50+ Lifestyles

Aging and You

Thrive, not just Survive

By Julie Arndt
Marketing Director at Ridgecrest Village

For the most part we have been fortunate to enjoy a relatively mild winter this year, yet the promise of warm rains and the smell of spring keeps many who have been homebound and isolated focused on better days ahead.

Recently Ridgecrest and GolderCare Solutions co-hosted a group of senior living facilities for a roundtable discussion to contemplate the collective challenges facing the senior living industry in the QCA in 2024. The number one challenge identified was the lack of mental health resources for the older adult, especially when inpatient treatment is needed. The second was the absence of public funding for assisted living care for those who cannot afford privately funded assisted living (in Iowa), a topic covered in last month’s article.

Although we have great resources for mental health in the QCA, inpatient geriatric mental health treatment is in short supply throughout Iowa and northwest Illinois. It’s important to proactively care for your overall well-being. According to Mental Health America, two million of the thirty-four million older adults over the age of sixty-five have a mental health condition. Physical and cognitive decline, coupled with medical issues, can lead to increased risk for mental health. Often the underlying risk goes undetected. It is important to share with your doctor if there has been a recent change in your mood, sleeping patterns, appetite, or social interactions so this can be factored in to an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan. Providing a good history to your doctor is critical for your provider to know what you need to feel better.

Social isolation is a leading cause of depression in the older adult.  It is common for social isolation to creep up on a person, especially when medical and/or cognitive changes make it difficult to engage in normal activities. It never ceases to amaze me how people blossom once they have ready access to other people and socialization. Moving to independent living or assisted living can make a significant difference in overall quality of life and wellness. I am reminded weekly that “people thrive, not just survive” when they get to the right level of care at the right time.  Residents routinely share, “I only wish we had decided sooner.”   

In an independent living community, residents have socialization through both informal and formal activities, meals, and transportation. Assisted living provides this as well, but with the addition of three meals a day, assistance with activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, walking), and medication management. Assisted living also has nursing staff available to help with clinical needs.

Take measures to keep your mental well-being as healthy as your physical health. Talk to your doctor if you are not feeling right. And if you are lonely, consider a change to a community where you have access to socialization and amenities that may significantly improve your quality of life.  Ridgecrest is a 22-acre senior living community offering all levels of living: independent, assisted living, memory care, and long-term care nursing and rehabilitation all under one roof. There are members of our Enrichment Team assigned to each of these various levels of care. They know the residents well and when to reach out to entice engagement. Not everyone is comfortable trying new things without a little encouragement, and the team understands that. Some types of activities that you can expect are social hours, exercise class, art/music performances, and outings. Residents on the Ridgecrest Campus make use of all the indoor spaces to get good exercise during the cold winter months and enjoy the park-like beauty of the campus grounds when the weather is nice.

You owe it to yourself to self-reflect and contemplate if you are surviving or thriving.  The choice is yours.

Julie Arndt, is a licensed social worker and Director of Marketing at Ridgecrest Village with over 30 years’ experience working in the field of geriatrics and senior advocacy. She can be reached at jarndt@ridgecrestvillage.org.