Elderly Problems   by Boomeryearbook.com

Positive Psychology

For so many baby boomers, retirement is the light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. For others, retirement represents the tunnel itself – a slow stroll into darkness and the end of life as we know it! It need not be that way: making the transition into a life that excludes regular working hours need not mean you will spend your days knitting socks or (please, no!) stamp collecting.

Baby boomers are resourceful and active members of the community as a rule. For those who have neglected their social duties within their community, retirement represents a great opportunity to take on new challenges for fund raising, charitable work and putting other people first for a change.

Retirement is often a matter of attitude and taking a positive approach to having a great deal more time on your hands than you are used to. For many ladies, having their husbands at home and ‘under their feet all day’ sends them crazy for the first unfamiliar months of retirement but often the strangeness is replaced by euphoria as new hobbies and interests are discovered and along with them a renewed sense of purpose.

Some people find that in retirement their time slowly becomes even more compromised than when they were holding down busy jobs as they begin to take an interest in parties; social gatherings that include sporting interests such as golf and bowls and taking the opportunity to travel. Others finally get around to taking in a new pet they have been longing for. When you are working and out all day, it can be impractical to consider giving a dog a home. Finally, in retirement, a pet is on the agenda and with it all the new responsibilities having a pet means; such as exercising and training.

As baby boomers look down the retirement tunnel, they see either golden opportunities or ill-deserved punishment, depending on their point of view. Taking the attitude that the years ahead are going to be filled with nothingness and trivia will get you into the grave (or the grave of depression) sooner than even you gloomily predicted! Put some rose colored spectacles on and make some positive inquiries about how you are going to utilize your time. Make the presumption early on that your time is valuable, because it is!

For baby boomers with a limited imagination, there are clubs and societies for newly retired ladies and gents with an appetite for activity and plenty of life left in them, with a wealth of suggestions on how to learn new skills and make new friends while you are doing so. Find one of them and spend your retirement in fulfilment and satisfaction, instead of moping about the career that is now behind you.

Stamp collecting and macramé classes might understandably not be for you. If you are active and interested in new things, your retirement should offer every chance to explore new horizons and social opportunities.

The Psychological Article on Baby Boomer Hobbies and Pastimes: What to Do With Your Time on Retirement is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of baby boomers psychological coaching tips and how to alleviate elderly problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!

Baby Boomers Guide to Kubler Ross's Stages Mourning

Resolving elderly problems

By Boomeryearbook.com

There is no need to cry, because it did not really happen. There is no need to make any adjustments to your life because nothing has changed. This is the message that churns in the unconscious mind of a baby boomer in the first stage of grieving. Grief in its early stages is all the more difficult to cope with for someone who is pretending the deceased is still part of their life and might walk through the door any time now.

Denial often features in the grieving process even before the other party has died. It can begin in the final hours, days or weeks of terminal illness, making a patient’s last experiences more painful as he or she realizes how badly their partner is going to deal with their death. In practical terms, someone who is actively denying their partner is dying can wreck havoc by refusing to make allowances for serious illness. If it is not happening, there is no need to accommodate it, right? For a baby boomer who is trying to accept and deal with his or her own death, it seems cruel that their partner might persist in trying new doctors, new medication, new approaches to a disease for which there is no cure.

For people who have enjoyed a long marriage or partnership, the denial process is more pronounced, especially if the relationship has been particularly devoted. A determined baby boomer style refusal to take imminent death on board as a reality can put off the inevitable side kick of grieving: tears. Crying over a death, sometimes before it actually occurs, is part of the natural process of releasing emotional pressure. The old adage ‘You’ll feel better after a good cry’ carries a valuable piece of advice when coming to terms with death and loss.

A baby boomer who has not yet overcome denial and gone on to the second stage of grieving often comes up against severe criticism for appearing to be casual or complacent over the death of a deeply loved partner. Their attitude might be mistaken for callousness but in fact they are merely in denial. The illness is not serious enough to kill, the death will not happen, the death has not happened, this sad stage of grieving can destroy all the beautiful exchanges of loving emotion that might occur immediately before death, making the second stage of grief – anger – even more furious as the person rages against the injustice of being deprived of their partner.

For a grieving baby boomer, the first stage of grief is the most painful. The first stage is considerably easier if the grieving process is accompanied by plenty of tears but sometimes people are unable to cry at this point. The first stage is different for everyone, of course: some people manage to go through the first stage in hours and some take weeks or even months. How do you know if the first stage has been passed? Usually the second stage is anger; laced with confrontational and irritable behaviour. Don’t worry – you’ll know!

The Psychological Article on Denial: The First Stage of Grief is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of baby boomers psychological coaching tips and how to alleviate elderly problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!

