The art of living well as we age

WHAT kind of old would you like to be? Energetic, enthusiastic and vibrant, or lonely, reclusive and bored? We want to be the best, but how?

The answer is art, says Mike White, a senior research fellow in arts in health at the University of Durham, who addressed an international conference, celebrating the European Year for Active Ageing, in Dublin last month on the issue of ‘creating a new old.’

“The most consistently expressed benefit in taking part in art activities is that it did wonders for their self-esteem and increased their confidence, which indirectly benefits their health,’’ he says.

Agnes O’Connor, 57, from Knocknaheeny, Cork, has been attending weekly art classes at her local Niche community health project for several years and says it makes a positive difference mentally and socially.

“Art really helps your mental health, it makes you feel so relaxed,” she says. “You can put down on paper what your day has been like, it helps to release the tension if you are having a bad day.

“I do suffer from a bit of depression, so I have to take everything that is going to help my mental health, and art has helped me through a lot of bad times. I love pastels, I like mixing the colours with my hands, then you can either keep it, or rub it out or tear it up, but it definitely clears your head.’’

Agnes enjoys meeting new people at the classes and catching up with old friends there to discuss the latest news.

“I love chatting to people, meeting people and being part of the community,’’ she says. “I would love to say I am able to paint, but I can’t really, I just love doing it and the teacher is full of encouragement.”

White says it is vital older people are involved in the community, to keep them active and interested in life.

“Many older people do become more insular. We think of the diseases of our time as being cancer and heart disease, but there is also the reality of people dying of loneliness. Some people argue that a good social life is as beneficial for your health as actually stopping smoking,’’ he says.

By 2035, 50% of the population of western Europe will be over the age of 65, and White says the cost to the health-care systems will be “absolutely prohibitive’’ if older people are not kept active.

“We are going to be asking the younger generation to support a large, elderly population and that is going to be a matter of friction, if we don’t address, now, how we can give people a more active, engaged later life, and keep people mobile.

“We used to think the age of dependency was childhood, but the phenomenon we are now seeing is that it is actually the end of life and we have never been prepared for this before,’’ he says.

Agnes agrees, and says it is a “disgrace’’ that there are not more art activities available to older people, especially those in residential homes.

“I don’t think people realise how much art can help people, especially mentally. There is not enough arts-and-crafts stuff going on for elderly people in homes.

“You can get a lot of emotions down on paper, and I would really recommend it to people,’’ she says.

* www.nicheonline.ie; 021-4300135