Loneliness a different perspective 1

I read an interesting article called “Loneliness can kill you.” The article looks at the neurological effects of loneliness. This is a perspective that I had not thought that much about, but the article and the research is interesting to those who are concerned about loneliness in seniors. I have taken some of the ideas from this report and hopefully, you find them interesting as well.

Among the many consequences of loneliness on body and mind, the lack of social contact encourages drug compensation and substance-use behaviour, such as alcoholism.

As people grow older, the social network typically becomes smaller – naturally diminishing the cognitive stimulation through frequent and intense social interaction daily, thus potentially reducing the neural reserve. Over the past century, the average human lifespan in developed nations has increased by nearly three decades. However, older people are also reported to show a decline in their capacity to take other people’s point of view, as demonstrated in three separate mentalizing tasks.

These authors of these studies showed that social cognition deficits were related to decreased neural activity responses. This capacity is likely to be particularly important when seniors are thinking about other people who are not physically present – where social cues such as facial expressions, mimics, and gestures are missing.

Both limited social stimulation and weakening social reflection capacities relate to the sense of loneliness in complex and important ways. Once lonely, bias for negative information processing of cues from others hinders social rehabilitation in a downward cycle. Many recent studies have corroborated the evidence that feelings of loneliness escalate the risk of certain neurological diseases in later life, especially Alzheimer’s disease.

We are social creatures. Social interplay and cooperation have fuelled the rapid ascent of human culture and civilization. However, we struggle when forced to live in isolation. The expansion of loneliness has accelerated in the past decade. As one consequence, the UK has launched the ‘Campaign to End Loneliness’ – a network of over 600 national, regional, and local organizations that aim to create the right conditions for reducing loneliness in later life. Such efforts speak to the growing public recognition and political will to confront this evolving societal challenge. These concerns are likely to be exacerbated if there are prolonged periods of social isolation imposed by national policy responses to extraordinary crises such as COVID-19.

Do you believe in Magic?

Do you believe in magic?

Do you believe that things like magical books or places exist?

Do you believe that a magical book could give you the power to change your life?

Of course not.

Magic isn’t real.

However, on this wonderful August Sunday Relax, listen to The Lovin' Spoonful and sing along with this great song;

Do you believe in magic in a young girl's heart How the music can free her whenever it starts? And it's magic if the music is groovy It makes you feel happy like an old-time movie I'll tell you about the magic, and it'll free your soul But it's like tryna tell a stranger 'bout-a rock and roll If you believe in magic, don't bother to choose If it's jug band music or rhythm and blues Just go and listen, and it'll start with a smile That won't wipe off your face no matter how hard you try Your feet start tapping, and you can't seem to find How you got there so just blow your mind If you believe in magic, come along with me We'll dance until morning till there's just you and me And maybe, if the music is right I'll meet you tomorrow, sort of late at night And we'll go dancing, baby, then you'll see How the magic's in the music and the music's in me Yeah Do you believe in magic? Yeah Believe in the magic of the young girl's soul Believe in the magic of-a rock and roll Believe in the magic that can set you free Ohh, talking 'bout the magic

Retirement is it our of your reach?

The following is from an idea from Forbes magazine, called is this the end of retirement.

The unemployment rate is higher than it was in the 1930s, many workers are facing uncertain futures as businesses close and some jobs will be lost forever. During the 2008-2009 turndown and in the 1930s and I think every major recession since older workers are going to be hit the hardest, as employers look for ways to cut costs. One way to do this is to hire younger workers at lower wages and force older workers into retirement. In the United States according to Ms. Barnes, the author of the article, and others age discrimination in hiring, is perfectly legal under federal law.

As an economy comes out a recession the Economists watch the Re-employment rate. This is the rate at which distinct groups are called back to work or get new jobs. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development older workers (aged 55-64 years) also have a higher incidence of displacement than prime-aged workers in many countries, after controlling for other factors, older workers have a significantly higher risk of displacement than prime-aged workers in all the countries for which data are available. Their chances of finding equivalent new work are slim. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the re-employment rate was 76 percent for workers ages 25 to 54 in January 2018. For those aged 55 to 64, the re-employment rate was 60 percent and for those aged 65 years and above it was a mere 31 percent.

Many spend down savings, work low-paid gig jobs that offer few, if any, benefits, and start collecting Social Security as soon as they become eligible, thereby losing up to a third of their potential benefits. Many in the United States are bankrupted by their healthcare “system.”

The Pew Research Center reports the COVID-19 outbreak has swelled the ranks of unemployed Americans by more than 14 million, up from 6.2 million in February to 20.5 million in May 2020. As usual, women suffer disproportionately, with 14.3% unemployment compared to 11.9% for men.

