It is never too late to quit smoking -- not even if you are a senior citizen

It is never too late to quit smoking.

(By Dr P Vyasamoorthy)

 Has Anbumani  Ramadoss put you in a fix that you have to put off the urge to smoke for long hours? How about kicking the habit taking it as a blessing in disguise? Here is one 'How-to'.

Many senior citizens I know continue to entertain themselves with undesirable habits like smoking, drinking, gambling or overeating. Giving up bad habits is all the more significant in older persons. They have less number of years to go by, they are more vulnerable to diseases, their auto-repair mechanisms are low and dividends of kicking bad habits are high. Most people think of giving it up at a future date. The intentions are pious but the mind is weak. How does one go about becoming a success story to oneself? Giving up bad habits is a positive way of improving one self. It boosts one's self confidence. All that is required is firm resolve.

I gave up smoking when I was 46 -- a habit that I 'enjoyed' for more than a score of years- now with "smoke-free-lungs" for almost 20 years.  Mr Chary, my friend, gave up smoking this October on his 69th birthday.  It is not very difficult. To reiterate, only a tough resolution is needed. I would like to share with you a method that worked for me. I will be brief.

On one of the weekly holidays I had a good breakfast. I locked myself into a room all by myself, telling my wife not to disturb me for about three hours. I smoked two cigarettes at a stretch and drank a glass of water.

I wrote down on a piece of paper all the advantages I could think of if I give up smoking. My health would improve, cough would stop, appetite will increase, taste of food will return, I might avoid cancer, I will save money, atmosphere will be clean, children will be free of passive smoking, my father will appreciate it, my wife will respect me more, No late night trips to Pan walah to stock cigarettes for the next morning and so on. The note ended with a word based picture as to how I will be after quitting smoking -- healthy, happy, satisfied and proud person. It was a nice and effective script -- how I wish I had preserved it.

Then I closed my eyes, sat straight, breathed slowly and concentrated on my breathing for a couple of minutes. Then I read over the notes I had written some 108 times all to myself. Sometimes aloud, sometimes, silently. Drank water in between. Went into shallow meditation (just observing the breath) every now and then. Repeated reading my story.

At the end of some two and half hours, I opened the door and stepped out. I have not touched a single cigarette since then.

After a day or two of stopping, the craving returned. I was so restless my wife suggested: I can not see you suffering.  Why don't you have just one cigarette? No, I said and kept up the struggle. The temptation kept coming up again and again for about a week. Thereafter it receded. I won.

I do not believe in the methods that suggest that you reduce smoking by degrees. Any bad habit can be kicked off only abruptly and once and for all. My investment on quitting the smoking habit? Just 50 rupees. I bought a cyclostyled manuscript that explained this method. I got  it through VPP  after reading an advertisement in Illustrated Weekly of India.

Your investment is just these couple of minutes of reading this real time story. Just do it, as Nike AD says.

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A note on ISCGG - 2008

A Note on ISCGG – 2008

Dr P Vyasamoorthy

 

ISCGG: International Symposium and Conference of Gerontology and Geriatrics and 14^th Biennial Meeting of the Association of Gerontology (India). December 16-18, 2008. SV University, Tirupati, India.

 

The Ninth Letter of the English Alphabet participated in the above Seminar as a special invitee. It was hosted by the Center for Research on Ageing, Department of Psychology, SV University. MOSJE, HelpAge India, ICSSR, ICMR, WHO, DST, CSIR, ASI, APSCHE were the sponsors.

 

Participants

 

There were approximately 300 (450 by The Hindu count) participants: 22 from abroad, 138 non-local and 140 local. Foreign delegated came from: Bangla Desh, Pakistan, USA, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, China, Malta and Denmark. Students from Nursing, Psychology and sociology disciplines attended in good measure. Almost everyone prominent in Indian Gerontology was there. I can quickly recollect from the top of mind many participants like: Sri KR Gangadharan, Dr SD Gokhale, Capt Singaraja, Dr PKB Nayar, Dr Indira Jayaprakash, Dr Ilango, Sri Sailesh Mishra and many representatives from SCAs in Guntur, E/W Godavary Districts. I missed seeing Sri RN Mital, Smt Vaithi to name just two. Of course Prof Jamuna and Prof PV Ramamurti were seen everywhere playing the host. Perhaps because they got so much entrenched in our hearts, their names are missing in the participants list given in the Souvenir. Another person who was most visible was Prof JS Troisi.

