Stay Mindful of Mindfulness for the Elderly

When delivering painful news to a senior, keep your mindset and that of the recipient calmly on the present. This allows later contemplation of causes from the past and plans for the future to be less contaminated by stress. There’s reduced ruminating and catastrophizing around the pain.
     These techniques work for younger recipients of bad news, too. But it’s especially important for the wellbeing of the elderly. That’s because the elderly are more likely to feel out of control due to having fewer resources. Calmness facilitates the rest and recovery instrumental for making use of whatever resources remain available.
     Researchers at North Dakota State University, Concordia University, University of California-Berkeley, and University of Leipzig analyzed measures of calmness, excitement, perceived degree of control over life circumstances, and wellbeing. The measures had been gathered on a group of older adults as the adults aged for a decade.
     The analyses showed how the traits of greater calmness and less excitement develop as we age and that, for the seniors who felt less control, greater calmness and less excitement enhanced wellbeing. Calmness buffered against stress, depression, and the chronic physical conditions which stress and depression precipitate.
     Where excitement often arouses thoughts of the future, a trait of calmness has been found to facilitate conserving resources, adjusting goals, and being in the moment. Researchers at Australia’s Flinders University looked at the results of being in the moment as a short-term state of mindfulness rather than as an enduring trait. Of course, older adults who have the trait are quite likely to habitually be in the state. But perhaps those who have a weaker trait would benefit from intentionally staying in the moment when receiving potentially distressing news.
     This is indeed the case. The data were gathered over a ten-day rather than a ten-year period. Maintaining present-moment attention and, to an even greater extent, nonjudgmental acceptance eased upsets which could compromise wellbeing. Paralleling the findings about calmness as a long-term trait, these habits became more frequent in advanced age and the benefits were also found with middle-aged adults to a lesser extent.
     The findings are also paralleled by University of Zurich studies on “senior cool.” Those studies conclude that what distinguishes people who live happily into their advanced years is a habit of composure and poise which reduces problems of daily living to manageable levels. It works with daily hassles, not just painful news.

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