Time in the era of COVID-19 has taken on new meaning. “Blursday” is the new word of the year — where every day seems the same when staying home and restricting socializing and work.
As a public health and aging expert and founding director of the Texas A&M Center for Population Health and Aging, I have been studying the impacts of COVID-19 with an interest in debunking myths and identifying unexpected positive consequences for our aging population.
It is common to view older adults as especially vulnerable. Public health statistics reinforce the picture of older adults as more likely to have serious complications from COVID-19, to be hospitalized and to die.
But what do we know about how older adults themselves are responding to social distancing restrictions in place to help mitigate spread of the virus? Research suggests older adults are coping better than younger people.
Positive emotions
Despite popular notions that older adults would have more negative reactions to forced social isolation, a recent national survey revealed that older adults — despite their awareness of increased risk — are generally not reporting more feelings of anxiety, anger or stress than younger people.
They are actually expressing more positive emotions — feelings of calmness, interest and gratitude. Indeed, other surveys suggest it’s the youngest adult cohort — ages 13 to 23 — who are experiencing the most stress.
This surprising finding has been attributed partly to older adults’ perceptions of time and their coping mechanisms developed over a lifetime.
Many older people have redefined their experiences in terms of time left to live, and they focus on what is most meaningful now. They let go of what they can’t do anything about. Instead of looking back, older adults are motivated to enjoy the time they have left.
What have been difficult are the changing definitions of time and the persistence of a “blursday” existence. Being isolated during spring and summer seemed almost bearable. Not knowing when — or if — things will return to pre-COVID life is likely to be taking a toll on even the most robust older adults as the pandemic continues.
Older adults who have been self-isolating for months have been looking forward to getting together with their families over the holidays. Not seeing their families during the holiday season may be particularly difficult.
When I was talking to an older friend the other day, she indicated she was “basically doing fine.” She was staying in touch with her family through regular Zoom calls. But she was “a bit sad about the upcoming holidays,” and what she “missed most was not being able to hug” her children — “especially over the holidays.”
Grandma is on Instagram
Contrary to stereotypes that cast older adults as tech-phobic, many older people are learning new skills to become more familiar with technology. That way, they can stay socially connected and accomplish tasks of daily living such as bill paying and grocery shopping.
Some older adults are even more likely than before to communicate with their loved ones during COVID-19 times using social media platforms.
Health and social organizations are more attuned to negative impacts of social isolation and are instituting screening tools and referral sources for care. For example, a screener intended to assess risk of isolation asks brief questions to detect early signs of social isolation and link older adults to needed services.
Another silver lining: Mental health problems may not be so stigmatized when many people have such obvious reasons for unhappiness.
Health care itself is changing, with benefits for patients’ time. Instead of expecting older adults to spend hours getting up and out of the house for a 15- to 30-minute appointment, telemedicine has come into many older adults’ homes.
There is renewed interest in advanced care planning as well. While doctors, older adults and their families may have been previously uncomfortable about bringing up the topic, such discussions are becoming more common, due in part to the high number of serious complications and fatalities in the older population.
And finally, as an aging expert, I see one more positive change: a de-stereotyping of older adults.
There is also a growing recognition that older adults are not all the same. Existing physical and mental health as well as the social conditions in which older adults live surpass statistics and affect each COVID-19 experience.
Ory is regents and distinguished professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at Texas A&M University. This essay first appeared in The Conversation.
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December 27, 2020 at 04:00PM
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Opinion: In the COVID-19 era, older adults see time differently - Houston Chronicle
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