 

Themes, papers and Sessions

 

The theme of the three day event was: "Health and well being of the Elderly: Mainstreaming Ageing into Development Agenda".  Presentations were grouped under disciplines like Biology, Medicine, Psychosocial gerontology, Geriatrics and Bio-gerontology. These were subdivided into Oral presentations and poster presentations. Oral Presentations were accommodated in combined sessions or concurrent sessions. Besides these, there were sessions for Inaugural, Valedictory, Book Releases, Orations, and Plenary also. Inevitably, the Business meetings of AGI and ICMR were also thrown in.

 

 

I was told that the organizers received some 420 papers / abstracts and had a very tough time screening through the lot. In all, some 240 lectures / papers / presentations were scheduled for the three day event as per the program sheet. Fortunately many speakers were absent. As many parallel sessions were going on simultaneously it was difficult to decide as where to go. I had the dilemma of choosing between 1) known speakers and known topics and 2) unknown speakers and interesting titles -- these groups were mutually exclusive.

 

A simple way to know how many oral presentations were finally made is to count how many certificates / mementos were distributed. The event was so tightly packed with several activities that I am wondering whether this is the most ear-full event of the year.

 

For some details of what actually was discussed read Sri Sailesh Mishra's posting in Silver Innings Website. As far as my talk on Care providers and Care Receivers is concerned, 'I also ran!' In general, most "bigwigs" devour all the time for themselves leaving just a few minutes each for other speakers. One exception is Sri Gangadharan. 

 

Other things:

 

1. Food provided was superb, wholesome, hot and fresh. Catering arrangements were excellent, well spread out with multiple serving sections on two floors.
2. Participants, who opted for it, were taken to Tirumala for Darshan of Lord Venkateswara. Three batches were organized. This part of the seminar gave immense satisfaction to many – comfortable, convenient and well organized.
3. Four publications were released:

                                                               i.      Dr SD Gokale: Spirituality and Ageing

                                                             ii.      Prof PV Ramamurti: Joy of Ageing. (For a review, click here)

                                                            iii.      Dr Irudaya Rajan: Care of the Elderly

                                                           iv.      Special volume of Bio gerontology on "Brain Aging"

4. Contribution of Volunteers who spent sleepless nights to look after the comfortable stay and local transportation for non-local participants was exemplary.
5. News clippings about the event were displayed. However no photos were displayed, though the event was well video graphed.
6. I found it odd that there was no promotion for AGI membership – no application forms or any literature.
7. The Souvenir volume distributed contains 120 abstracts of papers..
8. Venue: The venue was the SV University Library Building where a training center is located. Ample lecture rooms for concurrent meetings each well equipped with AV and LCD are available. For combined session a large lecture hall that can hold about 400 persons was used.
9. Many speakers (irrespective of Age experience or reputation) need to undergo specific training in presentation skills, especially on how to prepare PowerPoint Presentations. I don't know what led them to imagine that binoculars will be given to each participant as a part of Seminar kit. Moreover, the screen was too small for a large hall.

 

It is impossible to cover an event of this magnitude in two pages. On the whole it is an event that will remain fresh in my mind for a long time.

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Book Review: Joy of Ageing

The Joy of Ageing. Prof PV Ramamurti. Published by the Centre for Research on Ageing, Department of Psychology, SV University, Tirupati 517502. Rs 100/- (2008)

A Review by Dr P Vyasamoorthy

This important addition to the field of Psycho-social Gerontology was released during ISSGG – 2008. Let us take a quick pre-view on its contents:

