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“Elder Isolation”
Family Life’s “Inside Out” News Feature
Nearly a quarter of adults 65 and older are socially isolated. In today’s Inside Out podcast, author and speaker Jen Pollock Michel talks about some of the causes of elder isolation, and encourages Christians to help prevent elderly friends and loved ones from feeling alone.
Martha talks with Jen Pollock Michel about elder isolation
Nearly a quarter of adults 65 and older are socially isolated, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And social isolation, studies show, increases the risk of hospitalization and a host of serious health conditions, including dementia and depression. “I think there are a lot of reasons why older people get isolated, and one thing I’ve really grown to appreciate is just how devastating it is,” says author and speaker Jen Pollock Michel, whose family moved to live closer to her aging mother.
Michel points to a number of reasons elderly people can grow isolated. Michel’s mother, for instance, became more isolated when her husband’s Parkinson’s Disease made it difficult for the couple to leave their apartment. Others find that the inability to drive isolates them, especially when there’s no accessible public transportation to fill in the gap. People can also withdraw socially when hearing or memory loss make it hard to participate in conversation.
“All of these capacities that enable us to get out of our house, or maybe invite people into our homes–when those diminish, isolation follows” Michel says.
Michel offers encouragement to those who care for and regularly visit the elderly people in their lives. “It is good work,” she says. “And I think if you know it’s good, you know it’s valuable, and most importantly, you know it’s God-honoring, then that provides the motivation that you need to keep doing it when it’s hard. And you have to lay hold of that.”
And it can be hard. So Michel suggests that caregivers ask for help. “Getting a network of support, I think, is one thing that I would say, because you can’t do everything all alone,” she says. “I allow myself to just be very human in the task. Depending on God as much as I can. You know, abiding in Christ—the foundation of the Christian life.”
God is the stamina giver and also the model. When we spend time with someone who has been isolated, we are imitating Jesus. “God clothed Himself with flesh and took up the loving act of presence,” she reminds us. “That’s where we discover God’s heart for us and live out of His love for other people.”
Learn more about Jen Pollock Michel at JenPollockMichel.com.
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Mark Hancock, TrailLifeUSA.org
