Nearly half of the elderly in China live in empty nest and have lower quality of life.
from the demographic and age level analysis, we face the future, not only "not rich first", but also more than half "old empty nest", and more and more intense.
according to statistics, as of the end of last year, there were 922 thousand and 100 empty nesters, accounting for about 29.2% of the total number of elderly people in Shanghai, of which 188 thousand and 700 of the elderly were living alone. Half of the 167 million people over 60 years old live in the "empty nest" life - they do not live with their children or have no children.
empty nest old man, how to spend every day of the old age? Clothes, food, live, travel, entertainment, what are their difficulties and what help they need? The reporter recently made a survey in Shanghai.
Living -
three meals a day is difficult to deal with
"don't call me old, I'm not old," Cheng Jian dragged a weak leg to come to open the door. This year, he is 71 years old. He is also the sixth year of his empty nest.
this is an after-sale housing in Quyang Road, the old house, the small indoor net space, and the lack of light. At the age of 10, a serious illness, Cheng Jian disabled out of school, after self-taught to college, an Industrial Research Institute in Shanghai to retirement, but never got married. Cheng Jian is the eldest brother who has lived with his 5 brothers and sisters for a long time. After the younger brothers and sisters became independent, they helped Cheng Jian buy the house in 2004.
"cooking is not the biggest problem at all." My brother and sister take turns to send two dishes a week. Open the refrigerator, a large bowl of rice, a few plastic box, there are beef, chicken legs, bittern, duck legs, but also lotus root, vegetables, dried bean curd, dried radish, is the three or four day food. "Microwave heating of the food microwave oven is not fresh, and vegetables are eaten for a few days."
occasionally, the old Cheng also goes to the street to eat 22 beef noodles, or at 11 at noon, go to the community meal to eat - late, the legs and feet are too tired to queue up.
compared with Cheng Jian, the money rain aunt, who lives in the neighborhood committee of Bahrain, has been 83 years old, and the cooking is still "sharp": the small chops in the small pot on the gas cooker, the small pork ribs stewed mushrooms, are the day's lunch and dinner.
"to buy vegetables every afternoon, then the cheapest", but, she also admitted, "the brain is not moving", often when cooking, the thought of missing anything, walking to the kitchen outside the refrigerator, open the refrigerator, but can not think of what to do.
three meals a day, children in the home of the year, mostly rich dishes, with reunion happy laughter; "empty nest" days, but always a piece of cold, alone swallow.
disease treatment is even more difficult. Aunt Qian never forget that in 2008, his wife suffered a brain infarction. She was in a hurry. The cadres of the Bahrain neighborhood committee called the ambulance, helped them to pay the medical expenses and brought the quilts with the cold. The daughter is far away in Canada, and the old two have no company to care for.
leg pain, can not walk, in addition, old Cheng generally healthy. "I have a good relationship with my brothers and sisters, and they often call to chat with me." "What are your expectations for the future? I want to be healthy and not too much trouble."
Entertainment -
computer for a few years not open "idle" also mixed time
money rain aunt live in the 11 floor, small living room, waking purpose is two years ago the death of the companion photos. In the picture frame, the old gentleman wears glasses, his eyes are mild, and he seems to be looking at his wife with love.
"all the important things, I put it under the tea table, the table of glass, so that I can't forget", pointing to the picture of the granddaughter under the glass of the tea table, "she is my biggest baby". At the age of 5, the granddaughter went to Canada. Since then, the daughter and granddaughter are mostly voice and worry on overseas telephone.
Auntie Qian, a primary school teacher, was alone in the old age of illness and aging. She did not complain. She was just like a student and was angry with herself, "do not love to learn and communicate."
"here, Vietnamese phone, the daughter bought a phone card, write a good number, I still do not hit the number, I still do not hit the past, they are waiting for them to fight, the community changed the new digital TV, the remote control is complex, I always do not come, the set-top box is bad for me; the Committee Organization we study the network, cadres and neighbors I have invited several times, I have always been, I always That is to say, I'm old, I don't learn.
QIAN aunt took the reporter to the bedroom, moved out a cardboard box, "the computer is here" - the daughter bought it a few years ago, hoping to learn a video chat - "it hasn't been used yet!" the daughter from the TV cabinet, the daughter from the Canadian family video, "I have never seen, not to use the DVD."
the neighbourhood in the neighborhood, aunt Qian never greets her. "People took me to dance, fan dance, sword dance, or go to the community singing team. I said" no confidence, "and refused. Usually at home, a song "hundred singing is not boring - the old people love to sing", aunt Qian played herself on the window organ. A person, every day as a primary school teacher thousands of times to practice the radio exercises, themselves at home yelling "1234", "people can not hear, and will not laugh at me." The only "social interaction" is probably the side area of the vegetable market, playing mahjong occasionally with 3 retired female teachers.
recently, Cheng Jian, who is so cold and inconvenient in Shanghai, is hardly going out. Listen to the Pingtan, watch the TV, and heat two hot pot dishes.
the two big boxes on the head of the bed are hundreds of tapes of old Cheng. Two or three boxes of bundles were carefully tied up, and there were also information about Pingtan repertoire and performers. This is the biggest entertainment of old Cheng.
the Internet world can never leave home to enjoy the outside world, but for many empty nesters, it is "close to the horizon". The old Cheng also has a computer, the niece is eliminated. He learned to surf the Internet and play computer games - "but not very interested." Now, the computer is used to play a bomb.
the old man who is able to sing money aunts, the old Cheng pin, and the less educated old man, has less choice, "sit in", or even be the main "entertainment".
