Mental health expert, Professor Jane Fisher, is encouraging Australian women to see older age as a time of opportunity, freedom and appreciation of life experiences.
On World Health Day (April 7, 2012), Professor Fisher, Director of Research at Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, said as long as women maintain good mental and physical health then their later years can be fulfilling and rewarding.
“There’s a stereotype of the lonely old woman outliving her partner and having a life that is not very gratifying,” Professor Fisher said.
“But we believe that, whatever we define older age as, it can be a very satisfying time in a woman’s life. Women may be freed from their care-giving responsibilities and so have more time to follow creative pursuits, to travel, or to take up opportunities and activities they had no chance to pursue when they were younger.”
This World Health Day, an initiative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), focuses on how good physical and mental health can add life to years – so women and men don’t only live longer but they remain active and engaged in their communities. WHO says we need to ‘reinvent ageing’ and to fight ageist stereotypes.
Globally, the number of people aged 80 years or more will almost quadruple to 395 million between now and 2050 and within the next five years, the number of adults aged 65 and over will outnumber children under the age of five.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were 3.01 million people aged 65 years and over in June 2010 – an increase of 14 per cent since June 2005.
Professor Fisher says women need to be proactive in taking care of their health so they age well enough to take advantage of new opportunities this stage of life presents.
“There is some suggestion that if you can accept some of the changes in life graciously, you will be more content,” Professor Fisher said.
“Women later in life often feel they’ve accrued a wisdom that allows them to know that, in general, difficult things pass and that good things do occur. This capability equips them to enjoy what they do have, to savour daily experiences and to appreciate smaller events – all important components of a satisfying life.
“But the evidence is clear that this is easier if you are able to maintain good health – you have to continue to engage in activities that are stimulating and interesting, to maintain good social relationships and to feel that you are able to contribute in ways that are meaningful and that you enjoy, and to exercise,” says Professor Fisher.
For more information about healthy ageing go to www.jeanhailes.org.au
For more information about World Health Day go to www.who.int
