Back to Square One for older people in lockdown

Last year – remember last year? – when we were all in lockdown, I wrote a handbook for older people, on how to manage the range of challenges that presented in our lives.

By the time I’d finished writing it, so had lockdown, and it had – I thought – become irrelevant. Now, suddenly, in Greater Sydney, here we are in 2021, being faced with it again, for a further four weeks or more. Dusting that handbook off now, here is an updated summary of its key points, preceded by two important developments.

The first is the fact that while the original variety of COVID-19 was ageist in as much as older people were more vulnerable to it, and needed to exercise extra caution, the Delta variant – alarmingly – has turned out to be not only more virulently contagious, but also non-discriminatory. So, much of what I wrote targeting older people is now relevant for all of us.

The second is that most laudable of medical science achievements in the meantime: the discovery and distribution of a range of effective vaccines against the variants – so far – of COVID-19. They will at best prevent us from getting and spreading it, and at least prevent us from getting serious symptoms and dying from it.

So, to stay safest, a critical new message is to vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate.

And so, onto the original key messages, updated – in light of Delta’s extended reach – to remove the reliance on younger people for help.

Staying safe and in good physical condition

With the Delta version being so highly infectious, it is essential to keep that 1.5 metre safe distance from everybody who is not in your household; and if out exercising or shopping, also wear a mask. Better still, don’t do physical shopping, but do it online, or get in touch with your local council to access community support. And use telehealth where possible for health concerns.

At the same time, it’s important to maintain good health habits: sufficient sleep, healthful eating, and keeping as active as possible, with exercise and other activities.

And with the home being the most dangerous place for falls for older people, make it as fall-proof as possible. Useful tips for this come up from googling “remove home hazards to prevent falls”.

Maintaining the combination of mental health, a social life and an enjoyable lifestyle

Mandated self-isolation can pose a particular problem for many of those people – the majority of whom are elderly – who live alone and are extra vulnerable to loneliness and related depression. To help manage this in the current lockdown, the NSW Government is considering “the introduction of a singles bubble” which would allow one nominated visitor to be allowed to make regular visits into the home of the isolated individual.

In addition, all the experts recommend that for those who have a network of family and friends, it’s important to stay regularly connected with them with whatever technology –  old and new – works, from telephone and letters to email, social media, zoom and facetime. For those without a network, it’s important to reach out to health professionals and community organisations to seek some form of ongoing support.

It can also help to de-stress by engaging in activities that you enjoy and find relaxing, as well as exploring strategies such as mindfulness or other mood-lifting techniques ranging from deep breathing to singing. And if it all gets too much, there are mental health organisations – such as Lifeline, Beyond Blue and Sane Australia – that can help.

For grandparents who are understandably “gutted” by not being able to be with their grandchildren, all those forms of communication mentioned earlier can come into play, and can involve the fun of shared activities such as storybook reading and making artwork “together” at a distance. 

And now that we are mainly stuck within our homes, suddenly we can explore a range of absorbing activities that we hadn’t had time for before, and now do have, such as mastering a skill like art or knitting or gardening or a new language, tackling those unread books, and making the most of the cornucopia of viewing entertainment available to us – while remembering to get up and get active from time to time. The luxury of me-time should not be overlooked.

Managing forced retirement

At the same time, for some people too much me-time might result from suddenly becoming unemployed, with financial and emotional consequences. When that happens, it’s not that easy to carry out the words of the old song and “pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again”. Having a go at that is, however, something that is worth trying, and there are websites with useful tips on how to apply for jobs, and with suggestions on “upskilling” or retraining, and even starting an online business in something that you’re good at or knowledgeable about.

Overall, at this time, we can do our best for ourselves by developing a realistically positive attitude, while doing our best for all by following the safety guidelines at a time when – by staying apart – we’re working together to overcome our common enemy, COVID-19.

Anne Ring ©2021