Can you get hooked on sleeping pills?

A Canadian study has found that about half of elderly patients prescribed common medications to help them sleep while in hospital are taking the drugs at least six months after discharge because they have become dependent on their snooze-inducing effects.

The sleeping pills, known as benzodiazepines, include brands such as Valium and Ativan. They’ve been linked to such serious side-effects as daytime sleepiness, cognitive impairment, injuries from falls and motor vehicle collisions.

Dr. Chaim Bell, a scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) in Toronto, and lead author of the study, said this week: “An … often overlooked issue is that long-term use of benzodiazepines can lead to dependence.”

Source: Canadian Press

Seniors and “mature” men and women looking for companionship also use the personal columns in their search. Some of the advertisements, such as the following, demonstrate that seniors looking for love can be humorous, even hilarious. Read on and enjoy.

Foxy Lady

Sexy, fashion-conscious blue-haired beauty, 80s, slim, 5′4″ (used to be 5′6″), searching for sharp-looking, sharp-dressing companion. Matching white shoes and belt a plus.

Long-Term Commitment

Recent widow who has buried fourth husband, and am looking for someone to round out a six-unit plot. Dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath not a problem.

Serenity Now

I am into solitude, long walks, sunrises, the ocean, yoga and meditation. If you are the silent type, let’s get together, take our hearing aids out and enjoy quiet times.

Winning Smile

Active grandmother with original teeth seeking a dedicated flosser to share rare steaks, corn on the cob and caramel candy.

Beatles or Stones?

I still like to rock, still like to cruise in my Camaro on Saturday nights and still like to play the guitar. If you were a groovy chick, or are now a groovy hen, let’s get together and listen to my eight-track tapes.

Mint Condition

Male, 1932, high mileage, good condition, some hair, many new parts including hip, knee, cornea, valves. Isn’t in running condition, but walks well.

Memories

I can usually remember Monday through Thursday. If you can remember Friday, Saturday and Sunday, let’s put our two heads together.

Thank you to Victoria Withenshaw of London, Ontario Canada for passing these items along to our blog. Oh, incidentally, she’s looking for “a nice gentleman.” All her moving parts are definitely in good order. And she’s a great person, too.

If we as a society honoured the maturity and wisdom of age, there would be no hesitation in giving Canadians a choice about when to retire. As CARP (Canadian Association of Retired Persons) pointed out to Ottawa’s Expert Panel on Older Workers, such choice based on ability, not on age is a human right.

The reality is that we live in a youth-oriented society instead of a society for all ages. Demographic silos pitted age groupings against each other, especially in the workplace.

Although many provinces and territories have eradicated mandatory retirement, seniors who want to, or have to work still face this obstacle in parts of our country. For example, this is the case in federally regulated industries such as banking, communications and transportation.

CARP does not believe in mandatory employment. In fact, CARP promotes in the “carrot” of incentives rather than the “stick” of enforcement to engage older workers. When they are part of the labour force, the economy and government coffers benefit as well as the individual. Not only do older workers pay taxes, they put money back into the economy by spending on goods and services which, of course, stimulates productivity.

Canadians are living longer, healthier and more actively than ever before. Clearly for many of them the loss of meaningful activity, along with low income and social isolation, can contribute to physical and mental conditions. Working helps maintain quality of life and independence for them.

However, the mindset of employers, older workers and other employees must change if we are to dispel myths and attitudes about age that have taken on a life of their own.

What a mistake and a waste to buy into ageist stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination! Older people are not necessarily frail, slow or sick. They are able to learn new information and skills. In fact, they bring with them life experience, work expertise, commitment and a passion for life long learning. To quote former U.N.

Secretary-General Kofi Anan, “the whole world stands to gain from an empowered older generation, with the potential to make tremendous contributions to the development process and to the work of building more productive, peaceful, and sustainable societies.”

This dynamic must be nurtured for the benefit of individuals, the workplace and society. Matching the skills of older Canadians with the jobs that have to be filled in a broad and creative manner is the way to go — for example, recognizing that a person can apply a skill set in one field to quite another field. Of course, this requires vision, imagination and thinking outside the box.

Some jobs can and should draw on non-professional experience such as the skills implicit in homemaking or a trade that has been a hobby, like carpentry, cooking, artwork or volunteer activity.

Among those who are frail, either physically or mentally, many are still capable of activity, even if at times limited.

For example, they can work from home with modern means of technology and communication. Their contribution can still be significant – for employers and for themselves. If call centres for Canadian services can be located in India, and they are, as we know, then workers can be stationed in their own homes.

Canada, like the rest of the world, is experiencing an unprecedented demographic evolution that will see one in four Canadians 65 and older by 2030. At the same time, the current lower birth rate has already created a smaller cohort of younger people and a shortage of workers to replace the retiring War Babies (born between 1939 and 1945) and Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1965). Immigration alone cannot fill the gap between supply and demand. Older workers are needed.

CARP recommends a federal/provincial/territorial national strategy to create an environment that embraces older workers – including anti-ageist policies, flexible hours (for those who need it), training and re-training, etc.

The value of older workers is beginning to be recognized. Now it’s time for government and businesses to take action.