The first chapter sets the scenario, by ending the chapter with the central teaching of the entire book: “Practicing positive thinking and making it an all time habit is the key to keep mental and physical health.” Chapter two gives statistics about older persons in India and the world. Next chapter deals with changes in the body functions as we age. All systems – Cardiovascular, respiratory, muscular-skeletal, digestive, excretory, reproductive, sense organs (like skin, eyes, ears, taste, smell) are covered. Chapter 4 deals with factors leading to good health like hygiene, surroundings, ventilation among others. Many hints are provided for diet in old age in the next chapter. “Keeping fit” talks of Yoga Exercises and what not? Chapter 7 describes living arrangements for the elderly, such as, living with the family, living in old age homes, availing oneself of paid care services or day care services. Criteria for choosing various types of stay are explained. Another important aspect, Money, is discussed in chapter 8. Here, savings, pension, income generation activities, cost of maintaining health are all taken up.

Managing Leisure, managing disabilities of old age and developing an interest in spirituality are explained in subsequent chapters. A self assessment Scale for assessing physical disability in Chapter 11 is very useful. It is simple and easy to use. Excellent tips are offered for maintaining interpersonal relations: this chapter especially addresses weaknesses of older persons and shows how to tackle ageism issues. The most important chapter, chap 13, “building a happy mindset, explains Trigunas of thought and how to make Satvik type of thinking a permanent way of life. Care and welfare of older persons comes next. Rights and responsibilities of senior citizens, National policy directives are listed. The last chapter Epilogue re-emphasizes how developing a permanent positive mindset is absolutely essential to enjoy old age.

As a sort of lagniappe author adds a series of five Top ten listings:

• Top ten Commandments for Happy Ageing
• Ten Tips for better health in old age
• Desirable food habits in Old age
• Tips to prevent falls in Old age
• How the Elderly can be asset to the family

I like this book because

• The chapters are short and the treatment is simple and lucid
• You may pick up any chapter and start reading without losing connectivity
• Cartoons by Raju , sprinkled throughout the book, provoke a smile – something the author wants you to do ever so often
• It offers sane sensible straight forward information / tips/ advice on several aspects of ageing and shows the way to age happily
• It renders itself easy for light reading on a serious subject
• It comes from the pen of Prof PV Ramanurti, an erudite scholar on India Gerontology (Want to know more about him? Click the link)
• Last, but not the least, the author is a member of sss-global.

Get the book, read for yourself and you will not be disappointed.


(I have a few copies of the book available at a special discount of 20% to sss-global members on cash and carry basis.)

Who is Prof PV Ramamurti?

Dr PV Ramamurti is Professor Emeritus and the Founder Director (Honorary) of the Center for Research for Ageing, Dept of Psychology, SV University. He served as the co-ordinator of UGC, DSA Program,and Dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, an UGC Emeritus fellow and former President of Association of Gerontology (India). He was a Fullbright Fellow (1983), visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute Berlin, and at the Institute of Ageing Liverpool UK (1989),and an invitee to the Sandoz Lecture, Basle, (1992). He is associated as consultant with several international organizations such as the United Nations(Agenda for Ageing research), UNFPA, Guest Faculty at the UN International Institute at Malta (since 1998). He is a recipient of Life Time Achievement award of AGI, Swamy Pranavananda Award in Psychology (Research Contribution), Basu Medal (API), Distinguished Gerontologist (Age Care). His biographical citation appears in American Psychological Association Publication "World History of Gerontology in Biography". He has to his credit twelve major research projects (two international), twelve PhDs, eight books and 162 Research Articles.

The young and the Old: Bringing them together

The Young and the Old: Bringing them together

Dr P Vyasamoorthy

 

·        My grandson runs away the moment I call him

·        My granddaughter thinks I am a bore

·        How will I escape that oldie today?

·        Pucca Bore, Yaar, my grandma.

 

These are common conversations heard among elders and kids. Kids feel that their grand parents are to be shunned. Senior Citizens feel they should be treated with respect, welcomed and be entertained with company and conversation; even it is just some petty small talk. Boys would not listen, leave alone respect. Girls will complain against grandpa or grandma to their mothers. What can be done to bring about amicability, tolerance and love? How to bridge the generation gap? Let us look at a few tips involving many sections of the society.

