Old Age Loneliness. Medycyna.
Beginners:
lonely- samotny
People who are lonely in old age are not happy.
Intermediate:
authorities- władze
Local authorities must understand that old age loneliness is not normal or necessary.
Advanced:
concerned with… – zajmujący się …
Organisations concerned with older people regard loneliness as a health problem as well as a social one.
Full article:
It seems that about one in 10 of people over 65 feels chronically lonely all or most of the time. A lot of this is due to things we think of as benefits (korzyści): easy transport so people have no need to go on living where they grew up (ludzie nie muszą mieszkać w miejscu, w którym dorastali) and maybe elders in the family still live; and the ability to make arrangements (umawiać spotkania/ załatwiać sprawy, etc) online, using digital skills which older people may not have.
Interestingly, organisations concerned with older people regard loneliness as a health problem as well as a social one. A lack of social connections is “a risk factor for early death”, which can be compared to smoking 15 cigarettes a day and is worse for the elderly than obesity (otyłość) and physical inactivity (brak aktywności fizycznej), according to the Campaign to End Loneliness website. Janet Morrison of Independent Age deplores (potępia) negative attitudes towards loneliness, and says we need to help local authorities and the public accept that “there’s nothing wrong with admitting to being lonely, and things can be done to help reduce it” – though I don’t think she would approve of (zaakceptować/ zgodzić się na …) the old suggestion of standing in a busy market with a lasso.
Morrison says we must help local authorities realise that being lonely is not normal or necessary. The irony of all this is that those who may be old and lonely now are the ones who may well have thought in the 60s that youth (młodość) and only youth was worth living or thinking about.
Moduł opracowany na podstawie artykułu: ‘Older People are under Threat of Loneliness’, opublikowanego na theguardian.com 20.06.2016.