From CARP’s website, www.50plus.com

Thanks to Ed Corrigan of London, Ontario Canada for passing on this inspirational story.

A friend of mine opened his wife’s underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package: “This, - he said - isn’t any ordinary package.”

He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.

“She got this the first time we went to New York eight or nine years ago. She has never put it on, was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is it. He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral house; his wife had just died. He turned to me and said:

“Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion”.

I still think those words changed my life.

Now I read more and clean less. I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.

I spend more time with my family, and less at work.

I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through. I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses every day. I’ll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.

I don’t save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to. The words “Someday” and “One Day” are fading away from my dictionary. If it’s worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now. I don’t know what my friend’s wife would have done if she knew she wouldn’t be there the next morning, this nobody can tell. I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.
She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I’d like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food. It’s these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come.

I would regret it, because I would no longer see the friends I would meet, letters that I wanted to write

“One of these days”.

I would regret and feel sad, because I didn’t say to my brother and sisters, son and daughters, not times enough at least, how much I love them.

Now, I try not to delay, postpone or keep anything that could bring laughter and joy into our lives. And, each morning, I say to myself that this could be a special day. Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.

If you got this, it’s because someone cares for you and because, probably, there’s someone you care about.

If you’re too busy to send this out to other people and you say to yourself that you will send it “One of these days “, remember that “One day” is far away or might never come. No matter if you’re superstitious or not, spend some time reading it. It holds useful messages for the soul.

Don’t keep this message. Send it out to as many friends as possible. You’ll be happy that you did.

Elder abuse can be physical, emotional, verbal or financial in form. Neglect can also be considered a form of abuse. Many seniors do not report abuse, or feel isolated and afraid to speak out.

As a result, the problem of elder abuse remains largely hidden behind closed doors. Canadian research indicates that between four and ten percent of older adults experience some kind of abuse or neglect.

“World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (held Juen 15 this year) is an opportunity to raise awareness of the abuse of older adults as a means to prevent and combat all types of elder abuse,” said The Honourable Marjory LeBreton, Leader of the Canadian Government in the Senate and Secretary of State (Seniors) .

“We must find ways to show Canadian seniors that elder abuse exists, that it is not tolerated, and that there is help available in our communities to cope. This includes finding ways not only to help victims, but to prevent abuse before it happens.”

Canada’s new government is addressing the problem of elder abuse, in all its ugly forms, through a variety of actions:

* The National Seniors Council was created in March 2007 to advise the Canadian government on seniors’ issues of national importance. Canada government has asked the Council to focus some of its first efforts on finding ways to raise awareness of elder abuse and to combat it.

* Budget 2007 announced the expansion of the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) by $10 million per year, with a portion of the new funding to be used for education about elder abuse and fraud. To date, the NHSP has funded more than 1,700 projects, benefiting more than 100,000 participants in more than 430 communities across Canada.

* The Family Violence Initiative (FVI), coordinated by the Public Health Agency of Canada, consists of 15 member departments, and promotes public awareness of the risk factors of family violence, and the need for public involvement in responding to it. The FVI has identified the abuse of older adults as an issue warranting specific attention in the context of family violence. The FVI theme for June is elder abuse, and it is highlighted in the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence’s E-Bulletin.

* The Canadian government participates in the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Safety and Security for Seniors, which has developed materials to help promote awareness of abuse and neglect of older adults. These resources may be found on the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse’s Web site at www.cnpea.ca.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was first declared last year by the World Health Organization and the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse. It is an opportunity to raise awareness of the abuse of older adults as a means to prevent and combat all types of elder abuse.It is also an opportunity to recognize the local, provincial, territorial and federal partnerships that promote the safety, security and well-being of seniors. In Canada, elder abuse has become a priority issue for all levels of government.

Elder abuse exists in many ugly forms – whether it is physical, emotional, verbal financial, or even sexual. Many seniors do not report abuse. They often feel isolated and afraid to speak out. As a result, elder abuse remains largely hidden behind closed doors.

The Canadian government is already taking action to help raise awareness of the existence of elder abuse.

Budget 2007 announced a $10 million dollar increase to the New Horizons for Seniors Program, from $25 million to $35 million. Some of this additional funding will be used to combat elder abuse and fraud, and invest in community programs to raise awareness.

The government also recently established the National Seniors Council to advise the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, the Minister of Health, and Minister LeBreton on issues of national importance to seniors.

As Secretary of State for Seniors, she has asked the Council to first focus its work on two hugely important issues: raising awareness to combat elder abuse, and providing support to low-income single senior women.

“We need to work together to stand up for those who have helped build this country to make it what it is today,” she told her fellow Senators. “World Elder Abuse Awareness Day offers the opportunity to change attitudes and behaviours when it comes to the abuse of older adults.

“I ask that all Honourable Senators work to help our Government reach out to our seniors’ communities so that we can break down the wall of silence and show Canadians that elder abuse exists, that it is not tolerated, and that there is help available in our communities.

For more information, please contact Office of the Secretary of State (Seniors) James Maunder 613-943-0756 or Human Resources and Social Development Canada Media Relations Office at 819-994-5559; web site: www.hrsdc.gc.ca