Life & Legacy March 2024 by Lewistown Sentinel

Tips for seniors to safeguard their mental health

The wide-ranging impact and reach of mental health issues garnered considerable attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the virus as well as mandates designed to reduce its spread led to increased feelings of anxiety and isolation. Since

then, life has returned to normal for billions of people across the globe, but many people, including seniors, continue to experience mental health issues.

The Pan American Health Organization reports that at least one in four older adults experiences a mental disorder such as depression, anxiety or dementia. And only grow, as population estimates indicate seniors percentage of the global population in the years to come. Seniors dealing with mental health issues may feel helpless, but there’s much they can do to safeguard their mental health.

• Socialize regularly. A 2019 study published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences found that older adults who socialized with people beyond their circle of family and close

to have greater positive moods and fewer negative feelings. Unfortunately, a older adults report feeling isolated from others. According to the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging that was conducted in January 2023, one in three older adults reported infrequent contact (once a from outside their home.

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tal health professional. Among the more troubling aspects of the mental health crisis affecting seniors is that the PAHO reports two-thirds of older adults with mental health problems do not get the treatment they need.

health professional can help older adults in myriad ways. Such professionals can identify the issue that is prompting seniorsgestions that can improve overall health and qualify of life. Roundstone Insurance notes that reliance on digital behavioral health tools, including telehealth, was turned to both during the pandemic and ever since, and seniors can utilize such ser-

vices if they have limited mobility and/or no one in-person appointments. • Volunteer. Many older adults are retired, and while ample free time ultimate reward after a

retirees experience a void once their life no longer has the structure thating to the independent org, retirement depression can compel retirees to feel as though they miss the sense of identity, meaning and purpose that came with their jobs,

feel depressed, aimless and isolated. Volunteercreated by retirement, and the positive mental health effects of volunteering are well-documented. According to the Mayo Clinic, studies have shown volunteering increases positive, relaxed feelings and gives volunteers a sense of meaning and appreciation. No one is immune to mental health issues, including seniors. But older steps to address their mental health and improve their overall health as a result.

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Exploring hospice and palliative care

The opportunity to live independently is a goal for many people as they plan for retirement. While there’s much peo-nancial independence in their golden years, health issues may arise that can make it hard for aging adults to get through the day without a little help. Palliative care and hospice are sometimes mistaken as the same thing, even though they’re quite different. Learning about each option can help adults identify which option is best for them should they one day require daily assistance.

Palliative care

Palliative care may be available at any time for individuals with serious and potentially life-threatening conditions. According to Healthline, palliative care is focused on improving the overall wellness of individuals with serious illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, COPD, and other chronic illnesses. Since it is based on individuals’ needs, palliative care can differ from one person to the next.

WebMD says a palliative care program frequently aims to ease pain and help with other problems, including improv-

PROTECT

ing comfort. It is used in addition to other treatments. Palliative care also can help patients and their families if an illnesss makes it more leads to depression or adversely affects the family, including caregivers.

Hospice care

The National Institute on Aging notes that hospice care may be recommended when it is no longer possible to cure a serious illness or when a patient opts out of certain treatments. Like palliative care, hospice provides comprehensive comfort care and fam-

ily support. However, attempts to cure the person’s illness are stopped in hospice. Hospice is typically recommended when a person with a terminal illness has around six months or less to live.

When people hear “going into hospice” they may think this means entering a facility. However, hospice can take place in many different settings, including at home, in a nursing home, in a hospital, or even a facility that specializes in hospice care.

Both palliative and hospice care bring together a team of health care professionals with

special skills. This team can include doctors, nurses, social workers, therapists, spiritual advisors, and trained volunteers. Everyone works together to address patients’ emotional, medical and spiritual needs.

The main difference between palliative and hospice care is when each is offered to a patient. Palliative care can be available at any time, regardless of illness stage, prognosis or life expectancy. Hospice care is only available when an illness is no longer responding to treatment. It is sometimes known as end-of-life care. However, a person can

come out of hospice care should his or her condition begin to improve. Patients and their families can discuss the options of palliative and hospice care with their health care teams. While these types of care have become much more accessible in recent years, they may not be available everywhere. It also pays to ask questions about health insurance coverage to determine if the costs of palliative or hospice care will be covered by a provider. A long-term care policy also may be an option to cover palliative services.

Plan for your future and protect the people and causes you care about with Trust & Estate Services from Kish Bank. Meet with one of our local experts today to explore your options and ensure your wishes are carried out.

Consumers can never let their guard down when it comes to identity theft. Personal information is much more accessible in an increasingly digital world. Consequently, instances of identity theft and consumer fraud continue to grow.

