Sitting in your four walls in old age? Just continue to live as before? The two friends Elsa and Uta didn’t want that and founded a shared apartment 10 years ago. Independent of their families, they wanted to try something completely new.
Loneliness as a risk factor for dementia
Determining life for yourself – not living lonely in an anonymous apartment block – talking, playing, laughing with others. For this it is worth moving again. Especially communicative exchange is good for mental balance and physical health. In a study of more than 800 seniors, U.S. neuropsychologists showed that feelings of loneliness are a risk factor for dementia.
However, being alone also plays a role in the development of sleep disorders, psychosomatic illnesses, depression, heart attacks and high blood pressure. Conversely, an intact social network apparently has a similarly positive influence on blood pressure as weight reduction and regular exercise.
So it is important to create a social network. For Elsa, for example, other people who need her mentally and physically are a motivation. The ratio of give and take should be balanced, and for this to happen, each resident must be an adult and independent. Their living together is based on a balanced division of labor. “But that doesn’t mean that you don’t like to help the other person when he or she is sick,” Uta emphasizes.
The shared apartment
Important in a shared apartment are retreat possibilities and communal activities. Anyone planning a new WG should pay attention to the right mix of self-contained living areas and shared spaces. Many seniors often have a greater need for privacy than younger WG residents. Compared to a retirement home, WG residents can arrange their daily routines and lifestyles much more freely. They only have to stick to appointments that they arrange themselves with each other.
For this, senior WGs require some organizational efforts. If you don’t have any WG enthusiasts in your circle of friends, you have to find co-founders who get along well for years if possible. A common life theme is a good prerequisite. That can be the travel desire just like the children, the former occupation or the preference for art or culture.
Opportunities to get to know each other are offered by contact exchanges for seniors via district centers, senior citizens’ associations or housing counseling services. Even if life in a shared apartment begins harmoniously, differences of opinion cannot be avoided when distinct personalities meet. But it is precisely the practice of tolerance that once again promotes one’s own development. Accompanying supervision, in which conflicts are discussed under professional guidance, can also be helpful.
Assisted living
Here one tries to combine the advantages of the own household with those of a home. To be able to take qualified help, that gives older people security. Senior-friendly apartments are usually found in a residential complex that is planned specifically for older people.
