By Jennifer Nelson for Next Avenue

Part of the THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW SPECIAL REPORT

 

Roxanne Hawn, 52, of Boulder, Colo., jokes that she came out of the womb anxious, so she’s had a lot of time to deal with anxiety. “I always said that being anxious makes me exceptional in an emergency, because I’m used to functioning while feeling like this when others aren’t,” says Hawn.

 

But since the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis began, Hawn realizes that only applies to acute situations, not so much the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

“With the long-lasting pandemic, I’ve adjusted some things, like giving up coffee in the morning, because I’d wake up anxious and the coffee made it worse,” she says.

 

There’s a good chance even if you’ve never experienced serious mental health issues, such as significant anxiety or depression, or something like obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), you could now be having some symptoms.

 

If you already have any of these mental health issues, this coronavirus crisis may not only trigger your symptoms but make it more difficult to keep them at bay, says Haley Neidich, a licensed clinic social worker and mental health professional in St. Petersburg, Fla.

 

 

“Anyone who has a history of depression, anxiety or OCD is going to be experiencing symptoms right now.”

 

 

“Anyone who has a history of depression, anxiety or OCD is going to be experiencing symptoms right now,” says Neidich. “The symptoms could be severe or they could be just a general sense of concern that symptoms will onset.”

 

She says having some anxiety right now is normal. It’s when the anxiety keeps you from sleeping, functioning, working or taking care of day to day activities, that it becomes a problem.

 

Here’s what you might be feeling if you have any of these common issues, and some tips that could help you get through these weeks of physical distancing, working from home and worrying about the health or financial ramifications of the pandemic:

 

Anxiety

 

Symptoms include a decreased ability to sleep, constant worrying about the future, obsessing about the news and talking about and trying to plan the future, even through the unknowns.

 

“We know that stress impacts our body’s ability to fight infection and to manage our overall health,” says Neidich. So, it’s important to take steps that feel helpful and improve your symptoms.

 

Hawn says three things that usually help mitigate her anxiety are long walks with her dogs outside, reading and knitting. “As weather allows, I try to do all three every day,” she notes.

 

Tips for getting through the COVID-19 crisis when you have anxiety:

 

• • Stick to a daily routine. You’re looking to create a sense of normalcy to ground yourself.

 

• • Be proactive about sleep hygiene. Go to bed at the same time and wake up at relatively the same time every day to keep your internal clock functioning normally.

 

• • Try meditating. Introspection and mindfulness can be helpful for soothing yourself. There are many meditation apps — such as Calm and Headspace — that can guide you on how to do this.

 

• • Practice gratitude. Getting to stay home? Spending more time with kids? Tackling projects around the house? These are things to feel grateful for, and gratitude can help plant you in the present rather than thinking ahead.

 

• • Schedule worry time. Annie M. Varvaryan, a licensed clinical psychologist in San Jose, Calif., recommends picking a time of day, say, 4 p.m., to sit down and worry about all the things going on. Set a timer for 20 minutes. That’s the only time you let yourself worry. “It forces us to reduce worry behavior throughout the day,” says Varvaryan.

 

• • Help someone else. If you can deliver a bag of groceries to a neighbor’s door or mow someone’s lawn, help out. “Feeling like you’re helping someone gives you something else to think about other than anxiety and worry,” Hawn says.

 

 

Depression

 

Symptoms of depression include feeling deep sadness, crying frequently, moodiness, not being able to sleep, not being able to find enjoyment in the things you used to and feeling alone or even suicidal.

 

One protective factor for people with depression is having something to look forward to, explains Neidich. Maybe before the coronavirus crisis, there was a birthday party to attend, a big project at work or other events you were looking forward to enjoying. Now, those things may be postponed.

