Ways Older Adults Can Cope With the Stress of Coronavirus

Washington University in St. Louis Professor Brian Carpenter offers tips to help older adults cope with the coronavirus pandemic, reports the Wall Street Journal . He notes that while many older adults stay connected with technologies like group chat and videoconferencing, there is a subset who lack access to or do not know how to use such products. "I would love it if family members would ask their parents: How do you want to stay in touch? How often? What time? By what mode? What do you want to talk about? What do you not want to talk about?" Carpenter says. "Just asking can be informative and empowering." Carpenter adds that from a therapeutic standpoint, video therapy is better to older adults than telephone therapy, and telephone therapy is more effective than e-mail. He also thinks that local communities — like social service organizations, institutions, and groups of neighbors — have a responsibility to help older adults who have no family. "If older adults can keep their focus on what they can do to promote their physical and mental well-being, that can help reduce anxiety," Carpenter suggests. "It can also be helpful for older adults to think about what they can do for other people — make a phone call, send an email, yell down the hall to another friend who is self-quarantining."