• The Identity Theft Research Center (ITRC) reported a record number of data compromises in the United States in 2021, amounting to a 68 percent increase over 2020.

• The Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network received more than 5.7 million reports of fraud and identity theft in 2021.

5 common identity theft scams

• In Canada, there are 12 victims of identity theft per every 100,000 residents and 52 victims of ID fraud.

• Many North Americans have been victims of COVID-19-related fraud, including scams involving fake testing, vaccines and treatments, and charities.

The FTC says identity theft is when someone uses your personal without your consent. Commonly stolen data includes addresses, credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security numbers, or medical insurance numbers.

Though thieves can gather information by intercepting it through digital channels or simply by stealing mail or going through trash, many times people inadvertent-

ly share personal information with scammers themselves. Here’s a look

1. Phone scams

Phone scams may involve telemarketers trying to sell you something in exchange for personal information given over the phone, as well as people impersonating government agencies or credit card companies. information” or “We’llformation to process” are some of the phrases these scams utilize. Never give out personal information over the phone unlessdividual you’re speaking to is legitimate.

Jeffrey Davis, Esquire

2. Text links

The Pew Research Center says 81 percent of adult mobile phone users use text messages regularly. Scammers utilize text messages to try to gain information. The text includes a link to a site that will request personal information. Do not respond to such texts and avoid clicking on the links.

3. Phishing emails

Phishing emails look like they are coming from legitimate sources, but they often contain malcomputers and other devices to steal identity data. Phishing increased during the COVID-19 lockdowns as more people were working from home,

according to the ITRC.

4. Medicare card

Older individuals long have been targets of criminals. Seniors are now being called, emailed or even visited in person by scammers claiming to represent Medicare.

Perpetrators of this scam offer new services or new chipped Medicare cardstion of Medicare identi-care numbers should be carefully guarded, and seniors should keep in mind it’s highly unlikely Medicare representatives will contact them in this way.

5. Data breaches

It’s not just a home computer or phone

breach you need to worry about. According to ARAG Legal, security experts indicate many major companies are being breached. By the time it’s discovered that data was stolen, your personal information, which usually includes credit card numbers, email addresses and home addresses, has been circulating for some time. While it’s impossible for private citizens to prevent this type of data breach, a credit monitoring service can alert consumers if their information shows up where it seemingly doesn’t belong. Identity theft is an ever-present threat and consumers must exercise due diligence to protect their personal information.

Call today to schedule a consultation.

The period surrounding the death of a loved

navigate. Mourning a recently deceased family member or friend can dominate individuals’ thoughts, compromising their ability to devote much time and energy to anything else.

Some people decide to pre-plan their funerals in an effort to ensure their wishes are honored upon their death. Pre-planning also can afford survivors more time to grieve and ensure they won’t need to make hard decisions

lives. When a deceased individual makes no such plans, family members are tasked with planning the funeral, a process that

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Services offered by funeral homes

help of experienced staff at a nearby funeral home.

Funeral homes offer an array of services that can ensure ceremonies honor the life of the deceased and take some of the pressure off that person’s surviving family members.

• Honor the deceased: No two people are the same, so there’s no onefuneral service. Funeral home staff recognize that and can often help families identify unique traits about the deceased that can be conveyed during the ceremony. Whether it’s playing a favorite song or choosing an especially meaningful passage from a religious text or a favorite book, funeral home staff will work with families to personalize

the ceremony as much as loved ones desire.

• Establish the desired

can be decorated and prepared for visitations.

• Organize the ceremo-

ambiance: Funerals tend to be somber, but they also can be celebratory.

Funeral home staff can help families establish the desired tone of the service by showcasing how the viewing space

ny: Funeral home staff also can help grieving families organize the ceremony, including contacting clergy to preside over the service. Funeral staff also may reach out to extended family members

who immediate family may want to perform certain functions in the ceremony, such as reading passages and serving as pallbearers. Funeral directors also may request military honors for the ceremony if the deceased is a veteran.

• Burial details: If the deceased is being buried, funeral staff can contact and get the details on the purchase of a plot if no plot has been purchased previously. Funeral staff also can help families choose a casket and burial liner and organize additional details that grieving relatives may know little about. If the deceased is being cremated, funeral home staff can coordinate the cremation

process and help family members choose an appropriate urn.

Funeral homes provide an array of invaluable services to families mourning the loss of a loved one.

We are dedicated to quickly guiding you through a crisis even if you think it’s too late to get help. We’ll make sure your loved one receives the right care and protect your assets. When a crisis hits, the stress can be overwhelming.

social workers and paralegals understanding, bring you peace of mind. Elder law is our passion. Protecting you and your family is what we do.