Even in the best of times, unemployed older workers, women, or men have difficulty finding new jobs.

The potential for harmful age discrimination in the months ahead is heightened by the fact that federal courts have effectively barred older workers from pursuing valid age discrimination claims.

The courts have left most older job applicants vulnerable to systemic age discrimination in hiring, including the widespread practice of targeting job advertisements to younger workers via social media.

The bottom line is that many more Americans can be expected to face a bleak old age in the coming years due to back-to-back economic catastrophes. Workers' lives are not unlimited. Many will be unable someday to drive for a ride-sharing service or pet sit.

The odds are stacked against older workers who tend to be more conservative in their political leanings. In many countries with Conservative or right-wing governments, these governments tend to work with business against the best interests of older workers. To change the situation older workers, need to think hard about which candidate or party deserves their support.

Leading Cause of Death in men

The following is from Medical News Today and was from June 24, 2020.

Most common causes of death for men

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the top killer when analyzing data from males of all age groups and ethnicities in a large 2017 data set for the United States. Nearly one-quarter of death in males is due to heart disease.

But, to understand the full picture, it makes more sense to look at the data broken down by age or ethnicity, as this changes the landscape quite significantly.

While heart disease may be the most common reason for death in all males taken together, accidents occupy the top spot for those under 45 years of age. In males between the ages of 45 and 85, it is cancer. Once men reach 85 years old, heart disease is the most common cause of death.

In males under 45 years, suicide is the second most common reason for death, while in males between the ages of 45 and 64, it is the sixth most common reason.

In males over 65 years, suicide is not one of the 10 most common reasons.

The third most common cause of death in males under 20 years of age is homicide. Between the ages of 20 and 44, homicide is in the fourth position, while it drops out of the list of the top 10 in males over 45 years.

When breaking down the data by ethnicity, heart disease once again takes the top spot for males of all ages, with cancer coming in the second position, except for Asian or Pacific Islanders where they are the other way around.

Rank	White	Black	American Indian or Alaska Native	Asian or Pacific Islander	Hispanic	All races and origins
1	Heart disease 24.7%	Heart disease 23.7%	Heart disease 19.4%	Cancer 24.8%	Heart disease 20.3%	Heart disease 24.2%
2	Cancer 22.4%	Cancer 20.2%	Cancer 16.4%	Heart disease 22.6%	Cancer 19.4%	Cancer 21.9%
3	Accidents 7.2%	Accidents 7.9%	Accidents 13.8%	Stroke 6.6%	Accidents 11.5%	Accidents 7.6%
4	Chronic lower respiratory diseases 5.9%	Homicide 5.0%	Diabetes 5.9%	Accidents 5.6%	Stroke 4.7%	Chronic lower respiratory diseases 5.2%
5	Stroke 4.1%	Stroke 4.9%	Chronic liver disease 5.3%	Diabetes 4.3%	Diabetes 4.7%	Stroke 4.3%
6	Alzheimer’s disease 2.9%	Diabetes 4.3%	Suicide 4.3%	Chronic lower respiratory diseases 3.2%	Chronic liver disease 4.0%	Diabetes 3.2%
7	Diabetes 2.8%	Chronic lower respiratory diseases 3.2%	Chronic lower respiratory diseases 4.2%	Influenza and pneumonia 3.1%	Suicide 2.9%	Alzheimer’s disease 2.6%
8	Suicide 2.7%	Kidney disease 2.6%	Stroke 3.1%	Suicide 2.7%	Chronic lower respiratory diseases 2.5%	Suicide 2.6%
9	Influenza and pneumonia 1.9%	Septicemia 1.7%	Homicide 1.9%	Alzheimer’s disease 2.1%	Homicide 2.4%	Influenza and pneumonia 1.8%
10	Chronic liver disease 1.7%	Hyper-tension 1.6%	Influenza and pneumonia 1.8%	Kidney disease 2.1%	Alzheimer’s disease 2.1%	Chronic liver disease 1.8%

The third most common cause of death is accidents in all males, except for Asian or Pacific Islanders, where it is stroke.

In position four, the reasons for dying become significantly more diverse. For all males taken together, as well as for white males as a subgroup, it is chronic lower respiratory diseases. For Black males, it is homicide, while for American Indian or Alaska Native males, it is diabetes, for Asian or Pacific Islander males, it is accidents, and for Hispanic males, it is stroke.

Suicide features in the eighth position for Asian or Pacific Islander and white males, in the sixth position for American Indian or Alaska Native males, and in the seventh position for Hispanic males. It is not in the 10 most common reasons for death for Black males.