A typically pessimistic view of aging is that it leads to a steady decline in physical and mental abilities. In this volume leading gerontologists and geriatric researchers explore the immense potential of older adults to overcome the challenges of old age and pursue active lives with renewed vitality. The contributors believe that resilience capacities diminishing with old age is a misconception and argue that individuals may successfully capitalize on their existing resources, skills and cognitive processes in order to achieve new learning, continuing growth, and enhanced life-satisfaction. By identifying useful psychological resources such as social connectedness, personal engagement and commitment, openness to new experiences, social support and sustained cognitive activity, the authors present a balanced picture of resilient aging. Older adults, while coping with adversity and losses, can be helped to maintain a complementary focus on psychological strengths, positive emotions, and regenerative capacities to achieve continued growth and healthy longevity.

The many significant technological and medical advances of the 21st century cannot overcome the escalating risk posed to older adults by such stressors as pain, weakness, fatigue, depression, anxiety, memory and other cognitive deficits, hearing loss, visual impairment, isolation, marginalization, and physical and mental illness. In order to overcome these and other challenges, and to maintain as high a quality of life as possible, older adults and the professionals who treat them need to promote and develop the capacity for resilience, which is innate in all of us to some degree. The purpose of this book is to provide the current scientific theory, clinical guidelines, and real-world interventions with regard to resilience as a clinical tool. To that end, the book addresses such issues as concepts and operationalization of resilience; relevance of resilience to successful aging; impact of personality and genetics on resilience; relationship between resilience and motivation; relationship between resilience and survival; promoting resilience in long-term care; and the lifespan approach to resilience. By addressing ways in which the hypothetical and theoretical concepts of resilience can be applied in geriatric practice, Resilience in Aging provides inroads to the current knowledge and practice of resilience from the perspectives of physiology, psychology, culture, creativity, and economics. In addition, the book considers the impact of resilience on critical aspects of life for older adults such as policy issues (e.g., nursing home policies, Medicare guidelines), health and wellness, motivation, spirituality, and survival. Following these discussions, the book focuses on interventions that increase resilience. The intervention chapters include case studies and are intended to be useful at the clinical level. The book concludes with a discussion of future directions in optimizing resilience in the elderly and the importance of a lifespan approach to aging.

This updated and expanded second edition of Resilience in Aging offers a comprehensive description of the current state of knowledge with regard to resilience from physiological (including genetic), psychological (including cognitive and creative), cultural, and economic perspectives. In addition, the book considers the impact of resilience on many critical aspects of life for older adults including policy issues, economic, cognitive and physiological challenges, spirituality, chronic illness, and motivation. The only book devoted solely to the importance and development of resilience in quality of life among older adults, Resilience in Aging, 2nd Edition continues to offer evidence-based theory, clinical guidelines, and new and updated case examples and real-world interventions so professional readers can make the best use of this powerful tool. The critical insights in this volume are concluded with a discussion of future directions on optimizing resilience and the importance of a lifespan approach to the critical component of aging. The book’s coverage extends across disciplines and domains, including: Resilience and personality disorders in older age. Cultural and ethnic perspectives on enhancing resilience in aging Sustained by the sacred: religious and spiritual factors for resilience in adulthood and aging. Building resilience in persons with early-stage dementia and their care partners. Interdisciplinary geriatric mental health resilience interventions. Developing resilience in the aged and dementia care workforce. Using technology to enhance resilience among older adults. This wide-ranging and updated lifespan approach gives Resilience in Aging, 2nd Edition particular relevance to the gamut of practitioners in gerontology and geriatrics, including health psychologists, neuropsychologists, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, geriatricians, family physicians, nurses, occupational and physical therapists, among others.

