October 1, 2025 • 16 mins
Loneliness isn't just an emotional challenge for seniors—it's a serious health crisis that can literally shorten lives. When a spouse passes away after decades of marriage, the surviving partner often follows within a year, not from illness but from losing their reason to live. But it doesn't have to be this way.
This eye-opening episode dives deep into how social connection acts as a vital life force for aging adults. You'll hear powerful real-world examples, like a grandfather who survived six years after losing his wife thanks to a fishing buddy, and a 75-year-old woman crushing CrossFit workouts at 5 AM—a hobby she only started at 67. The science backs these stories: socially active seniors are 50% less likely to develop dementia, while isolation can lead to premature death and significantly higher risks of cognitive decline.
Despite their desire to stay engaged (over 70% of people over 60 want to continue traveling and trying new experiences), many seniors face barriers that keep them isolated. We explore practical solutions for overcoming social anxiety, health concerns, and other obstacles that prevent older adults from maintaining active social lives. Whether it's attending recurring events, pursuing lifelong learning, or simply finding creative ways to connect with peers, these strategies don't just add years to life—they add life to years. For caregivers and family members, this episode offers concrete steps to help your aging loved ones build meaningful connections that will sustain them physically, emotionally, and mentally through their golden years.
Want to transform a senior's life? Reach out to us at Helperly to learn how we can help create special social experiences tailored to your loved one's needs and interests.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome back to Senior Care Academy.
This episode is just me talkingabout something I think is
important, and so we're gonna betalking about how retirement
isn't just about slowing down.
It's about staying engaged,making new memories and enjoying
life to the fullest.
So in this episode today, Iwant to talk about a very
important aspect of aging, whichis how to stay socially active
(00:30):
in your golden years.
The reason why this is kind oftop of mind is I've stumbled on
some interesting statisticsabout social engagement and some
use cases.
So I want to start out with ause case.
I was talking to a friend thislast week, actually about his
grandpa.
I want to say and there's astatistic out there that if
(00:54):
you're married for 50 years andyour spouse dies, you could be
in perfect health and within 12months the surviving spouse
passes away at like 75% of thetime.
But his grandpa ended up livingfor like another six years and
there's only one thing that hecould attribute it to, and it
(01:15):
was his social engagement.
He had a reason to still live,and that's the reason why, in
that scenario, when people passafter their spouse passes, it's
because they don't feel likethey have a person or somebody
to live for, and so he got kindof lucky.
One of his buddies hisgrandpa's buddies said hey,
(01:37):
let's go fishing.
And then it turned into thiswhole thing.
They had this fishing group.
They would do other stuff forsix years and then, when that
buddy died, had passed away hisfishing buddy.
It was within three months thathis grandpa passed.
And so just an anecdote to howimportant social engagement is.
And even on on in my life, mygrandma passed away a few years
(01:57):
ago and my grandpa.
They'd been married for almost60 years and he and he's still
going strong, and I think it hasa lot to do with his son lives
right down the road, he's veryactive in his church, he has
animals and livestock on hisranch that require him to get up
every single day, and so he hasthese things and he has a
(02:19):
community and responsibilitiesthat keep him alive.
So, all to say that socialengagement is vital not only for
, like, emotional and mental,but even physical health.
There's studies that show thatstaying socially active can
lower the risk of depression,cognitive decline, even heart
disease.
There's lots out there fromCOVID, basically, the studies
(02:42):
about loneliness and isolationcame out, where an older person
can die three to five yearsearlier just because they feel
lonely, or they have four timeshigher risk of premature death
or dementia and all these things.
So that's why I think it'sreally important.
And then there was a nationalperspective.
So the national institute ofaging reports that socially
(03:03):
active seniors are 50 lesslikely to develop dementia and
they have lower stress levels.
The Utah perspective the UtahDepartment of Health notes that
nearly 30% of seniors in thestate experience some sort of
isolation which can negativelyimpact their well-being.
Which is crazy if you're notinside of Utah Utah is a very
family-centric state crazy ifyou're not inside of Utah Utah
(03:27):
is a very family-centric state.
