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If you have "many good friends" as you've said, then you have the kind of social connections that make a difference. It doesn't have to be genetic family, many people have created "family" out of people they are close to regardless of a blood connection.
I just read an article that said that older people who have close connections to their families have a longer life span than those who are only closer to their friends. My DH and I have no children, grandchildren or parents. We each have siblings whom we rarely see, although our relationships are fine. We just don't have a lot in common and therefore rarely talk or visit.
I guess it just got me a little down thinking about it. My DH and I are working on moving and making more social connections in our new home. We are still youngish (early 60s) and have hobbies and things we like to do. I was pretty okay with our lives until I read this. What say you?
Basically from what I have read you need to stay socially active. Adopt a family. We live more than 100 miles from where we grew up and our children have taken their little eagle wings and moved on too so they are four and six hours away from us. But when they lived at home they adopted the neighbors on one side of us as grandparents and the couple on the other side as older uncle and aunt and their child as a cousin. Love is the magic.
We just lost a major older player in our community. I was talking to a friend today and she said he had been very active in church and every activity the church did he was right in there doing it with them. I exercise with a group three times a week. We are more like a church group than we are an exercise class with everyone being concerned with each others health and checking up on each other. The senior citizens have also started a senior singles group so they go to movies and other activities together.
"“Regardless of the emotional content of a connection, simply having a social relationship with another person may have benefits for longevity,” Iveniuk said."
"“Regardless of the emotional content of a connection, simply having a social relationship with another person may have benefits for longevity,” Iveniuk said."
Well crap...I guess I'm in big trouble then! lol I have family here in town...siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, etc. but you'd never know it. None of them bother to stay in touch. I have ONE friend that I talk to on the phone about once a week and see maybe once a month. If it wasn't for my job I'd never see or talk to anybody! I'm not at all worried about my longevity. If I follow 'family tradition' I should have another 15-20 years left but who knows? It won't be because I have this big caring family though.
Studies...... sorry, I just don't put a whole lot of stock in them. Who are they testing? Where are they doing these tests?
I am pretty much alone. My parents are long dead. My two sisters are dead. My aunts and uncles are dead. One living cousin (at least I think he is still alive). I have two kids.... not much contact with either of them. Nieces and one nephew and their families. I do have a good relationship with my nephew who lives in another state.
I'll be 75 on next birthday. In reasonable good health.
Studies have shown people who have glaucoma (I do), breast cancer (I did), and some other things I can't remember now (guess not that important), have strong family history of said maladies.
Wrong!! I have had several of these and have no knowledge of any of my family suffering from them. I'm the "first."
I'm glad I don't put any stock in those studies. For me, it was a strong determination to live and get through any disease I had. I worked very hard at recovering and am living a happy, busy, interesting life.
Why don't they do studies on that?
This post does not mean to accuse or demean any person who lost their battle with any disease. Perhaps my experiences are based on good fortune and good genes.
I just read an article that said that older people who have close connections to their families have a longer life span than those who are only closer to their friends. My DH and I have no children, grandchildren or parents. We each have siblings whom we rarely see, although our relationships are fine. We just don't have a lot in common and therefore rarely talk or visit.
I guess it just got me a little down thinking about it. My DH and I are working on moving and making more social connections in our new home. We are still youngish (early 60s) and have hobbies and things we like to do. I was pretty okay with our lives until I read this. What say you?
Don't "over-believe" what you read. There really aren't that many older people that have super close relationships to their families (I've known many), nor are there guarantees. Quite often it is friends that will add emotional health in our lives.
Actually, the article states that one does not necessarily need a particularly close relationship with relatives to secure benefit from having relatives in one's life - only that one simply have some type of association or connectedness or social relationship with relatives which allows one to derive certain benefits.
from the article, speaking about relatives:
"“Regardless of the emotional content of a connection, simply having a social relationship with another person may have benefits for longevity,” Iveniuk said."
Last edited by matisse12; 08-26-2016 at 06:05 PM..
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