Did you know that there is more to good health than healthy eating and exercising?
Did you know that longevity of life owes as much to having good social networks as to good health? Men are less likely to experience a heart attack if they have good social support.
According to this Irish Times article, older people who help others have lower blood pressure. Did you know?
Older adults who help others feel more independent and useful are also happier about accepting help. This is important as if an elderly parent requires help from an adult child, for example, assistance with grocery shopping or cooking, they will feel more content in accepting that help if they can give something in return. Maybe helping a grandchild with homework or helping the adult child in the garden.
Older people who volunteer or help others are less likely to experience depression or feel distressed. They feel more purposeful.
Your Situation
If you are taking early retirement, are fit and healthy, been working hard for decades, have you considered what you are going to do with your time? It isn’t just a case of filling up your day with being busy but taking care of your social life, keeping in contact with your social network, forging new friendships and acquaintances, feeling useful and purposeful – these are all so important for your mental and physical well-being.
What can you do? There are a number of options but here’s two for you.
Every county has a Volunteer Centre where the staff will meet with you, discuss your likes and dislikes, what time you have available, your experience to date, your strengths and will place you in an appropriate volunteering role. As evidenced by the Carlow Volunteer Centre Facebook page, there’s lots of camaraderie and fun to be shared.
If you would like to earn money and feel that caring would be a suitable new career for you (and perhaps you cared for a family member in the past), working as a professional Home Carer is becoming an increasingly popular option for many people. It offers flexibility in terms of working hours, training is provided and a formal qualification can be awarded, and you will meet others on a daily basis. Helping older adults to maintain their independent living is a wonderful gift and service. At Comfort Keepers, we aim to be as sensitive and respectful to all our clients just as if they were our own family members.
At Comfort Keepers, we are very conscious that our carers are lone workers to some extent. They see a number of clients in a single day but may be calling to the local office only once a week. That number can vary but we work to ensure that every Comfort Keepers Home Carer feels part of a team. We communicate with our carers regularly by emails, texts and memos. We phone our carers regularly, Client Care managers are in regular contact, we arrange coffee mornings so they can meet other members of their team, we organise family events such as summer barbeques and walking events, we celebrate our successes across all our seventeen offices and we work to be the best employers and the best providers of Home Care in Ireland.
If you are reading this and feel that you have time on your hands, time that could be spent helping others as well as developing social networks for your own wellbeing, then do consider contacting us at Comfort Keepers if you would like to work as a Home Carer or contact your local Volunteer Centre.
