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Southgate at Shrewsbury

Retirement community near Shrewsbury and Worcester, MA

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1.800.492.8331

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senior health

The Best Stress Relief Methods for Seniors

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There are great benefits to maintaining good physical health, but it is also important to take care of your mental health. Staying relaxed and centered can be a great way to keep stress at a distance, all the while improving your overall well-being.

The best part of stress relief techniques is that they not only benefit our mental health but our physical health as well. A well-rested mind and body is a recipe for a happy, healthy lifestyle. Here at Southgate, we want nothing more than for you to feel at home and stress-free.

Southgate offers many amenities and activities within the community that are perfect for taking care of your mental health and getting some much-needed rest and relaxation.

Go to the theater – Our very own Southgate theater has 200 seats and a beautiful balcony. Not only do we offer lectures, seminars, and musical performances, but in the summer we have a Tuesday concert series for everyone to enjoy. Getting out and seeing a performance can stimulate the brain and create bonding experiences among seniors.

Take a walk – Nothing clears your mind like a nice long walk, and our campus has a 3-acre park to stroll through on a sunny or cloudy day. Health experts maintain that getting exercise for just 30 minutes a day can lead to drastic health improvements, and it’s an activity that can be done alone or with a friend.

Meet up with friends – One of the best ways to relieve stress and increase mindfulness is to socialize. Maintaining social relationships and friendships can do wonders for your happiness, and there are plenty of activities around Southgate’s campus that allow you to catch up with friends. From hitting the arts and crafts studio to talking over drinks at the cocktail lounge, there’s no shortage of things to do alongside friends.

Grab a book from the library – Sometimes the best way to relieve stress is to take a break. Luckily, Southgate has a library with a fireplace and books that will allow you to escape for a bit into the world of fiction (and non-fiction too, of course!). Reading not only stimulates the brain, but is also a quiet and peaceful activity for all to enjoy.

Get some light exercise – Southgate offers many different physical activities that are both fun and count as daily exercise. The health club offers machines to get your body moving, and the indoor pool is a great place to practice different strokes while clearing your head.

It’s important to take care of your mind and body every day, and to do things that will make you feel as relaxed as possible. Southgate’s goal is to promote happy and healthy living in a stress-free environment and we hope that all of our amenities will make you feel more at ease than ever before!

Three Keys to Remaining Happily Healthy in Retirement

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Understanding Senior Depression

In order to optimize happiness in retirement and avoid senior depression, it’s important to understand the unique difficulties the elderly community faces. As we get older, we are more likely to live alone and feel isolated. Friends, family and neighbors have moved, and the landscapes around us have changed. We are also more likely to deal with physical and mental ailments.

Depending on the study, it’s estimated that up to almost 25% of seniors deal with or have dealt with senior depression. It can often be difficult to identify because the symptoms can be conflated with other mental and physical issues associated with aging.

Because depression can be left undiagnosed, it behooves seniors to combat depression proactively. It is also key to understand the difference between grief (which lasts for a limited time and is linked to a jarring event such as death or a move) and chronic depression. The following tactics will help you maintain a fulfilling life in retirement.

Make New Friends

As we get older, it is inevitable our social landscape will change. A recent study conducted at Michigan State University highlights how valuing friendships later in life correlated to overall improved mental and physical function even more than family. This is not to say family is not important, it is meant to highlight the truly powerful value of quality friendship.

As we grow older, our interests and abilities may change, but our need for a fulfilling social life does not. If you’re looking to make new friends in retirement, try taking a class, volunteering, joining a group or getting a part-time job. Keep yourself in environments where you’re stimulated and meeting new people—depression will have a harder time creeping in and affecting your mental and physical state.

Watch Your Nutrition and Be Active

Proper nutrition and physical activity are important at any age, but as we grow older, the problems associated with having poor nutrition and lackadaisical exercise habits can be significantly more hampering. Poor nutrition and low activity levels not only lead to a myriad of physical health issues like high blood pressure, brittle bones and increased risk of diabetes, they also increase the likelihood depression will take hold.

While you’re physically active, endorphins are released into the brain’s opioid receptors, causing you to feel euphoric. When you’re exercising effectively, you also stave off physical ailments that can lead to time away from activity and lead to more feelings of isolation.

Ensuring quality nutrition habits will not only help stave off illnesses such as diabetes and various forms of cancer, it will keep your brain functioning more powerfully and help regulate mood. This 2017 study found people with depression that adopted a better nutrition plan felt their symptoms improve. Check out this WebMD article to help you with your nutrition, but also …

Talk to Your Doctor

As we age, it becomes more important that we have regular check-ups with our doctors. Always keep your doctor in the loop! If you have a broken arm, you will obviously tell your doctor, so why not do the same for your brain? Your doctor will be able to assist you in gathering the resources you need to best take care of yourself, whether it be the right medication, the right diet or the right medical professional.

All in all, remain engaged with the world around you and you will be much less likely to suffer from senior depression. This can be difficult as your world changes, which is why independent living communities like Southgate at Shrewsbury provide residents with a bevy of activities and events to keep them engaged, active and happy. If you’re concerned about depression as you enter retirement, an independent living community might be the best option for you.