When Boomer Gets Fired

Psychological Articles on Elderly Problems

               by Boomeryearbook.com

The shock and distress of being fired can effectively cut your legs from under you. Early in your career when you are in the process of working a Saturday job to help pay for tuition or doing a casual few hours to earn some pocket change, getting fired for some small misconduct can almost seem a joke: getting fired as a middle aged baby boomer however, can be traumatic, upsetting and stressful.

For baby boomers who have already enjoyed a successful career and are now on their second job choice and learning a new skill, getting fired can be half expected, especially if the skills required are stubbornly proving too technical for baby boomer hands.

For those who are still in their chosen career and are fired to make way for more skilled juniors, the process is demeaning and can have a huge impact on personal confidence and the person’s desire to try another job.

Modern executives can sometimes display an unfortunate lack of diplomacy when it comes to terminating the employment of a long term employee. The phrase ‘hand in your keys at the desk’ haunts some people and with some justification in an economy where even the most competent personnel are moved out to make way for younger, cheaper, better skilled staff.

For many baby boomers with years of experience, the prospect of seeking work in the profession for which they are qualified turns sour and instead they become determined to seek employment at the opposite end of the scale, in a job that requires absolutely no initiative or skill other than to show up. This can be an indication of just how deeply affected the person has been by his or her termination of work.

When a person is fired, the effects can be both emotional and financial. However, there is no profit in sitting at home feeling gloomy because some over qualified executive young enough to be your grandson has declared you unfit for service. Get out and buy a newspaper and check the ‘Wanted’ ads before breakfast each morning. Use the time positively to get some exercise and assume you will be getting another job soon. Apply for everything that is within your range of qualifications and do not be deterred by the competition.

America is lucky enough to be one of the few countries in the World where opportunity is available to everyone. Taking the attitude of being defeated before you even begin is alien in a place where almost anything is possible if you want it enough. Use the free time you have to maximum advantage and visit the gym a couple of times each week instead of only once. Get fit and well enough to take on the World and perhaps you will get a better job than the one you lost.

Remember that if money is not short, it might be a good idea to brush up your skills before seeking more work. New qualifications are always viewed positively by prospective employers.

The Psychological Article on Dealing with Getting Fired is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of baby boomers psychological coaching tips and how to alleviate elderly problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!

Positive Psychology

Elderly Problems by Boomeryearbook.com

As baby boomers enter middle and older age, they are often struck by the sudden realization that they have not done all the things they wanted to do before it’s too late. This realization of mortality can be a bit of a blow to someone who failed to fly the Atlantic single handed or climb the World’s tallest mountain and although it is true that some of the expectations of success are unrealistic, it does not lessen the disappointment of knowing your capabilities are now too limited to even try.

The solution to finding contentment in later life often lies in being satisfied with one’s lot – often termed as ‘counting one’s blessings’. This positive attitude to life might be somewhat old fashioned but it certainly works better than constantly questioning life’s injustices and being permanently disillusioned and bitter. Baby boomers are traditionally opposed to defeatism but sometimes the weariness of years can result in an uncharacteristic negativity.

Psychological articles inform us that Positive psychology is something to be striven for in all areas of life. Looking on the brighter side of any situation can make the difference to being a happy human being with a portfolio of positive experiences, or being a grumpy and disillusioned wet blanket with nothing good to say about anyone or anything. Nobody would actively choose to be a negative thinker, yet so few take the initiative to learn how to be happy and content. As baby boomers approach older age, there is little time left for making life changes but this is one worth exploring no matter how old you are.

Positive psychology is one that embraces interaction between friends and sociability in all its forms. Baby boomers who insist on leading a solitary and isolated existence because they feel they have been dealt a bad hand in life rarely get the most out of their retirement and their friendships. A little enthusiasm is sometimes hard to muster, especially on those days when your arthritis is painful or you have just received a hugel utilities bill or you have dented your car. The point is, though, the alternative is wallowing in misery and making matters even worse in isolation.

For people who feel they have slipped into a habit of negative thinking, positive psychology could embrace putting bad things behind them and making a positive decision to set new goals and achieve them by determinedly following a positive path.

Routine can play a positive part in a new regime of happiness or it can de-rail efforts to make changes by restricting outings or resisting making new friends because they do not fall you’re your schedule. Make a positive effort to overcome difficulties and put a plan on track for a better outlook.

Positive psychology can be a therapeutic process when dealing with bereavement and loss and also help to overcome the emotional pain of divorce and separation. Putting the right healing processes in place at these times can be the answer to an early recovery from trauma.

The Psychological Article on Positive Psychology and Finding Happiness is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of baby boomers psychological coaching tips and how to alleviate elderly problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!

