Dr. Happy’s Rx for Better Health, Longer Life – and Happiness

Dr. Dale Anderson, aka Dr. Happy, is on a mission to help people become more ageless.  

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Give Aging a New Voice

Give aging a new voice - one that reflects what today's older adults have to say! More than ever before, older Americans are working longer, trying new things and engaging in their communities. They're taking charge, striving for wellness, focusing on independence and advocating for themselves and others.

What it means to age has changed. This May, join Ecumen in celebrating Older Americans Month, led by the Administration for Community Living

Lois Bowers, senior editor at McNight's Senior Living, recently wrote about her experience dining with a vibrant older couple at a local jazz club, "This couple's presence was a good reminder that aging doesn't necessarily mean losing vibrancy. And that's a timely message as May begins." The article below, originally published by McKnight's,  sheds light on how aging has changed.

Aging Out Loud

by Lois A. Bowers, McKnight's Senior Living Senior Editor
 
Friday night, my husband and I went to a local jazz club to see a favorite performer.
 
We arrived early, because dining at the club ensures a better seat for the show, and Stanley Jordan is a musician one needs to see up close — he is known to play multiple guitars at once, or a guitar and a piano at the same time, and it's fun to watch his fingers work and see his facial expressions as he taps the fretboard.
 
The center of the room was filled with three long rows of tables-for-two lined up next to one another. We were seated across from each other in the middle of one of the rows.
 
We belatedly were celebrating my husband's birthday that night, and it turned out that the two couples next to us also were celebrating birthdays. That revelation led to a conversation about age, and the smartly dressed woman seated next to me said she was turning 84. Her husband, seated next to my husband, proudly said he was 89 and shared that exercise was the secret to his longevity, despite a bad back that caused him to walk hunched over.
 
We all marveled at their apparently good genes and their activeness. I probably was not alone when I thought, “If I make it to their age, I hope I am blessed with similar mental and physical health.”
 
“It's great that you came out for the show,” my husband said, making small talk.
 
“When are we home?” came the response, with an explanation of all of the activities that keep the two out of the house. Before dinner arrived and we turned our attention to our plates before Jordan hit the stage, my neighbor and I had a pleasant conversation about all of our favorite area restaurants, discovered that we have the same first name and joked about how often we are called Louis.
 
This couple's presence was a good reminder that aging doesn't necessarily mean losing vibrancy. And that's a timely message as May begins.
 
Each May, the Administration on Aging and the Administration for Community Living, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, observe Older Americans Month. This year, the theme is Age Out Loud.
 
“What it means to age has changed, and OAM 2017 is a perfect opportunity to recognize and celebrate what getting older looks like today,” the agencies say on the Older Americans Month website. The site includes materials, activity ideas and other resources people can use to mark the month.
 
Our dinner companions on Friday were aging out loud, engaging with those around them and experiencing a musician who was new to them. And all of us were the beneficiaries of their doing so.
 
Lois A. Bowers is senior editor of McKnight's Senior Living. Follow her on Twitter at @Lois_Bowers.
 

'Celebrating Wisdom'--A Short Video History of Aging in Minnesota

“Celebrating Wisdom,” sponsored by the Minnesota Board on Aging, is a Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) program that examines getting older in American and in Minnesota.

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The Aging Workforce Is a Wellspring of Opportunity

Digital technology empowers older people to stay in the workforce in ways that can benefit everyone.

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How To Start Designing Your Life for Aging — No Matter What Your Age

It’s never too soon to design your life for aging, says architect Matthias Hollwich.  And he’s not just talking about designing space. 

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Today is National Senior Citizens Day and Aging Is Changing

August 21 is National Senior Citizens Day — a day to honor seniors and celebrate their achievements.

In 1988, President Ronald Regan proclaimed the observance, saying: "For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks and a heartfelt salute. We can best demonstrate our gratitude and esteem by making sure that our communities are good places in which to mature and grow older."

Amen.  If you’re a senior citizen, enjoy your day.  If you’re not yet a member of the senior ranks, show your appreciation.  And read this Huffington Post article: 5 Amazing Seniors Busting Every Aging Stereotype.  Aging is changing.  


A Geriatric Doc and an Anti-Aging Doc Tangle Over How To Treat Wrinkles

Dr. Bill Thomas, an international expert on geriatric medicine, was repulsed by another physician’s website promoting cosmetic treatments to ward off the signs of aging.  And he said so.

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Photographic Evidence: Age Doesn’t Have To Slow You Down

The stereotype that growing old means slowing down gets a strong rebuttal from a Russian photographer who has recorded the exploits of seniors accomplishing amazing feats.

In his Age of Happiness photo project, Vladimir Yakovlev vividly captures people in their later years accomplishing great things. Go to The Age of Happiness Facebook page to have your stereotypes soundly shattered. Or for a quick glimpse of Yakovlev’s work, go to this article in the Huffington Post

.Photo by Vladimir Yakovlev

 

 

Thank You, Chuck Zimmerman, For Changing Aging

Chuck Zimmerman retires today after more than 35 years of changing aging as an Ecumen Operations executive. This is his story.

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Star Tribune Article Features Ecumen’s Efforts To Change the Language of Aging

So much of the terminology around growing old carries negative connotations, and Baby Boomers are pushing back with a “war on words.”  Star Tribune reporter Jackie Crosby examines how the huge economic power of older adults is making marketers take greater care in how they characterize aging.

Crosby’s story begins with Ecumen CEO Katherine Roberts candidly discussing the difficulty of purging the offensive words – because changing the words is really about changing culture.

Older adults, Roberts says, are “the last group or class of citizens in this country that we say it’s OK to institutionalize and it’s OK to marginalize — in advertisements, movies and popular culture.”