Pandemic losses still affecting older Kiwis
Better mental healthcare urged for over-65s
For one Bay resident accustomed to driving from home to Pukekohe for the chance to see her granddaughter dance ballet for two minutes, the past two years have been challenging.
“I’ve lost children, so seeing my surviving children is very important to me,” said the 72-year-old and grandmother of eight.
“I’m not a person who gets depressed or down but slowly I got to the stage that I wasn’t interested in going anywhere.”
The resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the pandemic had posed a challenge for her mental health from the beginning.
“The day we went into lockdown was a big birthday for me,” she said.
“The celebrations had to be canned and it was made worse by the fact that my previous big birthday was also cancelled because of a sickness in the family. I got really down about that.”
The resident said that even if a celebration was held a year later, the experience was not the same.
Another strain on her mental health was her inability to see family in Auckland.
“I didn’t mind being in the house, that didn’t matter. I’ve coped with masks.
“But it’s really quite hard not being able to see your family.”
She and her husband usually saw their children and grandchildren at least once a month.
“It was really hard to have months between seeing them,” she said.
“I missed my grandson’s 21st birthday. He was quite upset that we weren’t going to be there.”
She said keeping in touch via technology did not replace face-toface contact.
“There’s no touch [on the computer]. There’s no hugs.”
The resident said being involved with Grey Power had helped.
“It’s been good, being down there and helping people.”
She said talking to the Grey Power community showed her others were “in the same boat”.
“It’s very common. I know people who haven’t been able to see their parents in rest homes. At some ages, you don’t know how long you’re going to have those members of your family around for. So time is precious.”
She felt that anyone leaning towards more serious mental health difficulties would have trouble readjusting over the next year or so.
In a study of 730 comments from New Zealanders aged 55-85, Massey University School of Psychology professor Christine Stephens found many participants reported experiencing mental health strain as a result of their experience of the pandemic, particularly around lockdown.
“[These included] concerns about isolation from family members and friends, or difficulties with shopping and accessing medical services,” Stephens wrote about the study in a paper published in August last year.
“Those aged over 70 often expressed resentment about being singled out as vulnerable and told to stay at home.”
Rotorua’s Three Lakes Clinic GP Dr Cate Mills said she had noticed an increase in patients presenting with loneliness in the past two years, particularly her nursing home patients who had been isolated from their families.
“Part of the problem is recognising that there is a mental health struggle,” Mills said.
“It can show in stress, worry, feeling
flat, tired or unmotivated. [But] they’re a generation of people who are used to just getting on with it.”
Mills said older people were more likely to minimise their struggles and often did not have the language to describe their emotional challenges.
When asked how family and community members could support their loved ones in this age group, Mills said it was all about “connection”.
“Older people’s wellbeing is enhanced with connection.”
Mills recommended checking in
often and supporting older community members in their use of technology.
“My older patients who know how to use an ipad can experience more happiness through that learning and can use it to connect with others.”
New Zealand Association of Counsellors president Christine Macfarlane said routine, social connection and physical exercise were also important for anyone’s positive mood and general wellbeing.
“[The pandemic] has definitely had an impact, particularly for people who are living on their own,” Macfarlane said.
Isolation from loved ones and routine social activities had led to a deterioration in people’s physical and mental health and it was harder for older people to bounce back, she said.
“In terms of elderly people, it’s an area where we don’t have a lot of support services available.
“It’s almost like a forgotten demographic [for mental healthcare].
“They worry about being a burden to their wha¯nau and they don’t share as much.
“They don’t want to tell you how hard it’s been because they don’t want them to worry.”
Macfarlane said the effects of the pandemic will be evident in all the generations who lived through it and it was important to acknowledge that.
“We can’t expect people to go back to the way they were. We’re all changed from this.
“[Recovery] is not just about going on a holiday. We need to do little things like instigate family dinners, picnics or go to the movies.
“Regularity is key.”