 

Tips for getting through Covid-19 when you suffer from depression:

 

• • Make specific goals. Focusing on goals gives you a semblance of something to look forward to doing. You might read 30 pages of a book, write in a journal each day or organize the garage. You could reach out to two people for phone or video calls daily. If you could use some people to talk to, you might want to try Well Connected, a free service that gathers small groups of older adults on the phone for weekly talks, based on common interests.

 

• • Find a healthy distraction. “There is a difference between healthy and unhealthy distractions,” says Varvaryan. Examples of healthy distractions: watch a movie, text a friend, clean a closet, go for a walk. Unhealthy distractions: binge watching TV from bed all day, binge eating junk food or scrolling endlessly through social media when it makes you feel worse.

 

• • Try teletherapy. Even through the coronavirus crisis, many mental health practitioners are still seeing their clients via teleconferencing or telehealth technology. If you have a therapist, ask if you can talk to them via your computer, tablet or smartphone.

 

• • Maintain the status quo. Neidich says now’s the time to practice all the coping tools you’ve learned when it comes to your treatment, such as exercise, plenty of sleep, eating well and connecting with others through technology.

 

 

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

 

Symptoms of OCD include feeling a lack of control, intrusive thoughts that you try to control with rituals and thoughts and rituals around germs, contamination or cleanliness.

 

Tips for getting through Covid-19 when you have OCD:

 

• • Push back against rituals or try to delay them. Neidich has her patients ask, “If I have a harmful behavior or activity, what can I do to delay doing that?” Then, come up with a list of other things you can try, such as playing with your pet, doing a puzzle or working in the garden to prevent or delay rituals.

 

• • Tackle projects you enjoy. Cook, bake or take up a creative hobby or art project. Things that give you structure and keep your hands busy help you feel less like performing rituals.

 

• •  Amp up self-compassion. Changes like social distancing and working from home can trigger symptoms. So, be compassionate with yourself. You don’t have to be perfect.

 

• • Laugh. Hawn watches stand-up comedy specials on Netflix to end the days with a giggle.

 

By Jennifer Nelson

Jennifer Nelson is a Florida-based writer who also writes for MSNBC, FOXnews and AARP.

By Liz Seegert for Next Avenue

Credit: Sabrina Crews

Part of the THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW SPECIAL REPORT

Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or other dementia is hard enough during normal times. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect communities around the U.S., though, it’s not surprising that family caregivers are anxious, unnerved and confused.If you’re caring for a family member with dementia during this global health crisis, there are ways to minimize stress, care for your family and care for yourself, too.

Dementia itself does not increase the risk of COVID-19; however, dementia-related behaviors may increase risk. People with dementia may forget to wash their hands or take other precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to avoid contracting the virus. And if they do fall ill, cognitive impairment may worsen.

One of the first signs of illness for people who have dementia is a sudden onset of increasing confusion, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. If you notice this in your loved one, contact your health care provider right away.

Maintain a Calm Environment

One of the most important things you can do as a caregiver is to remain calm. The Alzheimer’s Foundation advises caregivers not to raise the alarm about the virus to the person you care for. Limit what you say about it and try not to watch the news if they’re in the room.

It takes a lot more attention and responsibility from family caregivers to make sure all of the home’s occupants are safely cohabiting, according to Lisa Winstel, chief operating officer of the Caregiver Action Network.

“Anything you can do to just keep the routine as consistent as possible, minimizing disruptions as much as possible, will help.”

If an older adult lives with you, she says, “this is probably a really good time to review your household policies about policing things that are left around, like small items that could be mistaken for candy.”

Safety issues warrant a second look. You can help reduce fall risk by ensuring that things, like books, are not left on the floor. If your loved one wanders, be sure to remind others not to leave the door unlocked. Keep medications in a locked drawer or cabinet to ensure no unsupervised access.

People living with dementia may need extra or written reminders and support to conduct important hygienic practices from one day to the next, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. That advisory group suggests placing signs in the bathroom and elsewhere to remind people with dementia to wash their hands with soap for 20 seconds. You can help by demonstrating thorough hand-washing.