And so if 30% of seniors insideof Utah are feeling this way,
imagine what it is outside,where we don't have as big of
families, we don't have asentwined, just general religious
communities and things likethat.
So today I want to talk about afew different ways that you can
help your whether it's a clientof yours and you're in the
(03:48):
senior space, or a parent ofyours or a loved one stay
socially active.
The first one is kind ofobvious.
It's attending social eventsand gatherings.
So whether it's volunteeropportunities or the senior
center or even church, likegoing and finding some
(04:08):
organization that they can go toand making a habit out of it.
So it's really nice to haverecurring.
Even if they're a huge sportsfan, it's worth the couple
thousand dollars that you'dspend getting season tickets to
the jazz games, because thenyou're able to make friends with
the people that you're sittingnext to.
It's something that they'reable to start planning on and
(04:30):
looking forward to and buildingthat community around.
Um, yeah, sports events, familygatherings, um something that
my family does we do a familydinner once a month just things
that they can look forward to.
Um, local concerts, fairs.
We're kind of getting to thetail end of the year where
farmer's markets aren't as bigbut farmer's markets throughout
(04:51):
the summertime, just getting outand being seen.
Actually, today it was kind offun.
I was driving down the road andthis isn't a social gathering,
but I think it talks about whatwe're talking about right now.
There was this older man whenwas I driving?
I was in like Murray and he wassitting in his driveway in his
wheelchair and every car thatwent past he just like big smile
(05:15):
and he'd wave at it.
So he waved at me and made myday, and I'm sure it makes his
day when people wave back, andthat's his effort to kind of be
sociable.
The next is lifelong learningand hobbies.
So I think a lot of people likemyself included I played
saxophone in junior high andhigh school and I haven't picked
(05:35):
it up since, and so I forgothow, and I think that that's
normal.
Like a lot of people, they getbusy and whatnot, and so now
that they're in their retirementyears, they have more time
helping them be like okay, let'spick up the saxophone again, or
let's pick up fishing again orwhatever.
Um, and that's to pick up oldthings, but also like learn new
things.
So take a knitting class or apainting class or a cooking
(05:58):
class or go to a dance studio.
There's so many places whereone it keeps your brain active
because you're trying to learnsomething new, but also it will
keep your community active.
You'll start making friends.
We have a lady that we're goingto have on the podcast here
soon.
She's 75 and she is stilltearing it up at CrossFit at 5
(06:21):
am every morning.
It's crazy, crazy, cool, butthings like that.
She didn't pick it up until shewas.
I think she was 65 or 67 whenshe started CrossFit, and so
it's never too late to like trysomething new.
And then national opportunities.
So lots of universities havefree or discounted courses for
(06:43):
seniors, like lifelong learning.
If you wanted to, if you'vealways been curious about
architecture or something, youcan do a senior class and it's
free.
And then in Utah we have theOsher Lifelong Learning
Institute that the University ofUtah does.
It offers courses for olderadults.
So if you're interested in Utah, we have the Osher Lifelong
Learning Institute that theUniversity of Utah does.
It offers courses for olderadults.
So if you're interested in that, you can go to continueutahedu
slash Osher O-S-H-E-R, which isa really cool resource.
(07:09):
And again, if you're listeningfor a loved one, just in passing
, next time you go and see theminstead of just talking about,
like the weather or the news orlike whatever's going on, take a
minute and show them thesesites, because they might be
really excited and pick them upand get into it.
So obviously all these thingssound super great and super
(07:30):
awesome and you're like, yeah, Iwant to help support my loved
ones or the elderly people thatI care for.
Like, yeah, I want to helpsupport my loved ones or the
elderly people that I care for,but there's very clear barriers
for socialization.
So I want to talk now about howdo you overcome these barriers,
because some seniors there'sanother interesting statistica
(07:51):
is that seniors it's like over70% or something of people over
60 really want to continuetraveling.
They still want to do newthings, they want to try new
things, but they don't.
And at the same time, there'sall those people that have that
desire, but then seniors thatsay they have an active bucket
(08:20):
list drop to like less than 30%as soon as they turn 61, which
isn't even like old.