Resilience is a key component in maintaining health and happiness in old age. When aging adults struggle with social isolation, financial instability, or the difficult work of caring for a spouse with a chronic illness, their levels of stress can be enormous. But many older adults are living longer and are trying to make the best of their later years despite being more vulnerable to stress. In Resilience and Aging, renowned geriatric psychiatrist Dr. Helen Lavretsky explains how enhanced resilience—which involves positively adapting to adversity in a way that maintains a person’s biological and psychological equilibrium—can counter that vulnerability. She describes how care, practice, and research all can be redirected toward emphasizing the positive aspects of aging and prevention. Lavretsky summarizes the most up-to-date research on resilience, neurobiology, and preventive care. She also describes novel interventions—including yoga, tai chi, meditation, and allopathic techniques—that can help older adults improve their cognition and quality of life. Finally, she explores relevant clinical cases from her practice. Designed for geriatric practitioners, researchers, and family caregivers, this practical book offers critical information on measuring resilience, the role of spirituality in reducing stress, and incorporating resilience-building procedures into clinical practice or everyday life. Throughout, the book’s revolutionary integrative approach aims to amplify personal happiness by allowing aging adults to remain healthy and active while simultaneously reducing the cost of chronic disease to families and society.

A leading expert in the science of healthy aging, Dr. Eric B. Larson offers practical advice for growing old with resilience and foresight. More than just canned advice, Enlightened Aging proposes a path to resilience—one that’s proven to help many stave off disability until very old age. The steps on this path include pro-activity, acceptance, and building and maintaining good physical, mental, and social health Using inspiring stories from Dr. Larson’s experiences with study participants, patients, friends, and relatives, Enlightened Aging will help readers determine what their paths can look like given their own experiences and circumstances. It informs readers of the scientific evidence behind new perspectives on aging. It inspires readers with stories of people who are approaching aging with enlightened attitudes. It offers advice and resources for readers to build their own reserves for old age. It recommends ways for readers to work with their doctors to stay as healthy as possible for their age. And it offers ideas for building better communities for our aging population. While especially relevant to the baby boom generation, this work is really for people of all ages looking for encouragement and wise counsel in order to live a long, active life.

Older aged adults face many adversities over the later life course. This edited volume will address the ways in which seniors bounce back from different types and combinations of adversity – termed “resilience”. While research has been accumulating that identifies inherent abilities and external resources needed to adapt and navigate stress-inducing experiences among aging and older adults, gaps remain in understanding the unique elements and processes of resilience. A series of chapters included in this book will address several overarching questions: why do some older individuals/families/communities adapt to adversity better than others; what are modifiable behavioral protective/risk factors related to resilience; and how can we foster resilience at the individual/community level and which approaches show the most promise? The spectrum of aging-related challenges and responses addressed in this book include: mental health; physical/functional health problems; multimorbidity; socio-economic deprivation; social isolation and loneliness; cultural dimensions of loneliness; housing/homelessness problems; and environmental disasters. This book presents cutting-edge science at the conceptual, methodological, empirical and practice levels applied to emerging resilience sub-fields in gerontology. It will also present potential areas of future research, policy and practice linked to these areas. During a period of the most rapid population aging in the US, Canada and many other nations, coupled with heightened global socio-political change, extending our knowledge of resilience will help society to make important adjustments to maximize health and wellness of older individuals. Supporting and enhancing resilience through technological, social and/or community-level advances in geroscience will help those facing adversity to thrive by harnessing, stretching, and leveraging a wide array of potential resources. The promotion of healthier older populations has far-reaching consequences for health care and social/community support systems, both in terms of public health including pandemic response, and the development and implementation of innovations in treatment and practice guidelines.

Resilient Water Services and Systems: The Foundation of Well-Being provides an overarching framework on water and sanitation services and how they are coping with resilience, aging infrastructure and climate change. The Editors present conceptual evidence about resilience backed by case studies that demonstrate resilience in practice. There are 13 case studies, from Asia, Africa, Europe and North and South America, providing informative perspectives from around the world. This is a timely collection of historic and contemporary evidence that will have increasing relevance in the coming decades. This volume will be of relevance to both scholars and practitioners. “Resilient water services are the key to water security across the world. Sustaining them is a challenging task in high-income countries where aging infrastructure is a critical issue, and in low-income countries where new infrastructure is needed and ability-to-pay is a more formidable barrier to success. The editors have compiled a succinct analysis and assembled case studies that cover diverse regions and contexts. From this book the reader will gain a wealth of knowledge about water services, as well as rich vicarious experiences from the cases.