As George Burns tells us, you can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old". The desire to live well as we age is widespread. But we need guidance to make our later years meaningful and positive. Many people are looking for ways to improve the quality of their lives as they age. If you are unwilling to settle for a mediocre life in your older years, it's time to discover: How to approach retirement Ways to improve your life if you already are retired The importance of refl ection as well as action How to respond to negative myths about aging Strategies to promote a quality older life Whether you are preparing for retirement or are already experiencing it firsthand, it is important to discover proven methods and strategies to help you improve your life as you pursue Resilient Aging.

A typically pessimistic view of aging is that it leads to a steady decline in physical and mental abilities. In this volume leading gerontologists and geriatric researchers explore the immense potential of older adults to overcome the challenges of old age and pursue active lives with renewed vitality. The contributors believe that resilience capacities diminishing with old age is a misconception and argue that individuals may successfully capitalize on their existing resources, skills and cognitive processes in order to achieve new learning, continuing growth, and enhanced life-satisfaction. By identifying useful psychological resources such as social connectedness, personal engagement and commitment, openness to new experiences, social support and sustained cognitive activity, the authors present a balanced picture of resilient aging. Older adults, while coping with adversity and losses, can be helped to maintain a complementary focus on psychological strengths, positive emotions, and regenerative capacities to achieve continued growth and healthy longevity.

This updated and expanded second edition of Resilience in Aging offers a comprehensive description of the current state of knowledge with regard to resilience from physiological (including genetic), psychological (including cognitive and creative), cultural, and economic perspectives. In addition, the book considers the impact of resilience on many critical aspects of life for older adults including policy issues, economic, cognitive and physiological challenges, spirituality, chronic illness, and motivation. The only book devoted solely to the importance and development of resilience in quality of life among older adults, Resilience in Aging, 2nd Edition continues to offer evidence-based theory, clinical guidelines, and new and updated case examples and real-world interventions so professional readers can make the best use of this powerful tool. The critical insights in this volume are concluded with a discussion of future directions on optimizing resilience and the importance of a lifespan approach to the critical component of aging. The book’s coverage extends across disciplines and domains, including: Resilience and personality disorders in older age. Cultural and ethnic perspectives on enhancing resilience in aging Sustained by the sacred: religious and spiritual factors for resilience in adulthood and aging. Building resilience in persons with early-stage dementia and their care partners. Interdisciplinary geriatric mental health resilience interventions. Developing resilience in the aged and dementia care workforce. Using technology to enhance resilience among older adults. This wide-ranging and updated lifespan approach gives Resilience in Aging, 2nd Edition particular relevance to the gamut of practitioners in gerontology and geriatrics, including health psychologists, neuropsychologists, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, geriatricians, family physicians, nurses, occupational and physical therapists, among others.

Resilience is a key component in maintaining health and happiness in old age. When aging adults struggle with social isolation, financial instability, or the difficult work of caring for a spouse with a chronic illness, their levels of stress can be enormous. But many older adults are living longer and are trying to make the best of their later years despite being more vulnerable to stress. In Resilience and Aging, renowned geriatric psychiatrist Dr. Helen Lavretsky explains how enhanced resilience—which involves positively adapting to adversity in a way that maintains a person’s biological and psychological equilibrium—can counter that vulnerability. She describes how care, practice, and research all can be redirected toward emphasizing the positive aspects of aging and prevention. Lavretsky summarizes the most up-to-date research on resilience, neurobiology, and preventive care. She also describes novel interventions—including yoga, tai chi, meditation, and allopathic techniques—that can help older adults improve their cognition and quality of life. Finally, she explores relevant clinical cases from her practice. Designed for geriatric practitioners, researchers, and family caregivers, this practical book offers critical information on measuring resilience, the role of spirituality in reducing stress, and incorporating resilience-building procedures into clinical practice or everyday life. Throughout, the book’s revolutionary integrative approach aims to amplify personal happiness by allowing aging adults to remain healthy and active while simultaneously reducing the cost of chronic disease to families and society.

