IMPHAL, October 1: The Senior Citizens`™ Forum Imphal East today observed the International Day of Older Persons 2015 under the theme `sustainability and age inclusiveness in the urban environment`™ at the Multipurpose Community Hall, Wangkhei Keithel Ashangbi.
Older persons who were above the age of 90 years were honoured by presenting gifts at the function.
Hanjabam Nandakishor Sharma, a national awardee and Chungkham Birendra Singh, retd IAS attended the function as the chief guest and president respectively.
The function was also attended by Yaiskul MLA Elangbam Chand.
Former HOD of clinical psychology, RIMS Prof M Akshaykumar Singh, who is presently working as consultant at CMC Hospital, Koirangei spoke on the psychological problems of old age in the context of Manipur society.
He said the roads can no longer hold the traffic volume of the ever increasing vehicles in the State.
The pedestrians and especially the elderly people who can no longer drive vehicle or even cycle often find themselves walking in dangerous circumstances with no proper footpaths along most roads in the State, he observed.
The need of the hour is for the government to streamline the traffic rules and regulations, he said.
He warned of `Doctor shopping` in which patients check with one doctor first and the next day goes to another doctor and the following day to some other doctors and continues with the process and end up in a confusion after hearing different opinions from different doctors.
Avoid doctor shopping unless the doctor referred you to some other doctor who can treat you better, he said.
60 or 65 years is not very old these days, he said clarifying the general conception of people to consider a person who reaches the age of 60 or 65 as an elderly person.
Old people faces two types of problems one is physical and the other is mental which is again correlated, however, the degree of correlation may vary according to the person`™s lifestyle, he added.
Physical problems include lack of hearing senses, low visibility, tasteless tongue, etc. besides other non-communicable diseases like diabetics, heart problems etc., he continued.
The feeling of these physical illnesses can weaken them mentally and eventually lead to metal sickness like depression and other psychological problems, he added.
Moreover people living in Manipur are often exposed to very stressful life conditions, he said.
Giving some examples he said `We had suffered a lot during the ILP issue and now also it is not completely over yet. There also other problems like the flood and landslide leading to unavailability of cooking gas, petrol, diesel, and other essentials commodities.`
Intense stress leads to mental disorders like anxiety, sleep disorder, loss of appetite, increase in heart beat rate etc., he continued.
When a person comes down from the top to the worst in his life the person might fall into depression. This can be prevented if they continue to perform social contribution, he added.
We need to nurture them and find creative ways to involve the elderly people in our daily activities. Depression may lead to other mental disorder like Dementia or Alzheimer`™s disease, he said.
Alzheimer`™s disease is also a common problem when people gets old so when a person reaches this stage we should not argue with him/her, instead changing the topic is a better option and should always speak to them in a polite tone, he added.
If they forget something we should not argue but tell the same thing again politely and never accused them of anything.
Some kind of simple exercise is needed to maintain their body as well as to control stress. Yoga, Taichi and American oriented relaxation exercises are some common exercises that people practice, he said.
In urban lifestyle, lack of space is common, where the elderly people can do some physical activities like gardening, kitchen garden etc. so we need to find other means like taking them out on a picnic, visiting worship places, and other entertaining activities, he said.
They need to be reminded that they are still considered important in this society, he said.
Always check your BP and cholesterol level and avoid using cigarette, alcohol, he added.
Meanwhile, the day was also observed by Senior Citizens`™ Forum (Thokchom Leikai & Chongtham Leikai) as 4th Elders`™ Day Celebration at YWO ground, Singjamei Mathak Thokchom Leikai.
As a part of the day`™s function a one day legal awareness programme was also organized by District Level Services Authority, Imphal West in association with Senior Citizens`™ Forum sponsored by Manipur State Legal Services Authority.
The International Day of Older Persons 2015 was also observed at Tamenglong District Headquarter (Indoor Stadium) under the aegis of the district Social Welfare Office, Tamenglong with ADM Joseph Pauline as chief guest.
Ex-chairman ADC Tamenglong DM Nganthonang attended the function as guest of honour, while, DSWO N Jyotish presided over the function.
This year`™s theme of the observation is `Nothing for us without us`.
Gifts (umbrellas) were presented to more than 200 senior persons of the district during the function.
The day was also observed at the at Mini Secretariat Hall, DC Complex, Chandel District Headquarters today by the District Social Welfare Office, Chandel also observed the International Day of Older Persons 2015 under the theme `Nothing for us without us`.
S. Sambhunath Singh, Project Director DRDA Chandel; Pualhring Langhu, president District Sports Association Chandel and Deven Singh, District Information Officer, Chandel graced the function as the chief guest, guest of honour and functional president respectively.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/10/senior-citizens-feted-during-intl-day-of-older-persons-observations/