Barbara (name changed for privacy) is a resident who lost most of her vision this year, due to an eye disease. Imagine that. Imagine how challenging your daily life would become if, within months, you could only see vague shapes and shadows. Somehow, like so many residents facing huge obstacles, Barbara continues to be active in Life Long Learner classes, fitness, and dancing. She'll tell you with a smile that she's not going to let vision loss stop her from enjoying life.
Webster's Dictionary defines resiliency as “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.” Considering that some of our residents have adjusted positively to over 100 years of challenges and change, we have a lot to learn about resilience from those living at Beatitudes. Working with residents on campus, I've had an opportunity not only to assist them adapt to physical, emotional, and mental changes, but I gather data on numerous aspects of their perceived health and wellbeing. And as it turns out, PERCEPTION seems to be a key factor in resiliency.
One tool I frequently use when meeting with new residents is a quality of life questionnaire. Interestingly, despite the various physical, mental, and emotional adversities our residents face, their reported overall quality of life score responses are on average “good.” For example, the average resident statistically experiences at least some mild pain in their day to day life and roughly 60% have cognitive impairment, and yet, their overall quality of life is reportedly “good.” Furthermore, the majority of our residents have hearing loss, visual changes, and have lost a spouse, family members, and friends they were close with, and yet, with few exceptions, they say their overall quality of life is “good.”
We should be pleased with these statistics at Beatitudes, especially since some of the very highest reported areas of quality of life scores are frequently in the areas of living environment. However, before we pat ourselves on the back too firmly and take credit for our residents' “good” quality of life, consider that simply aging may give older people an advantage over the young when it comes to developing resilience.
Evidence suggests that older adults generally have a positive outlook despite facing numerous challenges and changes, and there are several explanations. First, researchers are discovering that one's brain changes as we age to respond to incidents and setbacks more positively. Additionally, older age may bring about a better ability to regulate one's emotions and gain improved perspective from life experiences.
So what can we learn from our residents in the area of resiliency, in order to improve our own lives? How can I adopt the resiliency of a 90 year-old in my 30s? In her New York Times article on building resiliency in midlife, Tara Parker-Pope suggests the following:
- Practice optimism and hang out with optimistic people
- Rewrite your story to view tough times as opportunities for learning or positive change
- Remember your past comebacks
- Don't blame yourself and ruminate on all of your set-backs and mistakes
- Build deliberate stress breaks into your life
- Do things outside of your comfort zone
Lastly, one resident shared this wise advice: “I just try to be happy every day. Even when I'm not, I try. Then other people see my smile, and they smile. And then I really am happy.”
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