Living longer better

None of these should be surprising to any of us as they are essential to any individual at any age.

The most important of these was inclusion – continuing to participate in society, whether that's in the economy, having good social networks or being part of the wider culture and political life of your community.

But what they found was that older people often face age discrimination - in service provision and in our wider society - and this was seen as the biggest barrier to mental health and well-being. On a more intimate level, having a network of good friends, families and neighbours was important.

Not surprisingly, having good physical and mental health was seen as essential, along with financial security. Not having the latter can be very stressful but it was not as important for an individual’s well-being as being part of strong social networks.

Clearly, all these areas interact with each other and, when they are all in place, they are often enough to maintain a person’s well-being. Sometimes, however, there are times where more help is needed and this is when physical care services or organisations such as Age UK and West Sussex Mind can help.

Here at West Sussex Mind we run well-being and emotional resilience courses either for organisations supporting others, or for individuals, and these can be bespoke to your needs.

Contact us at training@westsussexmind.org for more details or West Sussex Mind | Older people 65 for details of our older people’s services.