And the biggest, the threebiggest reasons why is one
community Like they don't havefriends to go out with or
they're scared, and socialanxiety and things.
The second is health concerns.
So whether it's likeincontinence or medication
reminders or you don't want tofall Um.
And then the third is, ofcourse, cost.
But so we can handle a few ofthose with cost, um.
(08:44):
I would just say, if you havean aging loved one, support them
on that, on their desire totravel, um.
But overcoming the other ones,like the mobility issues or the
lack of transportation or socialanxiety.
One I would say for the socialanxiety and something that we
actually try to do at Helperlyis, say, you buy your parent
(09:08):
season tickets to the jazz andyou're like this is so great, I
just spent a couple thousandtrying to help mom get out in
the community, but then she'snot going to games and you're
like what the heck is going on?
It's probably has a little bitto do with the mobility or
whatever, maybe, but socialanxiety of like, well, I don't
want to go sit next to strangersevery single game or I don't
want to go alone, or whathappens if I get stuck getting
(09:32):
into the game, or like all thewhat ifs, what ifs, what ifs
that we have in our 20s, 30s,40s and 50s the same worries
that we have of trying somethingnew.
They have, except amplifiedbecause they're old, you know,
and there's all these stigmasand whatnot.
So the thing that we try to dobefore and what I would say is
(09:54):
find a Facebook group or find asenior group or go to the first
few games with them and see whoelse is a season ticket holder
in that area and create theconnections beforehand.
Like, if you think about thedating scene today, people are
DMing, swiping and all thesethings, talking to people before
(10:16):
they ever, ever would eventhink about going and meeting
them in person.
So doing that for our agingloved ones or for our elderly
clients is try to make theseconnections beforehand, get them
introduced.
Texting or even a phone call oremailing or like sending pigeon
letters, I don't know whatevertechnology you want to use just
(10:37):
get them connected to whoever'sgoing to be inside of that
organization, that club orwhatever, so that way they have
a built-in friend and they canbe not going to a jazz game.
They're going to a jazz gamewith Sue, you know, with their
new best friend, and then withthe health concerns that can be
(10:58):
very real, especially when itcomes to, like incontinence or
lack of stability, mobility, andso what you can do with that.
That's one of the reasons why,with Helperly, we're starting to
create that space where we canhelp seniors at these events, be
kind of their the extra set ofhands, but getting them the
(11:21):
support that they need, even ifit's you going as their daughter
or son or grandkid, to just bethere with them.
Or it would not be difficult tofind somebody that has whether
it's in their community, theirreligious group or even hiring a
company that has experiencewith caregiving to say, hey, do
(11:44):
you want to?
I'll pay for your ticket.
Do you want to go to a jazzgame?
Um, it's a lot of fun, makesthem feel more sociable and then
it helps kind of curb that fearbecause they have somebody to
grab onto if they're worriedabout stability, if they are
stressed about being able tomake it to the bathroom so they
don't have any incontinenceissues they have somebody there
(12:05):
right next to them and thenthose are the big ones that they
know.
Pre or making those friends.
If you can, giving them like aweek or two to get to know them
before they go and hang out,treat it almost like a first
date on a dating app.
Like, give them time, you know,um, even new buddies.
(12:25):
Like I go to networking eventsand whatnot and I'm like I don't
know, I hope these people herelike me.
It'd be fun to like get to knowthem beforehand.
Um.
And then kind of rounding it off, talking about the caregiver's
role in encouragingsocialization Um, so we talked a
lot about this, but you as acaregiver, so taking care of
(12:46):
your loved one, are you able toencourage them to participate in
activities, set up socialengagements and then join them
on the outing?
The way that I would bring itup.
It sounds overly simplistic,but just ask Be like hey, what?
What are my favorite questions?
What's something you've alwayswanted to do but never have had
the chance to?
Or what is something you usedto do?
(13:08):
Um, when I was 16, I was goingout fishing with my grandpa and
I like came to and realized like, oh my gosh, my grandpa's 76.
That means he's been alive for60 years before I was even born.
Grandpa, what did you like todo when you were my age?
