“Anytime that you have an opportunity to get closer to people, it’s a good thing.” says Wil, 94 and CircleTalk™ participant. “This weekly meeting gives all of us another chance to create a sense of community here (in assisted living) and find some purpose. We use our brains and revisit important old memories.” Background Society […]
What Makes Life Significant, and How We Can Enable Older Adults to Discover this Again
In 2014 Atul Gwande published his seminal book, Being Mortal, exploring end of life values and perspectives by the medical establishment. He says, “As people become aware of the finitude of their life, they do not ask for much. They do not seek more riches. They do not seek more power. They ask only to […]
Letting the Force of Our Character Rise Above Our Circumstances
We regret to announce the opportunity for connection is now postponed, suspended indefinitely or cancelled…… Everywhere I look, gatherings, events, conferences and programs are either not happening in 2020 or are threatened due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Feeling somewhat despondent that this situation leaves all of us more isolated and alone in our existence, I […]
Emotional Exile. Frontline Workers and Professionals Coping Inside the Loneliness Epidemic.
“… it should never be taken lightly, the essential loneliness of people …that gaping darkness…” (from Olive Again, a 2019 novel by Elizabeth Strout). This passage jumped out at me and pulled hard on my heartstrings. Frontline workers and professionals in senior healthcare are surrounded by people who face this gaping darkness every day. These […]
What Opens Your Heart?
Important Research Looks at Emotionally Satisfying Experiences and Quality Relationships. No, pondering this question is not self-obsession. This is important self-knowledge about what makes us tick, connect and thrive in social settings. As we age our networks change and perhaps shrink; people in our lives move and die and our own physical capabilities to be […]
January Virtual Training – Sold Out!
** NOTIFICATION ** We are officially sold out for our first CircleTalk™ Virtual Leader Course! Please join us for our next CircleTalk™ Virtual Leader Course coming up in May 2020. Details can be found on our website at – https://www.circletalk.org/ This course is available as a 5 module virtual learning experience. Participants will be guided […]
Making Friends as a Lifelong Skill
We are all human beings. A short tutorial on making friends from Gerda Here is Gerda, one of the most fearless people I know when it comes to staying involved in what I call the social fabric of a community. Gerda, living at home until recently, typifies the person that we describe today as being […]
Mental Health while Aging – New News, Old News and Good News
What’s New News? The New News is the convergence of prolific data through research studies that says social isolation and loneliness is bad for your heart. Social isolation, especially among seniors, can be used to predict cardiovascular health outcomes. Overall, lack of social support and connectedness was found to be the strongest and most consistent […]
The Cost of the Emotional Labor on the Senior Living Space
Could more be done to support frontline workers? Those who have worked in senior living communities know it can be both challenging and rewarding. With this in mind, one survey and one study conducted within the senior industry have recently caught my eye. The Distressing Worker Shortage in the Senior Living Industry In August 2018, […]
Rebranding Aging: How Ageism is a Problem That We Can Do Something About
I am observing that ageism is all around us. As a spirited boomer, I feel grossly misunderstood and misrepresented. Why am I looked at as a social liability? Why doesn’t society attach more value to my “cohort” – one that possesses valuable knowledge, perspectives and ideas that can strengthen our communities? Some of the less […]
