{"id":3544,"date":"2024-09-12T08:02:26","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T08:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/?p=3544"},"modified":"2024-09-12T08:33:24","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T08:33:24","slug":"retirement-living-can-ease-a-persons-loneliness-after-a-loved-ones-passing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/retirement\/retirement-living-can-ease-a-persons-loneliness-after-a-loved-ones-passing\/","title":{"rendered":"Retirement living can ease a person&#8217;s loneliness after a loved one&#8217;s passing"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"3544\" class=\"elementor elementor-3544\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-55096f5 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"55096f5\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f4593a8\" data-id=\"f4593a8\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9bab7dd elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9bab7dd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>Y<strong>our spouse is your best friend and often the person with whom you have spent the majority of your adult life.<\/strong><\/p><p>For Elaine Smith (left), the death of her beloved husband, was the trigger for feelings of loneliness she had never expected.<\/p><p>\u201cWe married when I was 40 and our relationship was very strong, but I had been alone and happy before and I thought that would be what I would return to,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>\u201cBut that wasn\u2019t the case because of that extreme feeling of loss and desolation.<\/p><p>\u201cLoneliness feels like a sense of despair \u2013 one loses hope and it\u2019s hard to reach out.\u201d<\/p><p>Elaine decided to enter Bolton Clarke&#8217;s vertical village Europa on Alma in Melbourne&#8217;s St Kilda. Along with fellow Denise (right), 85, they say the community at Europa on Alma has played a vital role in helping them regain connection after life transitions.<\/p><p>For Denise the move from her home at Inverloch was a trigger.<\/p><p>\u201cIt\u2019s like a sadness \u2013 it\u2019s feeling a little bit scared and unsure of oneself,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>\u201cI had felt it previously when I\u2019d lost my husband \u2013 I didn\u2019t want anyone to know I was lonely because I didn\u2019t want to be a burden on other people. When I went out I felt like everybody had their own partner except me \u2013 it\u2019s a very foolish way to think.<\/p><p>\u201cI found keeping my connections was important. But moving to a retirement village was one of the best decisions I have ever made \u2013 you just pop downstairs and you don\u2019t have to be involved with people, but somehow there\u2019s always someone there.\u201d<\/p><p>Elaine says she followed friends into the Europa on Alma and has not looked back.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-f329a78 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"f329a78\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-809327b\" data-id=\"809327b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-40af42a elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"40af42a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Picture6-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-3546\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Picture6-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Picture6-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Picture6-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Picture6-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Picture6-585x439.jpg 585w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Picture6.jpg 1430w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7458e07 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7458e07\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-0338c98\" data-id=\"0338c98\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6865ea0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6865ea0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>Europa on Alma is full of life and new friendships among like-minded people<\/em><\/p><p>\u201cLoneliness is not something I experience now and that is because of my experience at Europa \u2013 community is important and the way I have experienced it since coming here has been amazing for me.\u201d<\/p><p>New research reveals one in three Australians from all walks of life feel lonely, and one in four experience persistent loneliness. For people over 65 about 46% report feeling lonely sometimes.<\/p><p>Significant life changes and changes in circumstances, such as a relationship breakdown, losing a loved one, financial hardship and health conditions are risk factors for persistent loneliness.<\/p><p>Bolton Clarke Head of Research, Professor Judy Lowthian, said while everybody experiences transitions during their lives, they tend to increase and have a greater impact as people age.<\/p><p>\u201cTransitions can be expected, for example retiring or becoming a grandparent, or unexpected such as reduced physical or cognitive ability due to illness, or an accident,\u201d Professor Lowthian said.<\/p><p>\u201cAll these changes can affect how people see themselves, their relationships and their sense of belonging.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your spouse is your best friend and often the person with whom you have spent the majority of your adult life. For Elaine Smith (left), the death of her beloved husband, was the trigger for feelings of loneliness she had never expected. \u201cWe married when&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retirement"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3544"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3549,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3544\/revisions\/3549"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}