And he talked about how heplayed donkey basketball, which
I thought was crazy that evenexisted.
(13:28):
But anyways, asking about whathe used to like to do kind of
led into other conversations oflike things that oh, so I don't
think donkey basketball isaround anymore, but rodeos or
like something like that where Icould help get him excited
about going to a rodeo, justasking, naturally.
(13:57):
And then I've found, probably atleast 50% of the time, you kind
of need to surprise them.
They're not going to activelysay like, yes, I would love to
go to a rodeo with you, becausethey don't want to feel like
they're a burden.
But if you say, hey, we'regoing to a rodeo, I got these
tickets, they are going to bethrilled that you want to feel
like they're a burden.
But if you say, hey, we'regoing to a rodeo, I got these
tickets, they are going to bethrilled that you want to go
with them.
So I can encourage them.
Start small, even if it's likea farmer's market or something
free or just something wherethey can start making these
(14:19):
friends, and then just helpremind them of the benefits, to
make it so that it's excitingfor them.
It's not a chore to go out andgo to the farmer's market or go
do these fun things and makethese new friends.
It's a way that makes it so.
(14:41):
That way they can have the mostfulfilling time of their life,
like psychologically.
One of the things that helpolder adults stay engaged and
excited and happy about life ishaving a community of peers in
the same phase of life as them.
So if you can help them getover that barrier of like
feeling weird or not wanting todo it or having social anxiety
like all of us do, then it'stotally worth it and it can
(15:03):
literally add years of life andyears of their, your
relationship with them.
Um, like, I do anything to keepmy grandpa alive for another
decade so that way my son canride horses with him, um, and so
if it means helping him makefriends at the rodeo, like I'm,
it's worth this, the juice isworth the squeeze to help keep
(15:24):
them around during that time.
So those are kind of mythoughts.
Today is just how important itis to have social connection,
obviously with, like, theirfamily and loved ones, but with
their peer group out in thecommunity.
Making friends, doing thingsthat they love um can keep their
quality of life up andobviously all of their um
(15:48):
emotional, mental, butdefinitely their physical health
will increase just by havingfriends.
So that's my invitation thisweek is figure out a really uh,
as easy of a way as you can totry to get them out in the
community.
If you need some help, helpearly.
We actually have um corporatepartnerships and things like
(16:09):
that to make it a really specialexperience.
So, like, if you're going to goto the jazz game, you can have
the jazz bear come and say hiand we can help with the
caregiver side of things.
Um, it's super simple.
And so if you want help, ifyou're running out of ideas or
running out of hope and you need, you want them to be engaged in
the community, but you don'tknow where to start.
You can reach out to us and wewill get you connected and get
(16:32):
them out making new friends.
And thanks for coming andlistening to me talk about this
for a little bit on Senior CareAcademy.
Welcome back to Senior Care Academy.
This episode is just me talkingabout something I think is
important, and so we're gonna betalking about how retirement
isn't just about slowing down.
It's about staying engaged,making new memories and enjoying
life to the fullest.
So in this episode today, Iwant to talk about a very
important aspect of aging, whichis how to stay socially active
(00:30):
in your golden years.
The reason why this is kind oftop of mind is I've stumbled on
some interesting statisticsabout social engagement and some
use cases.
So I want to start out with ause case.
I was talking to a friend thislast week, actually about his
grandpa.
I want to say and there's astatistic out there that if
(00:54):
you're married for 50 years andyour spouse dies, you could be
in perfect health and within 12months the surviving spouse
passes away at like 75% of thetime.
But his grandpa ended up livingfor like another six years and
there's only one thing that hecould attribute it to, and it
(01:15):
was his social engagement.
He had a reason to still live,and that's the reason why, in
that scenario, when people passafter their spouse passes, it's
because they don't feel likethey have a person or somebody
to live for, and so he got kindof lucky.
One of his buddies hisgrandpa's buddies said hey,
(01:37):
let's go fishing.
And then it turned into thiswhole thing.
They had this fishing group.
They would do other stuff forsix years and then, when that
buddy died, had passed away hisfishing buddy.
It was within three months thathis grandpa passed.
And so just an anecdote to howimportant social engagement is.
