What are the difficulties faced by the elderly in India?

At a younger age, while suffering from different work restraints and deadlines, many people wish for time to run faster so that they can live their lives with their family contently. The idea of retirement is a highly anticipated moment.

However, all things come at a cost, and various such consequences are associated with old age. These issues make a normal life for the elderly difficult and sometimes, almost deadly.

Most of the elderly suffer from the majority of these problems in their later life.

Health issues-both physical and mental 

One of the most common problems faced by the older generations is deterioration in their health.  While most of them keep up good health well into their old age, they also become prone to catching certain issues, both physical and psychological.

The bones and muscles of a person become weaker with old age, reducing their functionality. Because of that, problems are noticed in their movement, joint problems like arthritis become common, etc.  They also lose the sharpness in their basic sensory functions like hearing, sight, and taste.

They suffer from many diseases and health issues because of the weakening immune system, like fever and heart issues. Studies have shown that almost 30% of the 85 years old-and-above elderly show signs of dementia-like Alzheimer’s disease, which reduces their quality of life immensely. 

These problems cause a serious impact on the regular lives of older adults. Normal activities like eating, walking, and even taking a shower become increasingly difficult for them.

The loss in their normal abilities and declining health causes a serious damper on their mental well being as well. The previously independent men and women start wondering about their lives and mortality, which reduces the emotional state of the elderly.

Financial insecurity

People in the 65 years and above age limit face a sense of financial insecurity in their old age. Retirement is the main reason behind this. 

People who suffer from financial losses in old age cannot revert to their previous bank balance as easily. It is very difficult for older generations to find work in their old age, and the additional worries of bills cause serious stress. Even buying certain basic items causes confinement for the elder people.

For the elderly, the government provides some standard benefits to help with their living conditions. Most of those (around 66%) who are supported under the governmental initiatives live lower than the destitution level. 

Elderly abuse

An alarming feature in the lives of the elderly has been noticed.  More and more cases are coming up that tell of the harrowing mistreatment of the elderly in the nursing homes, and sometimes, their own homes. Unfortunately, most of the victims do not come forward with these reports, which is even more frightening to comprehend.  

Why this is becoming more and more common among the elderly is simple-they cannot defend themselves. With old age, most of the older crowds lose their abilities to perform basic functions and grow weak. They do not have the strength that the used to in their younger age. Thus, they cannot properly protect themselves when an attack comes. 

Sadly, most of the abuse cases have occurred inside the four walls of their own homes. Some relatives take advantage of their elderly and cause them immense trauma-both physiological and psychological.  

The kinds of trauma that have been reported range from physical beatings, manipulation, disregarding their feelings and words, sexual torture among others. One of the main factors behind this type of treatment is money. 

Some of these treatments can have a lasting and oftentimes deadly impact on the lives of the affected men and women. 

Nursing home care

People in their old age cannot function as well as they used to, most dangerously so. Family members admit them to assisted living quarters like nursing homes for constant monitoring. 

Due to the various physical health issues that arise in older people, they need to go to healthcare specialists more frequently than the younger generations. This causes serious effects on the expenses of them.  Certain governmental measures like Medicare are available to help the elderly for the hospital medical expenses. However, most of the elder generations have to pay the majority of the costs by themselves.

The cost of living in nursing homes is very high, further increasing the financial burden. Sometimes, the care provided in these nursing homes is not good, ranging from the terrible living conditions to maltreatment by the staff. In the case of the latter situation, they cannot appropriately protect themselves in their unsteady state.  

Loneliness and a feeling of being unwanted 

One of the main issues that have been noticed in their lives is a lack of companionship. Research has shown that almost 28%of the senior citizens live by themselves.  The elderly people feel the effects of loneliness very intensely in this stage. With old age, death is a synonymous factor. Loss of friends, life partners, and family members are very common in the lives of elderly people. The pain of that is very intense and causes older people to lose their own will to live. Depression is also a common side effect in this situation.

When a person grows old, they receive retirement from their professions. For some of them, this means a chance to spend time with their family. For most of them, this also means the loss of social life and having something to do.

People in the 65 and above age bracket suffer from various issues like depression, despondency, sorrow, uneasiness, and many other diseases. But the one symptom that is most prominent and scary of them all is the loss of their will to live.

As we have surmised, the elderly have to suffer through a lot of psychological, financial, physical, and emotional issues. Knowing all the situations helps the person to properly determine what decisions to make to make their later life better.  In case you are looking for a good healthcare service for your parents’ and grandparents’, Goodma Healthcare Services Pvt. Ltd. provides a lot of good and reliable services to their patients for example home elderly care services mumbai, Home blood test, Home nursing etc 

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