Have you known any centenarians? I mean anyone who’s lived over 100 years. There have been studies done in different places throughout the world where centenarians are more common in order to better understand longevity. We all wonder if this is simply good genes or if diet and exercise really do have to do with it.
Social Health Impacts Our Longevity
Accessibility to good medical care is surely a factor. Though aside from medical care, diet and saunas, what I found most interesting when reading about these studies was around the common theme of social health. Maybe you’ve read some more recent research, but I’m remembering what stood out from published articles written several years ago. The social piece has stuck with me and seems significant to all of us, something we can focus on along with our cholesterol levels and recorded daily steps.
Most centenarians are living with others, even if able to be independent. This is often with family members. They have remained active in their communities; some even being treated with respect for what they’ve learned from their life experience. I’ve found that the elders in our country are often not viewed with admiration or with curiosity for what they can share with us. I see social health defined as how we “fit” within our community, how we interact with those around us.
How Do You Fit in?
Consider how you feel within the social context around you. First, do you feel safe? Do you feel a part of something bigger than yourself? Something even beyond your family? Do you feel respected and cared about by your neighbors? Do you respect and care about your neighbors? What activities do you participate in or are even part of creating? People who live long lives are often involved with social activities on a regular basis, engaged with their communities. They balance their at-home life with joining the larger group around them. I imagine we’re like pack animals rather than isolated ones, most effective when part of the larger group. And this truly influences our physical, emotional, and mental health. Whether you’re an introverted or an extroverted individual will influence how you find your social balance.
This all seems relevant as I’m writing this a few days before our upcoming national and local government elections, amongst other passionate global issues currently. It sure is a heightened time of division amongst us, becoming more solid with some and more separated from others because of our similarities and differences. We have mixed emotions of frustration because of those differences and deeper, maybe hidden, pain because of the separation. Can we have the differences without the separation?
Back to Yin and Yang
My daily view, observing others in a medical setting, comes from the historical perspective of Chinese Medicine. The understanding of Yin and Yang is at the heart of that perspective. You can probably envision the yin/yang symbol as two halves of one circle, with a curved line separating the black and white sides. There’s a dot of the opposite color in each half. I can see It as a symbol of social health in these times.
We can remember that we human beings, who may be divided at times in our values or opinions, are a group needing to work together for the sake of ourselves and everything else around us. Central Vermont did this well when there was a threat to our local community by Hurricane Irene in 2011. Even when we feel differently, we can still relate to each other (like the dot of the opposite color) as fellow human beings. We can easily lose sight of the similarities amidst the passionate differences.
“That Which Does Not Kill Us Makes Us Stronger”
Often, physical illness can build the immune system and make one stronger to fight future illness. Haven’t you seen this in your growing children or grandchildren? The same must be true for one’s social health. How we each manage this time of social challenge in the larger world around us will have an impact on our overall well-being. I sure hope it makes us stronger. Our local centenarians may help guide us in these times, right?