 12 square meters.

I no longer have a home or expensive things, but I have someone who will clean my room, prepare food and change my bedding, measure my blood pressure and weigh me.

I no longer have the laughter of my grandchildren, I don't see them growing, hugging and arguing. Some come to me every 15 days, some every three or four months, and some never.

I don't bake cakes, I don't dig up the garden. I still have hobbies and I like to read, but my eyes quickly hurt.

I don’t know how much longer, but I have to get used to this loneliness.

Here at home, I lead group work and help those who are worse than me as much as I can.

Until recently, I read aloud to an immobile woman in the room next to me, we used to sing together, but she died the other day. They say life is getting longer. Why?

When I’m alone, I can look at photos of my family and memories I brought from home. And that's all.

I hope that the next generations will understand that families are born to have a future (with children) and that they do not forget about the family even in old age."

- Author Unknown 

Here's a possible solution to the Problem of Loneliness in Nursing Homes

Introduction: Elderly people who leave their home environment and move to a nursing home enter a phase in life with diminishing contact with family and friends. This situation often results in a feeling of loneliness with a concomitant deterioration in physical and mental health. By exploring the topic through the lens of the nurses, this study takes a novel approach to address an under-researched area in the nursing field.

Objective The objective of the study was to identify, based on the nurses’ experience, how elderly residents handle loneliness in the nursing home.

Methods: This study used a qualitative explorative approach with data collected through two focus group interviews with nine nurses at two elderly care facilities in Norway. The resulting transcripts were examined using an approach based on inductive content analysis.

Results: Three main categories emerged as crucial to help lonely nursing home residents cope with day-to-day life: (i) maintaining ties to one’s earlier life; (ii) engaging in recreational pursuits; and (iii) building new networks.

Conclusion; Analysing the findings based on sense of coherence (SOC) and person-centred care (PCC) theories illustrates the importance of maintaining a connection with both family and friends. To that point, having access to familiar objects from their earlier life seemingly provides meaning to the residents by bridging the past and the present. Recreational activities, ideally adapted to each person’s needs and ability, have a positive impact by providing structure and meaning that help overtake feelings of loneliness. Building a new network with fellow residents and staff imparts a sense of meaningful community belonging and projects both dignity and self-worth.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8047972/#:~:text=Elderly%20people%20who%20leave%20their,in%20physical%20and%20mental%20health.

Meanwhile here's a video of Song from a Secret Garden-Adagio- One of the most relaxing piece of music ever written, This is my favorite music as background during my weekly one-hour massage session here at THD,  

https://youtu.be/nNL9Lole-iE?si=J_Ak2XRY7EyJV5L8

My 7 Pairs Winning Hand in Our Mahjong Game, April 18, 2024. The last time I had a winning 7 Pairs Hand was a year ago. 

My 7 -Pairs Winning Hand- Mahjong Hongkong Style ( 13 + 1 Tiles)

My 7-Pairs Winning Hand (Philippine Style Mahjong, 16 + 1 Tiles)

Don't be lonely and feel isolated play mahjong : Googled It!