Women can handle old age pressures better than men: Survey
A woman is emotionally more stronger than a man, goes a saying but now a new survey has found that due to their inner strengths, older women can handle old age pressures better than men. 46 per cent elderly women were found less isolated due to their inner strengths like patience, fine-tuning with family and society members than elderly men (31 per cent). This was revealed by an all-India survey of 10,000 senior citizens in 20 states done by an NGO, Agewell Foundation. The survey aimed to know causes of isolation in old age and its consequences on the health of the elderly in particular and society in general. According to psychiatrist Sanjay Chugh, women have more emotional strength and tolerance than men. "Its not only the older women but women of all ages are more stronger than males." "The nature of life that a woman has to lead in our society is different from man. The hardships of daily life make them stronger than man," says Himanshu Rath, founder of Agewell Foundation. Matthew Cherian, Chairman of Helpage India also agrees that the efforts made by a woman to run the daily household make her stronger. "Women endure old age better due to their complex life and as a result have an active ageing than man," he says. Chugh also points out that woman are more prone to depression than man. "Woman face empty nest syndrome in old age. When children settle down away from home, the home becomes an empty nest. Since a mother is more attached to her children than the father, she is more likely to get depressed," he says. 71 per cent older people surveyed felt that in spite of their active participation in family's financial matters as well as social obligations and having originally possessed major part of the property, younger family members were ignoring them. 73.5 per cent of older persons in urban areas had limited access to social interactions and consequently they face lower self-esteem and decline in interpersonal skills. They are also found to be more self-conscious. Even people living in joint families have less interaction with family members, with 39 per cent complaining so.
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