Whether they live with you or on their own, routine is also very important for everyone involved, Winstel says. “Anything you can do to just keep the routine as consistent as possible, minimizing disruptions as much as possible, will help,” she notes.

Have a Backup Plan

However, it’s also important to have a backup plan during this time, especially if your loved one lives far away. Is there a trusted person available to help out if the home health aide falls ill? Can a neighbor or friend help prepare or deliver meals? Will the local drugstore deliver necessary medications or supplies?

The Alzheimer’s Foundation recommends planning ahead for possible changes in program schedules or plans to shelter in place. You could have activities ready like word puzzles and games, picture albums, music to listen to, special movies to watch and small tasks to engage in, such as folding towels or putting socks together.

Caregivers should also make sure their loved ones are drinking enough liquids. Staying hydrated fortifies the immune system and they might already have weakened systems due to other underlying health conditions. Along with this advice, remember that if you are encouraging the person to drink more, they might have to use the bathroom more often or have increased incontinence.

If it’s possible, try to take your loved one out for a walk, suggests Caroline Cicero, associate professor at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

“We’re told to stay home, but if you live in a place where you’re not going to be touching other people, I think we should all be going outside getting fresh air and exercising a little bit. This includes taking those with dementia outside and walking around,” she says.

It’s an important activity for everyone’s health and emotional well-being right now.

People in Memory Care Units

The CDC has issued guidance for health care and long-term care facilities on how to minimize the risk of infection of COVID-19. Most facilities are not allowing visitors during this outbreak. So, caregivers are likely feeling additional stress, since it’s that much harder to check up on loved ones, says Winstel. “They worry what will happen when the choices are made about care. Are they taking the right medicine?”she says.

If visits are not allowed, the Alzheimer’s Association recommends asking the facility about options for engaging with your family member — whether by phone, video chats or email. If that’s not possible, find out what else they’re doing to ensure you get regular updates.

Your Self-Care Is Crucial

As caregivers, we need to keep our own state of mind positive, which can be difficult. Stress can trigger changes in eating or sleeping patterns; difficulty concentrating; worsening of your own health problems and increased use of tobacco, alcohol or drugs.

The CDC recommends:

• Take breaks from watching, reading or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.
• Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch or meditate. Try to eat healthy and well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep and avoid alcohol and drugs.
• Make time to unwind. Try to do activities you enjoy.
• Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling.

Even though everyone is staying close to home due to the pandemic, caregivers should still reach out for help. It can be difficult to ask, but it’s important to do so, Cicero says.

“Caregivers are probably worn out, tired and maybe frustrated. And with no end in sight, the uncertainty is so hard,” she says.

Cicero suggests caregivers literally take it one day at a time and not feel guilty if they need to take a break.

The Caregiver Action Network Help Desk, staffed by caregiving experts, can provide information to help caregivers navigate complex challenges. These pros can be reached by phone (855- 227-3640) or by online chat and are available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT.

Caregivers also can reach out to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America at 866-232-8484 or the Alzheimer’s Association of America at 800- 272-3900.

By Liz Seegert

New York-based journalist Liz Seegert has spent more than 30 years reporting and writing about health and general news topics for print, digital and broadcast media. Her primary beats currently include aging, boomers, social determinants of health and health policy. She is topic editor on aging for the Association of Health Care Journalists. Her work has appeared in numerous media outlets, including Consumer Reports, AARP.com, Medical Economics, The Los Angeles Times and The Hartford Courant. @lseegert

By Danielle Woodruffe



As International Women’s Day approaches on March 8^th, we caught up with three amazing women living at Parker who, in the year 2020, are proud to say they have lived a century.



Parker at Stonegate resident Olive Brannen turned 100 on September 8^th. When asked how she feels being 100 in 2020, Olive replies: “Fantastic. I had a very good life – a very, very good life.”