Life Coaching Wheel

Elderly Problems by Boomeryearbook.com

So few people consider using a life coach: for baby boomers with a reputation for independent pride, their attitude is sometimes: ‘I can look after my own life, thanks, I don’t need someone else’s advice for that…’ Well perhaps there is something to be said for being master of your own destiny. However, it seems a little short sighted (another problem in older age) to dismiss modern and useful ideas for the sake of being stubborn and insular.

Life coaching can turn your life around. Baby boomers at the mature side of life rather than the beginning can sometimes experience something of a crisis when work is no longer viable, the kids have left home in pursuit of their own families and careers, the partner may be gone, friends are moving away and your social life is dying with them. How depressing!

There is no need to look at life with a pessimistic attitude that declares you to be a victim of age and circumstance. The whole of life should be experienced and all of its events, both sad and happy, should be taken as a rich tapestry to be viewed and appreciated regardless. Life coaching teaches how to put traumatic events into perspective and also how to know when more professional assistance is required for emotional problems.

Much of life coaching for baby boomers entails a change of attitude to events that occur throughout middle and older age. For professional people who spend their lives in pursuit of gaining qualifications that enable them to practice, the time spent actually imparting their expertise can seem all too short before they are suddenly deemed to be too elderly for adequate use.

Early retirement can bring resentment and boredom. Hobbies and pastimes are often pursued too competitively for relaxation and the person ends up being a party pooper nobody wants to be friends with. A life coach can change all that and re-package attitudes, making the person more acceptable and nicer to know. Life’s changes can be a sudden shock, especially for those who thought their careers would extend into their booming senior years.

In retirement, life undergoes a permanent metamorphosis. Nothing is ever quite the same again. Dealing with all that alone can sometimes be too big a mountain to climb for even the most intelligent and well balanced baby boomers. The process of life coaching is a harnessing of emotional intelligence and involves redirecting energy toward a more productive set of social behavioral patterns. Life coaching can take the heat out of retirement and make the experience more enriching by putting focus on the important issues to be addressed and teaching how to leave the silly, trivial problems that complicate life to one side.

When finding a life coach, take care to ask for references and make sure you secure the services of a reputable professional. There are plenty of charlatans available online who have no actual ability to life coach but are there solely to secure deposit payments from the unsuspecting public before disappearing under a cloud. Also, never invite the person into your home until you are sure of their background and credentials.

The Psychological Article on Life Coaching for Baby Boomers is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of baby boomers psychological coaching tips and how to alleviate elderly problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!

Baby Boomers Guide to Downsizing

Elderly Problems by Boomeryearbook.com

For people who have to down size, oftentimes the reasons for the adjustment dictate the ability to deal with the changes. For people who have been struggling to keep a large house clean and in good repair for years, the down size can be something of a relief after all the hard work, and the prospect of being able to relax in a warmer and cosier atmosphere in the evenings something to look forward to. Baby boomers do tend to move at least once in their later years as a result of children growing up and moving on.

For people whose circumstances are less pleasant and for whom moving on is the result of financial loss, the adjustments can be less than pleasant. An amount of time might be necessary to become accustomed to the reduced amount of space in the home and the availability of cash to make alterations to décor. For baby boomers who have made unwise investments or who have been the victims of failed pension funds, the down size might be the last straw in a series of unpalatable events.

When facing such circumstances, there is something to be said for making the best of things. There is no doubt that getting out of bed each day with a spring in the step and looking forward to the day can produce a lifting of spirits to the extent that mourning for lost opportunities can take second priority to enjoying life. For baby boomers who might have lost beautiful homes and elegantly landscaped gardens they have lavished love and money on for years, however, such compensations seem inadequate.

Baby Boomers Moving On

Down sizing entails a reduction in circumstances in many different ways. Not only does the beautiful home of your dreams have to go, often the contents will overcrowd a smaller home, so you also have to say goodbye to the treasures collected over many years of traveling and antique hunting. The process is not a happy one. Some people never recover from the gloomy mood that overtakes the process of down sizing.

So what to do? The answer is of course to look on the more optimistic aspect of the move and try not to dwell on the past. For a while, it is best to avoid the old neighborhood if possible and concentrate on not looking back. If this is impossible, then try to occupy yourself with other interests and find reasons not to revisit your old house. Looking back into the past is non productive at this stage and a concentration on making the new home attractive is a better use of time and emotion.

For baby boomers down sizing for economic reasons, it might be a good idea to develop hobbies that embrace other areas other than home and hearth; at least for now! Once the open wound of losing a much loved home has healed, there will be other opportunities for refurbishing your new house.

The Psychological Article on Down Sizing and Coming to Terms with the Changes is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of baby boomers psychological coaching tips and how to alleviate elderly problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!