Older aged adults face many adversities over the later life course. This edited volume will address the ways in which seniors bounce back from different types and combinations of adversity – termed “resilience”. While research has been accumulating that identifies inherent abilities and external resources needed to adapt and navigate stress-inducing experiences among aging and older adults, gaps remain in understanding the unique elements and processes of resilience. A series of chapters included in this book will address several overarching questions: why do some older individuals/families/communities adapt to adversity better than others; what are modifiable behavioral protective/risk factors related to resilience; and how can we foster resilience at the individual/community level and which approaches show the most promise? The spectrum of aging-related challenges and responses addressed in this book include: mental health; physical/functional health problems; multimorbidity; socio-economic deprivation; social isolation and loneliness; cultural dimensions of loneliness; housing/homelessness problems; and environmental disasters. This book presents cutting-edge science at the conceptual, methodological, empirical and practice levels applied to emerging resilience sub-fields in gerontology. It will also present potential areas of future research, policy and practice linked to these areas. During a period of the most rapid population aging in the US, Canada and many other nations, coupled with heightened global socio-political change, extending our knowledge of resilience will help society to make important adjustments to maximize health and wellness of older individuals. Supporting and enhancing resilience through technological, social and/or community-level advances in geroscience will help those facing adversity to thrive by harnessing, stretching, and leveraging a wide array of potential resources. The promotion of healthier older populations has far-reaching consequences for health care and social/community support systems, both in terms of public health including pandemic response, and the development and implementation of innovations in treatment and practice guidelines.

First Published in 2017. In this new book, Ramsey and Blieszner invite readers to renew their acquaintance with the eight women of the previous book and to meet eight men who, like the women, were nominated by their pastors as being people the pastors would want to speak with in times of spiritual crisis.

Understanding how creative interventions can help develop social connectivity and resilience for older people is vital in developing a holistic cross-sector approach towards ageing well. Academics with a wide range of expertise critically reflect on how the built environment, community living, cultural participation, lifelong learning, and artist-led interventions encourage older people to thrive and overcome both challenging life events and the everyday changes associated with ageing. The book uses a range of approaches, including participatory research methods, to bring the voices of older people themselves to the foreground. It looks at how taking part in creative interventions develops different types of social relationships and fosters resilience.

Applying the principles of the Resilience Doughnut model promotes emotional resilience for employees in the workplace, young adults in transition, adults managing their mental health, and all adults going through life's inevitable challenges. In this ever changing world, the only constant is change, so enabling people to confidently cope with this inevitable change with a practical and usable model is refreshing. The model gives the reader an insight into their own resilience as well as provides them with ways to build on their strengths to help cope with the tough stuff. The Resilience Doughnut has become a foundational ecological model of resilience used by practitioners all around Australia and is quickly spreading to other countries. The work of the Resilience Doughnut across a whole organisation builds staff awareness of the coping resources available and enhances a culture of resilience. Programs using the Resilience Doughnut model have been used with adults in mental health units, rehabilitation services and organisations to increase staff morale with success. Results show those who have significant positive intentional relationships also have high personal and social competence and subsequently report low anxiety and depression symptoms. From these studies Resilience Doughnut programs to enhance positive connections with purpose and meaning have been introduced in corporate and school staff.

The contributors to this volume examine the role of mutual aid groups and social workers in helping members of oppressed, vulnerable, and resilient populations regain control over their lives. The chapters reveal the ways in which mutual aid processes help individuals overcome social and emotional trauma in contemporary society by reducing isolation, universalizing individual problems, and mitigating stigma. Using the life cycle as a framework the editors establish a theoretical model for practice and demonstrate how social workers as group leaders can foster the healing and empowering process of mutual aid. The contributors also consider the fundamentals of the mutual aid process, the institutional benefits of group service, and specific clinical examples of mutual aid groups. Each chapter offers detailed case materials that illustrate both group work skills and developmental issues for a variety of populations and settings, including HIV-positive and AIDS patients, the homeless, and perpetrators and victims of sexual abuse and family violence. New chapters in this completely revised and updated third edition illustrate the power of mutual aid processes in dealing with children traumatized by the events of September 11, adult survivors of sexual abuse, parents with developmentally challenged children, people with AIDS in substance recovery, and mentally ill older adults.