The best place to mould children and teach them to look at elders with sympathy, care and love is the school.  Andrew Shue, famous American film star, says: "I created an organization [when I was in High School] to help senior citizens. How many high school kids are out there helping senior citizens?" implying, not many.  As a part of "Moral Instruction" classes children may be shown how to help senior citizens. The School may give away prizes for the best student who cares for his grand parents. Local Senior Citizen Associations can institute such prizes by funding the same. During the Annual Day of the School Children may be encouraged to take a suitable pledge that all through their lives they will be "senior friendly" and helpful. Boy Scouts and Girl Guides may be given special exercises in helping old people: Helping them cross the road in a busy junction, running small errands, accompanying them to the hospital, help them get into buses etc. School Magazines may encourage small articles or stories that talk of intergenerational gap and the importance of taking to elders kindly.

Senior Citizens Associations and NGOs working for seniors and Elders them selves can do a lot in bridging the generation gap. Senior citizens Association can adopt a school. 'Senior Citizens Forum' in Secunderabad, for instance has adopted a school where the parents are poor. Whenever members of this Forum go on picnics or tours, some half a dozen kids from the school are also taken along free of cost. This brings about unimaginable benefits as it enhances the perception of senior citizens among children, teachers and parents. Senior Citizens can engage the children in the school by telling stories about culture, mythology, history etc. They can also volunteer as teachers, supplementing regular teachers. As stories attract children, this voluntary engagement is likely to improve relationships. Indirectly they may pick up stories where kids are appreciated for caring about their elders.

Many newspapers and magazines devote special sections for school children. The Saturday Supplement of The Hindu – Young World – is an example. Suitable stories about kids caring for elders may be published. If they are written by children out of their own experience it is all the more better.

Government of India intends building an "Integrated Homes" in every district. This is intended to be an Old Age Home, an orphanage, a Primary school and a home for destitute and disabled, all in the same compound or complex. Keeping diverse persons under one roof will bind these communities to come together increasing interdependency.

As I have always been asking, if you have more ideas, please share them with all of us.

[Tags: Intergenerational gap, Generation gap, Senior citizens]

 

 

 

 

Chalk & Talk teacher: Why have we stopped writing letters?

Chalk & Talk teacher: Why have we stopped writing letters?

Dr P Vyasamoorthy

 

 

Wav! Quite a bunch of mail I could collect as I looked into my mail box when I returned home. Being the beginning of the month, my mailbox was full. Enough to keep me busy for a couple of days. But something struck me as strange. No personal mail? Well, when was it that I wrote a letter to any friend or relative to expect one in return? I can not remember.

 

With the onslaught of Email, Voice and Video Chatting, most of us have forgotten the fine art of sending snailmail. I abhor writing letters with pen and paper and posting them. Just plain lazy, I should admit.

 

My brother and my mother in Chennai are strangers to the computer even now. There must be plenty like them everywhere. How do we reach such people? Only through Landline phone or mobile?  Phones are for business like communication – Do me that, bring me this etc. What do you do when you want to, say,

 

• Share your emotions in a planned way
• Send a joke that is better read than told
• Send a copy of some old archaic family photo allowing him to keep it himself  
• Tell him how your handwriting has worsened and let him have the pleasure of deciphering your non-medical gibberish OR
• Leave details of some recipe that he will cook and relish later on?

 

To realize that I have been denying myself such small and simple pleasures was horrifying. Just as "Chalk & Talk teachers" don't we still have "Pen & Paper" only friends and relatives who refuse to be untouched by Computers? Can we deprive ourselves of their company? Snailmail is the only answer in such situations.

 

Just get back to scribbling your thoughts to your friends on paper and post it. They will be happy to see you in flesh – connection being your writing.  As a partial solution to tackle that laziness part I may suggest that you may type in your letters in the PC and send it over Email to your relative through E-Post. E-Post helps you compose an email, transfer the same to the postmaster nearest to your addressee and give him the full address so that the post office may take a print out, put that in an envelope and deliver it like ordinary letter to your friend. Complete details of E-post are available at:

http://indiapost.nic.in/login/login.jsp. Postal department charges just Rs 6.00 per one A4 sheet of message to be transmitted.  Prepaid coupons are available starting from Rs 250/- Presently only text messages but in many local languages are possible.