And even on on in my life, mygrandma passed away a few years
(01:57):
ago and my grandpa.
They'd been married for almost60 years and he and he's still
going strong, and I think it hasa lot to do with his son lives
right down the road, he's veryactive in his church, he has
animals and livestock on hisranch that require him to get up
every single day, and so he hasthese things and he has a
(02:19):
community and responsibilitiesthat keep him alive.
So, all to say that socialengagement is vital not only for
, like, emotional and mental,but even physical health.
There's studies that show thatstaying socially active can
lower the risk of depression,cognitive decline, even heart
disease.
There's lots out there fromCOVID, basically, the studies
(02:42):
about loneliness and isolationcame out, where an older person
can die three to five yearsearlier just because they feel
lonely, or they have four timeshigher risk of premature death
or dementia and all these things.
So that's why I think it'sreally important.
And then there was a nationalperspective.
So the national institute ofaging reports that socially
(03:03):
active seniors are 50 lesslikely to develop dementia and
they have lower stress levels.
The Utah perspective the UtahDepartment of Health notes that
nearly 30% of seniors in thestate experience some sort of
isolation which can negativelyimpact their well-being.
Which is crazy if you're notinside of Utah Utah is a very
family-centric state crazy ifyou're not inside of Utah Utah
(03:27):
is a very family-centric state.
And so if 30% of seniors insideof Utah are feeling this way,
imagine what it is outside,where we don't have as big of
families, we don't have asentwined, just general religious
communities and things likethat.
So today I want to talk about afew different ways that you can
help your whether it's a clientof yours and you're in the
(03:48):
senior space, or a parent ofyours or a loved one stay
socially active.
The first one is kind ofobvious.
It's attending social eventsand gatherings.
So whether it's volunteeropportunities or the senior
center or even church, likegoing and finding some
(04:08):
organization that they can go toand making a habit out of it.
So it's really nice to haverecurring.
Even if they're a huge sportsfan, it's worth the couple
thousand dollars that you'dspend getting season tickets to
the jazz games, because thenyou're able to make friends with
the people that you're sittingnext to.
It's something that they'reable to start planning on and
(04:30):
looking forward to and buildingthat community around.
Um, yeah, sports events, familygatherings, um something that
my family does we do a familydinner once a month just things
that they can look forward to.
Um, local concerts, fairs.
We're kind of getting to thetail end of the year where
farmer's markets aren't as bigbut farmer's markets throughout
(04:51):
the summertime, just getting outand being seen.
Actually, today it was kind offun.
I was driving down the road andthis isn't a social gathering,
but I think it talks about whatwe're talking about right now.
There was this older man whenwas I driving?
I was in like Murray and he wassitting in his driveway in his
wheelchair and every car thatwent past he just like big smile
(05:15):
and he'd wave at it.
So he waved at me and made myday, and I'm sure it makes his
day when people wave back, andthat's his effort to kind of be
sociable.
The next is lifelong learningand hobbies.
So I think a lot of people likemyself included I played
saxophone in junior high andhigh school and I haven't picked
(05:35):
it up since, and so I forgothow, and I think that that's
normal.
Like a lot of people, they getbusy and whatnot, and so now
that they're in their retirementyears, they have more time
helping them be like okay, let'spick up the saxophone again, or
let's pick up fishing again orwhatever.
Um, and that's to pick up oldthings, but also like learn new
things.
So take a knitting class or apainting class or a cooking
(05:58):
class or go to a dance studio.
There's so many places whereone it keeps your brain active
because you're trying to learnsomething new, but also it will
keep your community active.
You'll start making friends.
We have a lady that we're goingto have on the podcast here
soon.
She's 75 and she is stilltearing it up at CrossFit at 5
(06:21):
am every morning.
It's crazy, crazy, cool, butthings like that.
She didn't pick it up until shewas.
I think she was 65 or 67 whenshe started CrossFit, and so
it's never too late to like trysomething new.
And then national opportunities.
So lots of universities havefree or discounted courses for
(06:43):
seniors, like lifelong learning.
