Spare some time for elderly family members
A recent study, published in this daily, reveals that half of all people aged 75 or above live alone and at least one in ten of the ten million 'above 65s' in Britain is badly affected by solitude. It identified nearly 4,00,000 elderly people in England who say they have children who are too busy to see them. The study also found that for ten percent of parents over 75, their nearest child lives more than hours' drive away. And of those, almost half are visited just once every two to six months.
We can say that the situation of our country in this regard is not better at all. Experts say that the sad, solitary state of many older people is not just a state of mind; it can hasten dementia and increase the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. Even according to a recent study, the effect of loneliness on health is equated to that of obesity or smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
However, elderly people feel helpless if other family members ignore them and many of them feel bereft and lost following the death of a long-term partner. Some elderly people may have children but may not live close enough for the family to visit with any regularity. Anyway, we should visit our elderly relatives regularly and we must spare a little time for them in the holidays at least.
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