Mindfulness-Based Interventions That Support Wellness in Independent Living
Our emotional well-being has an important part to play when it comes to life satisfaction. No matter how old we get, it always pays to take stock of our situation so we might take action towards improving it. A 2024 consensus on senior depression suggests older adults aren't typically depressed, but that doesn't mean it's not worth arming ourselves against the blues when they inevitably come to call.
Mindfulness-based interventions are especially helpful for tackling bouts of negative emotion. Read on to find out how mindfulness helps improve mood, manage stress, and support wellness at Lake Ridge Village in Eustis, FL.
Emotional Wellbeing in Seniors
The foundation for living a life that feels productive and enjoyable is undoubtedly our emotional well-being. The situations we find ourselves in and how they affect us hinge mostly on our perspective. Learning how to view things in a positive light might sound somewhat trite, but the proof is in the pudding!
Life doesn't pass any of us by without giving us our fair share of misfortune. A little tragedy and sadness are all but guaranteed. It's our process as human beings to learn from our experiences, which often means examining whatever befalls us with a magnifying glass as we search for meaning in them.
Unfortunately, unless we're careful and know how to look out for the pitfalls of this process, it's easy to get stuck in a cyclical loop of revisiting negative emotion without learning anything at all. This typically happens when we allow our thoughts to run unguided, allowing them to run amok unsupervised. This is where learning to use mindfulness becomes invaluable.
Mindfulness Routines
Mindfulness is essentially the ability to remind ourselves to put our hands back on the wheel and turn auto-pilot off. While this sounds simple at face value, it's actually quite a difficult skill to master, as directing our attention requires a certain level of awareness and understanding. Getting into a routine of watching your thoughts as they appear and disappear without following them into a cyclical rut is step one.
Making an effort to watch yourself and the direction your thoughts tend to lead you without your intervention is often illuminating. We tend to dwell on our past or focus on trying to predict the future, both of which rob us of the present moment. It's no wonder we so easily become mired in a strange world of negative thoughts without even realising, and it's a world of our own creation!
Taking a moment to take a step back and observe the contents of our mind rather than allowing ourselves to be swept up in the endless chatter is an incredible skill to practice. Making it a daily routine to direct our attention away from our internal dialogue and onto the present moment is enough to silence much of the negativity we're accustomed to thinking of as normal.
Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Fostering Mental Health
Mental health for older adults is just as achievable as it is for anyone else, regardless of age. It's something everyone should take seriously, same as any other kind of wellness, but it isn't typically given the time it deserves. While starting from an early age is ideal, that doesn't mean it's too late to start considering whether or not our internal perspective is helping or hindering our wellness in general.
Mental health is the foundation upon which the rest of our lives are built, so it's important to give it its due. Practicing mindfulness is among the most effective ways to bring a troubled mind some much-needed solace. It's also completely free, and can be done anywhere!
At Lake Ridge Village, we teach our seniors a few mindfulness exercises that always prove beneficial, especially where aging with clarity is concerned. Our favorites are easy to learn even for beginners, take up hardly any time, and their positive impact is undeniable.
Mindful Breathing
Closing our eyes and focusing on our breathing helps us to reconnect to our bodies and the present moment. Slow, measured breaths slow our heart rate, lowering blood pressure and stress hormones. We suggest breathing naturally and finding a slow rhythm while focusing on each breath.
Gratitude Journaling
Gratitude is another extremely powerful tool when it comes to wellness and stress relief in retirement. We too easily get caught up in:
- What we don't have
- What we could have had if things had been different
- Dreams of a different life entirely
We tend to forget how good we have it in favor of imagining a life where we have it all. The perfect life oftentimes seems impossible to reach, or something we always fall short of for some reason or other. Focusing on these negative aspects becomes routine if we're not careful, and can begin to erode our happiness if we let them continue unabated.
Gratitude journaling is as simple as writing down some of the things you're grateful for. It doesn't take much to switch up your thought processes from negative to positive with just a little gratitude.
Before long, you'll have a long list of undeniable positives you'd forgotten to appreciate in favor of dwelling on the negative.
Mindful Walking
Our bodies are perfectly designed to go for a stroll, and the rhythmic motion of putting one foot in front of another lends itself to practicing mindfulness beautifully. Fresh air and a little exercise do wonders all on their own, but coupling it with the direct intent to enjoy the process takes it to another level altogether.
Mindfulness and Relief in Lake Ridge Village
The idea that mindfulness has such an immediately positive effect on people is easily understood once we learn to observe our thoughts. At Lake Ridge Village, our unique mindfulness-based interventions empower seniors to break free from routine thought patterns, instantly boosting mental clarity and emotional well-being.
We're serious about supporting the mental health of our seniors at Lake Ridge Village and find mindfulness to be one of our most potent tools in doing so. If you'd like to learn more about our methods and schedule a tour of our community, don't hesitate to reach out!