If you wanted to, if you'vealways been curious about
architecture or something, youcan do a senior class and it's
free.
And then in Utah we have theOsher Lifelong Learning
Institute that the University ofUtah does.
It offers courses for olderadults.
So if you're interested in Utah, we have the Osher Lifelong
Learning Institute that theUniversity of Utah does.
It offers courses for olderadults.
So if you're interested in that, you can go to continueutahedu
slash Osher O-S-H-E-R, which isa really cool resource.
(07:09):
And again, if you're listeningfor a loved one, just in passing
, next time you go and see theminstead of just talking about,
like the weather or the news orlike whatever's going on, take a
minute and show them thesesites, because they might be
really excited and pick them upand get into it.
So obviously all these thingssound super great and super
(07:30):
awesome and you're like, yeah, Iwant to help support my loved
ones or the elderly people thatI care for.
Like, yeah, I want to helpsupport my loved ones or the
elderly people that I care for,but there's very clear barriers
for socialization.
So I want to talk now about howdo you overcome these barriers,
because some seniors there'sanother interesting statistica
(07:51):
is that seniors it's like over70% or something of people over
60 really want to continuetraveling.
They still want to do newthings, they want to try new
things, but they don't.
And at the same time, there'sall those people that have that
desire, but then seniors thatsay they have an active bucket
(08:20):
list drop to like less than 30%as soon as they turn 61, which
isn't even like old.
And the biggest, the threebiggest reasons why is one
community Like they don't havefriends to go out with or
they're scared, and socialanxiety and things.
The second is health concerns.
So whether it's likeincontinence or medication
reminders or you don't want tofall Um.
And then the third is, ofcourse, cost.
But so we can handle a few ofthose with cost, um.
(08:44):
I would just say, if you havean aging loved one, support them
on that, on their desire totravel, um.
But overcoming the other ones,like the mobility issues or the
lack of transportation or socialanxiety.
One I would say for the socialanxiety and something that we
actually try to do at Helperlyis, say, you buy your parent
(09:08):
season tickets to the jazz andyou're like this is so great, I
just spent a couple thousandtrying to help mom get out in
the community, but then she'snot going to games and you're
like what the heck is going on?
It's probably has a little bitto do with the mobility or
whatever, maybe, but socialanxiety of like, well, I don't
want to go sit next to strangersevery single game or I don't
want to go alone, or whathappens if I get stuck getting
(09:32):
into the game, or like all thewhat ifs, what ifs, what ifs
that we have in our 20s, 30s,40s and 50s the same worries
that we have of trying somethingnew.
They have, except amplifiedbecause they're old, you know,
and there's all these stigmasand whatnot.
So the thing that we try to dobefore and what I would say is
(09:54):
find a Facebook group or find asenior group or go to the first
few games with them and see whoelse is a season ticket holder
in that area and create theconnections beforehand.
Like, if you think about thedating scene today, people are
DMing, swiping and all thesethings, talking to people before
(10:16):
they ever, ever would eventhink about going and meeting
them in person.
So doing that for our agingloved ones or for our elderly
clients is try to make theseconnections beforehand, get them
introduced.
Texting or even a phone call oremailing or like sending pigeon
letters, I don't know whatevertechnology you want to use just
(10:37):
get them connected to whoever'sgoing to be inside of that
organization, that club orwhatever, so that way they have
a built-in friend and they canbe not going to a jazz game.
They're going to a jazz gamewith Sue, you know, with their
new best friend, and then withthe health concerns that can be
(10:58):
very real, especially when itcomes to, like incontinence or
lack of stability, mobility, andso what you can do with that.
That's one of the reasons why,with Helperly, we're starting to
create that space where we canhelp seniors at these events, be
kind of their the extra set ofhands, but getting them the
(11:21):
support that they need, even ifit's you going as their daughter
or son or grandkid, to just bethere with them.
Or it would not be difficult tofind somebody that has whether
it's in their community, theirreligious group or even hiring a
company that has experiencewith caregiving to say, hey, do
(11:44):
you want to?
I'll pay for your ticket.
Do you want to go to a jazzgame?