That life includes different careers as a telephone operator at the NJ Rail Telephone Company and a Jury Commissioner in Middlesex County, raising two children and enjoying a very good retirement.



“She became even more active after retiring to the Jersey Shore at 65,” remarks Olive’s daughter Anne.

“She was always doing something – staying active and traveling.”



She’s still active at 100.



“There are many things I can do that some people my age can’t do,” says Olive. “I’m just sitting back and enjoying ‘old age’.”



No doubt much has changed over the span of her lifetime and some things have not. After a recent visit to the Department of Motor Vehicles waiting for a new I.D., Olive jokes, “in this day and age, with this technology, the wait at the DMV hasn’t changed.”



Much has changed for Stonegate resident, Edna Barndt. She remembers when her family first installed a landline in her childhood home. Being raised on a farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, she even remembers a time when she didn’t have electricity.



“I didn’t think I’d ever get this old,” says Edna.



Her son Richard credits his mom’s long life to keeping busy.



“She was always doing something with her hands all her life. When I think about that, my parents had their day jobs and their night jobs. They were always busy,“ adds Richard.



Adaline (Ada) Bloom lives at Parker at River Road. Like Olive and Edna, she feels blessed to be 100 in 2020.

“I’m the only survivor among my siblings and I think the reason why is because I never smoked. If I smoked, I figured I’d never be able to pay for college. So I chose college.”



The decision led her to a successful career in library science, working for companies such as Time Life, different newsrooms and government departments.



“I’ve had a good life. I worked very hard. I’m lucky. I had a lot of illnesses in my younger years, but I always had the best medical care and I came through everything.”



Ada’s survival skills also helped her to adapt to life after financial loss when the Great Depression hit her family. When asked, so what can you predict for the next 100 years?



 “I don’t know. I never thought about it,” laughs Ada. “I just take one day at a time.”



Like Edna and Olive, Ada credits keeping busy as her key to a long and successful life. The fact that they all happen to be 100 in 2020…that, they’re more modest about.



“It’s just another year,” says Olive. “I’m still here. Well taken care of. I don’t wish for anything, I have it all.”

Parker wishes these remarkable women a Happy International Women’s Day!

By Christopher Booker, PBS NewsHour for Next Avenue

(Editor’s Note: This video and transcript were previously published by PBS NewsHour.)

Christopher Booker: Daniel Levitin — a neuroscientist and professor emeritus of psychology at McGill University — has written extensively about the brain. Also a musician, he has written bestselling books examining the effect of music on the brain, as well as about how to think “straight” in an age of information overload. In Levitin’s latest book, Successful Aging, he explores the questions: What happens in the brain as we age and what are the keys to aging well?

When you set out to write this book, you said it was because you had questions of your own. What questions were you looking to answer?

Daniel Levitin: I looked at people like my parents, who are in their 80s and very active and engaged. They tire me out. And people like Jane Goodall or Rodney Crowell, who’s still only in his 60s, but I think doing the best work of his career. Paul Simon, who I think did the best work of his career in the last five years. What are they doing? Where does this come from? I wanted to know. I wanted to get some of that for me.

 

“One of the things that emerged in my research is that as we age into our seventies and eighties, we’re a lot better at some things than younger people.”

 

 

Christopher Booker:  How have your views changed about your own aging process?

Daniel Levitin: I’ve come to see aging as not inevitably a period of decline and loss and irrelevance, but a period of potentially renewed engagement, energy and meaningful activities. Getting older myself — I’m sixty-two — I’m spending more time with older people who are just marvelously entertaining, full of life and full of activity.

(In researching the book, Levitin spent time talking about the aging process to everyone from former Secretary of State George Shultz to jazz legend Sonny Rollins, to the Dalai Lama.)

Dalai Lama: I think the main source of my strength, the main stance is that I’m a Buddhist monk. Every day is filled with praying and thinking; my body, speech and mind is dedicated to the well-being of others.

