By 2030 it's estimated that close to one in four persons in Canada will at least 65 years old. While this figure poses challenges for everything from how to pay for healthcare to how to find workers, our aging society also has profound implications for mental and spiritual health.
For one thing, we're becoming an increasingly lonely society. Twenty-eight percent of North Americans over 65 live alone. When we look at women that number rises to nearly 46 percent, with almost half of women over 75 living alone.
"We tend to be healthier mentally, spiritually and physically when we interact with community," says Tammy Lindahl, Spiritual Care Minister with Victoria's First Metropolitan United Church. The downtown church has a congregation of about eight hundred, half of whom are over the age of 65. "However, in many ways isolation is a problem here in Victoria, especially for our elderly population."
Lindahl, together with health and wellness advocate Kyla Morgan, helps to connect a large congregation of seniors with activities and community at First Met United.
"Besides offering spiritual counselling we also help to find ways to make sure seniors and others have a chance to remain connected and in contact with others," Lindhal says.
One challenge many seniors in the congregation face is that, due to mobility issues or medical conditions, they may not be able to make it to church to attend services or participate in activities.
"A lot of people who have to move from their family home to supported housing, and this can be a radical thing. They may have had to give up driving, which is a big thing," says Morgan. "As a solution we try to work hard to find someone in their community to bring them to church, which is a primary support in their lives."
For others, First Met United offers a program called Care Calls, where members of the congregation who are no longer able to attend services and who have no family in the area are matched with volunteers who are willing to help out.
This, says, Morgan, is an important lifeline in a community like Victoria where many seniors come to retire, often far away from a support network of family and friends located in other parts of Canada.
"Some people want phone calls, others are hoping for a regular visit. Some people even want email contact," says Morgan, who came to First Met United after a career as a social worker with Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA).
Besides just being isolated, the challenges presented by aging itself can affect the mental health of seniors.
"In my work for Island Health, and in my work here at First Met United, I have observed people dealing with cognitive decline, which could be Alzheimer's, stroke, or dementia, which could exacerbate the symptoms of depression," says Morgan. "There are many seniors who receive mental health treatment."
Getting old is not for the faint of heart, says Tammy Lindhal, who, besides her work as a spiritual and mental wellness counselor with First Met United, is also Coordinator for Religious and Spiritual Care at Victoria Hospice.
"As your friends start to die and your body does not cooperate as much as it when it was younger, there are issues of grief and loss," Lindhal says.
While there is the concept that people become more emotionally resilient as they age, Lindhal says mental and spiritual health in later life depends on the person.
"Emotional resilience during the aging depends on how you have managed your life up to that point," says Lindhal. "In hospice they say 'you die as you lived,' if you're for example angry earlier in life you will probably experience that as you age. If you like to learn and grow, you are probably going to be the same way as you age."
Jai-Inder Pangli, a Clinical Counsellor and Psychiatric Liaison Social Worker working in Delta, British Columbia agrees.
"People become more vulnerable as they age," says Pangli. "They need a lot more love and care, and need to hear they are cared for, and they have worth. As a society we tend to value people who work and earn money and being productive. Isolation is a huge problem."
Pangli has also observed that the aging process can result in a mental health and spiritual crisis
"Often seniors can face depression at or following retirement, Jai-Inder says. "'What do I with my life?' is a common question, as people lose a perceived sense of value in their own lives."
Having a sense of self-worth is critical for spiritual health, she says.
"In my experience, especially with seniors, is "how do I find a purpose?" and they need to feel that they are still valued, and their own identity is in question," says Jai-Inder. "They don't value themselves. Their life is not worth living any more."
Jai-Inder says she tries to help seniors reconnect with their own spirituality.
"Connecting with a higher power and something that is guiding us on a daily basis can be a key to regaining a sense of purpose in life," she says. "I try to help my clients with living, being aware, and being in the present moment."
"Spirituality is a very broad term;, but it can be whatever brings meaning," says Tammy Lindhal. For example have a minister who is a minister."
Lindhal also notes that as people age there is a tendency to think there is more rigidity in values.
"I have noticed there is more openness to exploring faith," she says. "I don't know if that is something unique to our congregation, but we try to support people in whatever way works best for them."
Nevin Thompson sits on the board of directors of Victoria-based Capital City Volunteers, a non-profit society dedicated to connecting seniors with help with daily needs and fellowship. Nevin frequently writes about seniors issues on behalf of Classic Lifecare.
* Photo by permission of First Metroplitan Church, Victoria.
You can read more articles from our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking, HERE