Um, it's a lot of fun, makesthem feel more sociable and then
it helps kind of curb that fearbecause they have somebody to
grab onto if they're worriedabout stability, if they are
stressed about being able tomake it to the bathroom so they
don't have any incontinenceissues they have somebody there
(12:05):
right next to them and thenthose are the big ones that they
know.
Pre or making those friends.
If you can, giving them like aweek or two to get to know them
before they go and hang out,treat it almost like a first
date on a dating app.
Like, give them time, you know,um, even new buddies.
(12:25):
Like I go to networking eventsand whatnot and I'm like I don't
know, I hope these people herelike me.
It'd be fun to like get to knowthem beforehand.
Um.
And then kind of rounding it off, talking about the caregiver's
role in encouragingsocialization Um, so we talked a
lot about this, but you as acaregiver, so taking care of
(12:46):
your loved one, are you able toencourage them to participate in
activities, set up socialengagements and then join them
on the outing?
The way that I would bring itup.
It sounds overly simplistic,but just ask Be like hey, what?
What are my favorite questions?
What's something you've alwayswanted to do but never have had
the chance to?
Or what is something you usedto do?
(13:08):
Um, when I was 16, I was goingout fishing with my grandpa and
I like came to and realized like, oh my gosh, my grandpa's 76.
That means he's been alive for60 years before I was even born.
Grandpa, what did you like todo when you were my age?
And he talked about how heplayed donkey basketball, which
I thought was crazy that evenexisted.
(13:28):
But anyways, asking about whathe used to like to do kind of
led into other conversations oflike things that oh, so I don't
think donkey basketball isaround anymore, but rodeos or
like something like that where Icould help get him excited
about going to a rodeo, justasking, naturally.
(13:57):
And then I've found, probably atleast 50% of the time, you kind
of need to surprise them.
They're not going to activelysay like, yes, I would love to
go to a rodeo with you, becausethey don't want to feel like
they're a burden.
But if you say, hey, we'regoing to a rodeo, I got these
tickets, they are going to bethrilled that you want to feel
like they're a burden.
But if you say, hey, we'regoing to a rodeo, I got these
tickets, they are going to bethrilled that you want to go
with them.
So I can encourage them.
Start small, even if it's likea farmer's market or something
free or just something wherethey can start making these
(14:19):
friends, and then just helpremind them of the benefits, to
make it so that it's excitingfor them.
It's not a chore to go out andgo to the farmer's market or go
do these fun things and makethese new friends.
It's a way that makes it so.
(14:41):
That way they can have the mostfulfilling time of their life,
like psychologically.
One of the things that helpolder adults stay engaged and
excited and happy about life ishaving a community of peers in
the same phase of life as them.
So if you can help them getover that barrier of like
feeling weird or not wanting todo it or having social anxiety
like all of us do, then it'stotally worth it and it can
(15:03):
literally add years of life andyears of their, your
relationship with them.
Um, like, I do anything to keepmy grandpa alive for another
decade so that way my son canride horses with him, um, and so
if it means helping him makefriends at the rodeo, like I'm,
it's worth this, the juice isworth the squeeze to help keep
(15:24):
them around during that time.
So those are kind of mythoughts.
Today is just how important itis to have social connection,
obviously with, like, theirfamily and loved ones, but with
their peer group out in thecommunity.
Making friends, doing thingsthat they love um can keep their
quality of life up andobviously all of their um
(15:48):
emotional, mental, butdefinitely their physical health
will increase just by havingfriends.
So that's my invitation thisweek is figure out a really uh,
as easy of a way as you can totry to get them out in the
community.
If you need some help, helpearly.
We actually have um corporatepartnerships and things like
(16:09):
that to make it a really specialexperience.
So, like, if you're going to goto the jazz game, you can have
the jazz bear come and say hiand we can help with the
caregiver side of things.
Um, it's super simple.
And so if you want help, ifyou're running out of ideas or
running out of hope and you need, you want them to be engaged in
the community, but you don'tknow where to start.
You can reach out to us and wewill get you connected and get
(16:32):
them out making new friends.
And thanks for coming andlistening to me talk about this
for a little bit on Senior CareAcademy.
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