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Many people serve as caregivers to help a loved one manage an illness or injury. The senior housing resource A Place for Mom says, between 2015 and 2020, the number of unpaid caregivers increased from 43.5 million to more than 53 million. Many caregivers assist seniors, but some also help younger adults with physical or mental disabilities.

Caregiving can be time-consuming on both a daily and yearly basis. The average length of time caregivers provide unpaid care is 4.5 years. As life expectancies increase, the number of caregivers is likely to grow. As more people take on caregiving duties, the challenges those individ-

Common challenges caregivers face

uals may confront have drawn more attention.

• Emotional and physical stress: American Senior Communities reports that 22 percent of caregivers say their personal health suffered upon taking on a caregiver role. Emotional stress has been particularly prevalent among people caring for someone with dementia.

Unpaid caregivers often juggle caregiving duties with the responsibilities of their own lives. Sometimes there is not an equitable division of time and one person or another may feel overburdened by caregiving tasks, resulting in disagreements with others.

• Increased depression

and psychological distress: Research conducted by Maastricht University in 2018 revealed unpaid caregiving for 20 hours or more each week can result in impaired self-care for the caregiver. That may lead to feelings of depression or additional mental health issues.

• Financial stress: Providing unpaid care requires some to leave a full- or part-time job to provide assistance to a loved one. That results in lost wages that can adversely affect caregivers’

thermore, there may be expenses directly related to caregiving that caregivers pay from their own savings. According to AARP, 22 percent of caregivers report using all of

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their short-term savings, while 13 percent say they went through all of their long-term savings while taking care of elderly parents at home.

• Isolation and/or lack of privacy: Caregivers may not be able to get out as much to engage in recreational or even typical family activities.

In addition, some caregivers report that caring for a loved one in a small space means boundaries are broken and it’s hard to enjoy any semblance of privacy.

• Physical demands: Caregivers can injure themselves or face physical strain when tasked with caring for someone with mobility issues. Lifting or helping someone move from beds, chairs

or wheelchairs can strain various areas of the body.

• Time management: Balancing caregiving with other responsibilities can make it feel like there are not enough hours in a day. Caregivers also often decline invitations or miss out on gatherings because they cannot manage time to make it to events when the needs of the person in

their care must take priority. Job loss also may occur when caregivers must be away from work to go to appointments or help in a caregiving setting.

Caregivers often devote many hours to helping loved ones. Various challenges that can be emo-

nancially taxing can arise in these situations.

Signs a loved one might need assisted living

Assisted living facilities provide an invaluable service. When a medical condition, developments associated with aging or another variable affects an individual’s ability to live independently, assisted living facilities can ensure such men and women get the help they need to live as fully and actively as possible.

It’s not always easy to identify when an individual may need to move into an assisted living facility. Some individuals choose to do so on their own, but families often make such decisions together. As families work to determine if a loved one should move into an assisted living facility, they can look for various signs that suggest the time is right to do so. According to the Elder Care Alliance, signs that an in-

assisted living include:

• Requiring routine reminders to take medication

• Noticeable changes in

weight, including weight loss or gain

• Loss of mobility or increase in falls

• Signs that household maintenance is being neglected

tasks like grooming and meal preparation

• Increased isolation

• Loss of interest in hobbies

It’s important for families to recognize that some of the signs noted above might suggest the presence of a condition or disease that would not, if treated successfully, compromise an individual’s ability to live independently. For example, the SilverSneakers program offered through Tivity Health notes that weight gain among seniors may be attributable to slower metabolism, a less active lifestyle or menopause for women. Each of those conditions can be addressed without requiring a relocation to an assisted living facility. Family members are

urged to discuss anything that seems to be affecting a loved one’s ability to live independently with that person’s health care team before they consider if a person needs to move into an assisted living facility.

It’s equally important to ask a loved one’s health care team which type of facility they think might

fact, they think it’s in an individual’s best interest to relocate. No two facilities are the same, and the Elder Care Alliance notes many specialize in spe-

as tending to individuals with cognitive issues like dementia or physical issues like limited mobility.

Assisted living facilities help millions of individuals every day. Families can work together to decide if a loved one can

such a facility.

Did you know?

Median retirement account balances suggest millions of

shortfall in funds when they reach retirement age. Data from Make It by Fidelity provided to CNBC in 2023 indicated that the median 401(k) balance among account holders in their 30s was $18,400. Account holders in their 20s had a median 401(k)

and it’s possible individuals have much more money invested in additional retirement vehicles, including IRAs. However,

to enjoy a comfortable retirement. Such low balances also may compromise the dream of retiring by age 60, which a survey from the World Economic Forum indicates is the goal of 44 percent of retirement savers in their 20s and 30s.