Three Keys to Remaining Happily Healthy in Retirement

by

Understanding Senior Depression

In order to optimize happiness in retirement and avoid senior depression, it’s important to understand the unique difficulties the elderly community faces. As we get older, we are more likely to live alone and feel isolated. Friends, family and neighbors have moved, and the landscapes around us have changed. We are also more likely to deal with physical and mental ailments.

Depending on the study, it’s estimated that up to almost 25% of seniors deal with or have dealt with senior depression. It can often be difficult to identify because the symptoms can be conflated with other mental and physical issues associated with aging.

Because depression can be left undiagnosed, it behooves seniors to combat depression proactively. It is also key to understand the difference between grief (which lasts for a limited time and is linked to a jarring event such as death or a move) and chronic depression. The following tactics will help you maintain a fulfilling life in retirement.

Make New Friends

As we get older, it is inevitable our social landscape will change. A recent study conducted at Michigan State University highlights how valuing friendships later in life correlated to overall improved mental and physical function even more than family. This is not to say family is not important, it is meant to highlight the truly powerful value of quality friendship.

As we grow older, our interests and abilities may change, but our need for a fulfilling social life does not. If you’re looking to make new friends in retirement, try taking a class, volunteering, joining a group or getting a part-time job. Keep yourself in environments where you’re stimulated and meeting new people—depression will have a harder time creeping in and affecting your mental and physical state.

Watch Your Nutrition and Be Active

Proper nutrition and physical activity are important at any age, but as we grow older, the problems associated with having poor nutrition and lackadaisical exercise habits can be significantly more hampering. Poor nutrition and low activity levels not only lead to a myriad of physical health issues like high blood pressure, brittle bones and increased risk of diabetes, they also increase the likelihood depression will take hold.

While you’re physically active, endorphins are released into the brain’s opioid receptors, causing you to feel euphoric. When you’re exercising effectively, you also stave off physical ailments that can lead to time away from activity and lead to more feelings of isolation.

Ensuring quality nutrition habits will not only help stave off illnesses such as diabetes and various forms of cancer, it will keep your brain functioning more powerfully and help regulate mood. This 2017 study found people with depression that adopted a better nutrition plan felt their symptoms improve. Check out this WebMD article to help you with your nutrition, but also …

Talk To Your Doctor

As we age, it becomes more important that we have regular check-ups with our doctors. Always keep your doctor in the loop! If you have a broken arm, you will obviously tell your doctor, so why not do the same for your brain? Your doctor will be able to assist you in gathering the resources you need to best take care of yourself, whether it be the right medication, the right diet or the right medical professional.

All in all, remain engaged with the world around you and you will be much less likely to suffer from senior depression. This can be difficult as your world changes, which is why independent living communities like Southgate at Shrewsbury provide residents with a bevy of activities and events to keep them engaged, active and happy. If you’re concerned about depression as you enter retirement, an independent living community might be the best option for you.

Southgate & CVS Vaccinate Residents Successfully

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After several weeks of preplanning, Southgate at Shrewsbury and CVS Pharmacy orchestrated six successful vaccine clinics to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine safely and efficiently to their residents and staff.

CVS & Southgate Teams. Featured in this Photo are Kate Aleksiewicz, Lead Pharmacist and members of her CVS pharmacy staff, Southgate employees Sheila Meucci, Health & Wellness Director; Kara Ewick, Resident Services Director; Deborah Bourque, Resident Liaison; Rogerio Neves, Housekeeping Director; William Zangarine, Hampton Suites Director.

Southgate at Shrewsbury management organized the clinic to ensure that social distancing protocols were followed and that common surfaces were sanitized between each appointment. Many Southgate staff volunteered to assist in setting up and running separate pre-registration areas for temperature screening, a quiet area where staff could assist residents with paperwork, a CVS registration table, and four screened-off areas for vaccination and observation.

Not even a challenge from an impressive Nor’easter storm could halt the efforts of Southgate and CVS to safely vaccinate residents and staff. To ensure delivery of the second vaccine, Southgate provided their guest apartment with dining accommodations to CVS pharmacists, who stayed overnight to ensure the clinic could be held the day following the storm.

Lead Pharmacist Kate Aleksiewicz and her CVS Pharmacy team brave a nor’easter  to vaccinate over 200 Residents and Employee

In a letter to Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Southgate CEO Dana Levenson wrote, “We could not have higher praise for the folks from CVS. Our residents and employees have been thanking us for the vaccinations, but it truly should be us thanking you and CVS.”

Of the team at Southgate at Shrewsbury, Executive Vice President Patricia A. LaCross provided the following comment:

“Our Southgate staff have been very present during the last 11 months of COVID, stepping up to guard the stations at our entrances to screen guests 24 hours a day, providing services safely to the best of their ability, and working the day-long vaccine clinics to assure that operations ran smoothly, so there were no missed opportunities to vaccinate our Residents. We have a real committed staff, and I honestly couldn’t be prouder of our team. I call them Southgate Warriors!”

Last Clinic Day: Bill Zangarine and Kara Ewick presented several gift baskets to the CVS Pharmacy Team in thanks for their extraordinary effort to vaccine our entire Southgate Community.