Daniel Levitin: One of the things that emerged in my research is that as we age into our seventies and eighties, we’re a lot better at some things than younger people, and one of them is pattern matching. If you go to see a radiologist, you want a seventy-five-year-old radiologist, not a thirty-five-year-old radiologist, because they’ve seen patterns. They’re much better at detecting cancers.

Christopher Booker: Does the expanded ability to recognize pattern make it harder for people to change their views or to maybe look at something differently?

Daniel Levitin: It can, and you have to fight that. I think we have to avoid complacency as we get older because we do tend to get set in our ways. We tend to want to look at things the same way. We want to go to the same restaurant that we know is going to give us a good meal. We want to hang out with the same friends who we know are not going to make us feel bad about ourselves. But we have to fight that because the influx of new ideas and challenging our conventional modes of thinking is important brain food — not just for our individual health but the health of the larger community.

Christopher Booker: Your Number One recommendation of your top ten things to do was don’t retire.

Daniel Levitin: Jane Goodall said this in our conversation yesterday. You know, she said: Don’t retire. Keep going. But she said, if you retire, make sure you have something equally compelling that will engage you. So, that could philanthropy; it could be education.

 

 

“I think we have to avoid complacency as we get older because we do tend to get set in our ways.”

 

 

Christopher Booker: Let’s talk about sleep. There’s a lot of misconceptions about sleep as we get older.

Daniel Levitin: The myth is, ‘Oh, old people don’t need as much sleep.’ Total myth. The fact is old people do need eight or nine hours of sleep.

The Dalai Lama attributes a lot of his health to nine hours of sleep every night. But as we get older, a lot of the hormonal and chemical changes in our bodies make our biological clocks harder to keep regular. So, just staying up an hour or two later when you’re older can affect you for weeks, can affect your chrono-biological rhythms. And so, going to bed at the same time every night, waking up at the same time every morning, particularly after the age of seventy-five — very important.

Christopher Booker: Why do some people age better than others?

Daniel Levitin: Some of it is genetic. Some of it’s environmental, if you had stressors, early stressors, as a child, that’s going to play against your fortitude and composition. But the good news is we can overcome that. Genetics is not a prescription. Genetics is just an influence, like your childhood, and you can rebuild yourself.

Christopher Booker: Because that’s one of the other key points — that, essentially, it’s never too late.

Daniel Levitin: You can change yourself at any age. That’s the good news. You can look at your life when you’re seventy-five and say, ‘I’m going to do something different,’ and do it.

If you look across the world, across the sixty countries that have been studied, the peak age of happiness tends to be about eighty-two. People get happier. Now, there’s a neurochemical basis for this; your neurochemistry shifts. But there’s also kind of a psychological and very practical basis. You realize you’ve gotten through all these things that were stressing you out. If you make it to eighty-two, you know you’ve managed. You’re OK!

By Christopher Booker

Christopher Booker is a correspondent and producer for PBS NewsHour Weekend covering music, culture, our changing economy and news of the cool and weird. He also teaches at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, following his work with Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism in Chicago and Doha, Qatar.

By Judy Stringer-Holman for Next Avenue

(Editor’s note: This article is part of an editorial partnership between Next Avenue and the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, a Cleveland-based nonprofit whose mission is to advance support for older adults and caregivers.)

 

Receiving a diagnosis of early stage dementia can fill a person and that person’s loved ones with fear and anxiety about what the future holds.

 

Yet, dementia can progress slowly over years, giving people and their families and friends plenty of time to plan for the future together.

 

In too many cases, however, that is simply not happening, says Silvia Orsulic-Jeras, a senior research analyst at the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging in Cleveland.

 

“Care planning is similar to other activities people know they should be doing, such as exercising or eating healthy, but sometimes don’t do or put off for a variety of reasons. People tend to wait until something happens, until there is a crisis, to take action,” says Orsulic-Jeras, who is program manager for the institute’s SHARE (Support, Health, Activities, Resources and Education) program.