Navigation Road adjacent to the Suzhou River in a row of residential, the original steel ten factory staff, a few small stools, an old cane chair, long in the door of the community, retired elderly 35 sit there, see people, talk, daze. Similar scenarios are common in old neighborhoods.
Zhou Congjun, who lives in a residential district in an long road, Shanghai, has retired for 10 years, and Zhou Jia is one of the first tenants to move into this district. In the past 10 years, neighbors often saw Lao Zhou sitting in the doorway room and thought that Lao Zhou was "the head of the property company". As we all know, watching the crowd, watching security, cleaners, hydropower workers busy, is the biggest pastime of the old week.
difficulty -
the Institute of psychology of the Chinese Academy of social sciences has investigated more than 2000 elderly families to compare the living conditions of empty nests and non empty nests. They found that the living conditions of the living alone group, the couple living together, and the non empty nest group did not differ significantly.
non empty nesters may feel that the housework or the care of the third generation pay more and have greater health pressure. Elderly people who live alone will feel bored. The number of people who "sit idle" will be more. The proportion of lonely elderly people in solitary group was also significantly higher than that in the other two groups.
what is the difference between the mental health and subjective well-being of the empty nesters and the non empty nesters? Last year, Zhou Rongshan, Pan Zhongde, Xie Bin, and Cai Jun, the affiliated mental health center of the Mental Health Center of Shanghai Huangpu District and the Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, carried out a social survey. A comparison of a series of scales showed that the general health status, physiological and emotional evaluation of empty nesters were significantly lower than those of non empty nesters.
"the life quality of the empty nest elderly is relatively low". The report indicates that 7.8% of the empty nest elderly have anxiety, only 2.7% of the non empty nests; 15.6% of the empty nests have depression, and only 9.4% of the non empty nests. This shows that there are different degrees of psychological problems in empty nesters, and subjective well-being is significantly lower than that in non empty nesters. "
" because children are not around, they lose corresponding social support and emotional communication objects, often feel lonely and lonely, are suspicious of their own existence value, easy to fall into the state of uninterest and helplessness. These negative emotions exist for a long time and easily lead to empty nest syndrome. " The experts pointed out.
according to the investigation report, empty nest syndrome can lead to endocrine, disorder of central nervous system and decrease of immune function. It is easy to induce or aggravate diseases such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, bronchial asthma, gastric and duodenal ulcer. Some empty nesters are also prone to Alzheimer's disease. In addition, mental health is also prone to problems. How to help empty nest elderly to solve their physical and mental problems requires the attention of family, society and government.
way out -
neighborhood care to send warm volunteer service is starting
"aunt Qian, is Nong good today?" in the afternoon, aunt Mao on the five floor came to the aunt's house of money rain. Aunt Mao, who is 69 years old and has a hard body, is a member of the elderly volunteer service team of Hongkou District Aging Committee. The object of the pair is aunt Qian.
aunt Mao's wife died, her son was not around, and he lived alone. "Care should be taken, we all will be old", aunt Mao come every day, if one day out, also told Chen Lao and his wife next door, "to help listen to the money aunties!"
it is known that many districts and counties in Shanghai have carried out the service for the old food. Community help meals can solve the eating problem for the elderly. Bathing, medical assistance and other services are also being carried out. Nowadays, the "comfort" that has been neglected has begun to be explored.
the young healthy elderly in the community are paired up with the old and feeble old people. The content is simple and plain, that is, "go to see them every day". For the empty nesters, some elderly people can feel a sense of fulfillment and a sense of accomplishment. Gong Linglin, deputy director of the Hongkou District Aging Committee, said that the elderly volunteers in the area were well developed.
since June 2007, more than 1.36 elderly volunteers have been active in various communities in Hongkou. In the community, old people string around and chat, caring is simple and easy, service is warm and effective. As far as possible, the recruitment of young volunteers with healthy old age is not enough, and it also promotes community and neighborhood harmony.
in World Expo, Shanghai, they also launched the theme "neighbourhood to see the Expo" theme activities, yearning for the Expo's community only to live in the elderly, with the accompanying volunteers to watch the Expo Park, the Expo is wonderful, the warmth of friendship, unforgettable. This year, the volunteer service team of "sunset heart garden" was selected as the "advanced group of volunteer service" in Shanghai.
96 year old Zhu Liang old man and his 93 year old wife also live in the Bahrain district. Zhu Liang old man studied agronomy chemistry at Peking University in the early years. Their only daughter lives in the United States. Their 76 year old sisters are the caregivers of their daily lives.
"I am trying to do something old and enjoy myself." The old people laughed and talked about the life of his later years. He is a health preserving person who writes "popular science essays, diet and health care" and sends his relatives and friends in his neighborhood.
recently wrote a coenzyme Q10 and health care for the elderly, which is the fifty-third issue. At the end, the author himself is 96 years old and basically belongs to old age and body failure. I have time to write a few more articles and hope to help others! "Xie Meili, an elderly veteran of the Bahrain neighborhood committee, said that all the old people were sent to the neighborhood committee, and" we also benefit ".
Author: editor of the network: Li Qian