 

Preaching about pen and paper technology see how I slipped back to ICT! That is the power of technology to make everyone lazy and impersonal. A sensible blend of personal touch in maintaining relationships and friendships and at the same time getting the most of out technology is essential.

 

Well, I will be back to pen and paper; Will you? Don't give in to laziness: Just try & C!

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Chalk & Talk teacher: Why have we stopped writing letters?

Chalk & Talk teacher: Why have we stopped writing letters?

Dr P Vyasamoorthy

 

 

Wav! Quite a bunch of mail I could collect as I looked into my mail box when I returned home. Being the beginning of the month, my mailbox was full. Enough to keep me busy for a couple of days. But something struck me as strange. No personal mail? Well, when was it that I wrote a letter to any friend or relative to expect one in return? I can not remember.

 

With the onslaught of Email, Voice and Video Chatting, most of us have forgotten the fine art of sending snailmail. I abhor writing letters with pen and paper and posting them. Just plain lazy, I should admit.

 

My brother and my mother in Chennai are strangers to the computer even now. There must be plenty like them everywhere. How do we reach such people? Only through Landline phone or mobile?  Phones are for business like communication – Do me that, bring me this etc. What do you do when you want to, say,

 

• Share your emotions in a planned way
• Send a joke that is better read than told
• Send a copy of some old archaic family photo allowing him to keep it himself  
• Tell him how your handwriting has worsened and let him have the pleasure of deciphering your non-medical gibberish OR
• Leave details of some recipe that he will cook and relish later on?

 

To realize that I have been denying myself such small and simple pleasures was horrifying. Just as "Chalk & Talk teachers" don't we still have "Pen & Paper" only friends and relatives who refuse to be untouched by Computers? Can we deprive ourselves of their company? Snailmail is the only answer in such situations.

 

Just get back to scribbling your thoughts to your friends on paper and post it. They will be happy to see you in flesh – connection being your writing.  As a partial solution to tackle that laziness part I may suggest that you may type in your letters in the PC and send it over Email to your relative through E-Post. E-Post helps you compose an email, transfer the same to the postmaster nearest to your addressee and give him the full address so that the post office may take a print out, put that in an envelope and deliver it like ordinary letter to your friend. Complete details of E-post are available at:

http://indiapost.nic.in/login/login.jsp. Postal department charges just Rs 6.00 per one A4 sheet of message to be transmitted.  Prepaid coupons are available starting from Rs 250/- Presently only text messages but in many local languages are possible.

 

Preaching about pen and paper technology see how I slipped back to ICT! That is the power of technology to make everyone lazy and impersonal. A sensible blend of personal touch in maintaining relationships and friendships and at the same time getting the most of out technology is essential.

 

Well, I will be back to pen and paper; Will you? Don't give in to laziness: Just try & C!

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Sleep problems of Senior Citizens

Sleep problems of Senior Citizens

(Dr P Vyasamoorthy)

 

Are you like me? I can not get back to sleep for hours after getting up around 2 am to attend nature's call. Well, this is only one of the several known sleep issues of Old Age.

Nearly 67% of old people suffer from: difficulty in falling asleep, waking up without being refreshed, brief stoppages of breathing or snoring etc. Nearly a third of all women crossing menopause suffer from short term insomnia. Let us see what can be done with reference to common problems related to sleeping.

Before retiring to bed take a cup of warm milk or shower or read a book or try to write a letter. This will induce sleep. Avoid heavy dinner. Say No to alcohol. Pee before popping into bed. Don't be lazy on this count. Keep the bedroom cozy – not too cool, not too stuffy, sufficiently dark -- just right to relax. Go to bed at an appointed time. Make sleeping a routine. For normal people it takes 5 to 7 minutes to pass into sleep. You may take around 15 minutes. Don't panic.