 

SHARE educates people with early stage dementia and their families about dementia and helps them plan for the kind of care and support they will need.

 

Stigma and Assumptions About Early Stage Dementia

 

When it comes to dementia, other factors also are at play. The diagnosis can be stigmatizing, says Carol Whitlatch, a senior research scientist at Benjamin Rose and assistant director of its Center for Research and Education. She says shame and embarrassment often keep individuals with dementia and their families from openly discussing the disease and planning for future needs.

 

There’s also an assumption — on the part of family members and caregivers — that the individual living with the disease either can’t, or doesn’t want to, take part in making decisions about their care.

 

 

“In the early stages especially, people are often fully aware of the meaning of their diagnosis and able to communicate care choices and preferences.”

 

 

In her 35 years of research in dementia care planning, Whitlatch has found that assumption is wrong.

 

“In the early stages especially, people are often fully aware of the meaning of their diagnosis and able to communicate care choices and preferences,” she says. “And they not only want to be actively involved in making decisions about future care, they also place a high level of importance on not being a burden and being as helpful to their family caregivers as possible.”

 

Whitlatch’s research has shown repeatedly that individuals in the early and moderate stages of dementia are able to participate in their own care plans and can clearly state their preferences for how care is provided. This includes their care values, such as independence, not being a burden and spending time with family.

 

A Voice in Their Own Care

 

During SHARE sessions, developed through Whitlatch’s research, the person with dementia and the person’s caregiver work collaboratively with a trained counselor to develop a plan of care for the future.

 

Whitlatch says this proactive approach empowers people with dementia by giving them a voice in planning their care. It also provides them with unique insight into the depth and breadth of the daily care needs that their caregiver will someday face. This often compels the individual with dementia to more carefully consider where alternative sources of care might lessen the caregiver strain.

 

“Without knowing what it is [the person with dementia] would have wanted, these decisions end up being made in crisis situations rather in a supportive way that includes discussion and collaborative planning,” Orsulic-Jeras adds.

 

Care Planning for Any Older Adult

 

While SHARE was developed for use by trained counselors, there are several takeaways from the program that can be valuable to older adults when planning for long-term care. Here are suggestions from Orsulic-Jeras:

 

• • Start the dialogue early: Knowing that any person could someday face a mental health or physical health crisis, it’s important to talk openly with spouses or partners, children and other loved ones about what you want for your care and living situation in the years to come.

 

• • Get into the nitty-gritty: When people do discuss care preferences, they tend to focus on the big things, like end-of-life directives. But there are other daily care issues — such as house cleaning, shopping, transportation, bathing, dressing and toileting — that need to be addressed in any effective long-term care plan.

 

• • Learn how to ask for help: “Asking for help is one of the biggest barriers for successful independent living among aging adults, especially with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or other related dementia where people often feel stigmatized and isolated,” Orsulic-Jeras says. Start getting comfortable with asking for help now, while the requests are manageable and more easily accommodated.

 

• • Consider paid sources of support: Older adults generally tap loved ones for their care needs, but community-based services — such as for cleaning, meal preparation, home care and on-site adult day services — are a great supplement to friends and family caregivers.

 

 

“Whatever you and your loved ones decide, it is critical that you have a plan that you can rely on when the medical need arises,” Orsulic-Jeras says, adding that hurried, reactive decision making often leads to less-than-ideal circumstances. “It also often results in poorer quality of care than if care partners had discussed and documented their plan and preferences ahead of time.”

 By Judy Stringer-Holman

Judy Stringer-Holman is a freelance writer and editor with more than 25 years of experience contributing to media outlets. Many of her frequent articles appear in Crain’s Cleveland Business, where she also writes for the paper’s custom content division, Crain Content Studio. In addition to business, she covers community news and oversees special sections about senior living, wellness and home improvement for ScripType Publishing, a collection of nine monthly magazines in Summit and Cuyahoga counties in Ohio.