Angela Lunde talks with John Zeisel, Loneliness in Seniors, Old Age vs. Happiness, Baby Boomer Marketplace, and Dealing With Irrational Team Members

By Steve Moran

I spend a lot of time looking at all kinds of stories and articles on the internet. A few . . . maybe 5 or 6 are just plain cool. Some are cool but not worth turning into an article and others are cool and really have nothing to do with senior living, but I am thinking you might think are cool too.

Angela Lunde from the Mayo Clinic Talks with John Zeisel about How To Have An Amazing Life with a Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment  (Video Blog)

It is not the diagnosis itself which is most upsetting, and can even be a relief, but rather not hearing what can be done to improve the couple’s quality of life. Instead of accepting that couples must inevitably just get depressed by hearing the doctor say: “Come back in a year and let’s see how much worse your condition has become.”

Angela Lunde is Cognitive Health and Wellness Director at the Mayo Clinic and an expert on non-drug /“ecopsychosocial” interventions to reduce symptoms related to dementia. Her interview (Hopeful Aging with Dr. John Zeisel | Lunde) focuses on what she sees as the really important problem facing persons who receive a diagnosis of MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment) or dementia.

Angela promotes a fascinating couples intervention—HABIT—Healthy Actions Benefitting Independence & Thinking. HABIT is a two-week 50-hour program for persons and their partners building on procedural (habit) memory to access preserved memory and provide practical and accessible advice.  

The Harsh Reality of Loneliness In Seniors

We tend to sell senior living as a care play for elders who have physical or cognitive impairment. There is nothing wrong with this for it is what we do. The point this article makes is that loneliness in seniors can be deadly. According to this only obesity has a higher mortality rate than loneliness.

The Older You Are The Happier You Become

Grrrr! It is hard to fathom the lie society is telling us . . . that being young equals happiness, that being young equals fun, that being young equals quality of life. We used to know this was false but now we don’t. Except, the data does not lie. Older people are happier than younger people.  

The Hot Hot Hot Baby Boomer Marketplace

In an article that quotes my friend Mary Furlong the New York Times points out that creating products and services for the Baby Boomer Marketplace is “the place to be.” They have money, they are looking for value and as they age they will need new things. It makes a lot of sense to look at what works in selling products and services to seniors today, as an early indicator of what it will take to sell them senior living down the road.

Tips on How to Deal with an Irrational Team Member

The obvious answer is to fire them, but sometimes that is not possible. Dan Rockwell offers some practical tips. The first is the most obvious, and the hardest . . . STOP DOING WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING THAT DOES NOT WORK.

Do you have something that ought to be included in the feature? Please let us know.