If you get up during the night to go to the toilet and can not get back to sleep, just get up and start reading a book. Or start writing a letter. Or Solve Sudoku or some crossword puzzle from where you left. Such activities will quickly make you sleepy again. Alternately do not indulge in activities that may make you totally awake. I used to brush my teeth, wash my face and drink some water. I used to become so fresh and awake that getting back to sleep is almost impossible.

Many of us may not have compulsions to wake up at appointed time say 6 am in the morning – No milk man, servant maid, paper boy or Safai Walah to attend to. If you are that fortunate then allow yourself to toss in the bed for sufficiently long time. You can get back to sleep automatically after an hour two. But you may wake up late. So what? If you can afford this luxury why not simply go ahead? Try and find out what helps you. After all, each individual is different.

Sleeping safely is also necessary and important for senior citizens, especially those living alone. Keep a glass of water, telephone and switch for a lamp or a Torch light handy.

Some may like to keep hearing aids, walking stick, spectacles, mobile phone or other accessories also handy, but at designated places. Remove rugs that may trip you while walking. Don't keep Mosquito coil so near that your clothes may catch fire. Most importantly don't ever smoke in the bed.

Most of the advice given here are so common place that senior citizens might have read about them many times. But the secret is in heading to the advice! If after taking these simple measures you do not get relief you must see a doctor.  Conditions like depression, arthritis, kidney disease, heart failure, asthma, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, Parkinson's disease and hyperthyroidism may cause chronic insomnia. This requires proper medical attention.

All said and done we should not be foolish to take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night, as advised by Dave Barry.

 

 

Global Economic Recession and Indian Senior Citizens

Global Economic Recession and Indian Senior Citizens

 

 

"My son has got the Red Slip last week. I don't know how to pull on"

"My Interest earnings have gone down but inflation is increasing day by day"

"Dependencies are never ending. Our daughter has joined us leaving her husband abroad -- My responsibilities never seem to end"

 

Such are groaning scenarios among senior citizens in any park or in Day Care centers or among morning walkers.. Here are a couple of suggestions to handle this issue.

Present Economic crisis around the world has resulted in many youngsters losing lucrative jobs abroad or having been forced to accept lower salaries elsewhere. This impacts senior citizens back at home. They have to tighten their belts and get used to living frugally or make unexpected sacrifices. To tackle this central government may come up with some kind of Senior Citizens Income generation schemes or self employment avenues or re-employ retired people with a view to rehabilitate them.

Recently SBI has sent me a letter (quoting my PPF account) announcing higher rates of Interest for Fixed Deposits (11%) for 1000 days. It is an indirect hint that I transfer some funds in PPF yielding only 8% to new FD at higher rates. How about the SBI sending a simple letter asking "Do you want the balance in your PPF account to be kept as Special FD at higher rates" and if the answer is yes  transfer the money to FD and reverse it to PPF after 1000 days? This is just a matter of a few clicks on the computer, if properly programmed. Banks want liquidity; seniors have some money to invest and they would like to have better interest. This 'auto-sweep' facility may be applied in the case of senior citizens without asking. Who will not do with a little more money?

 

The same idea may be applied to other FDs in Banks too whenever better and short term schemes are brought out. Banks should be pro-active to help senior citizen customers and it they who would appreciate such facilities best.

Popularize Reverse Mortgage schemes and make them simple to avail. There are a number of problems in the actual implementation and a lot of vagueness and discretion is allowed at each scheme operators level. Streamlining reverse mortgage schemes will be a boon to senior who are waiting for the dust to settle down.

Health Insurance makes sense only when large number of subscribers is involved. BSNL offers free accident insurance to all subscribers for Rs 50K per subscriber.  Why not something similar -- Health Insurance scheme where premiums are affordable and millions are covered in some automatic manner. Instead of lowering Income Tax Rates, Govt may offer free insurance for the premium amount of IT they are prepared to 'sacrifice'! This will ensure a large subscriber base and many companies may come up with new schemes.

In the case of BPL seniors, sudden demise of the earning member (son/DIL/daughter etc) may worsen the financial position. Compulsory Life insurance schemes (partly funded by Govt -- premium paid) for all employed or salaried persons may be so devised that part of the Proceeds (death claims) go to senior citizens instead of entire money going only to the nominee.