Maintaining your Wellbeing at Retirement Villages

There are many reasons why you might decide that a retirement village is for you and there are lots of things to think about before making your decision. Some points to consider are how you can maintain your wellbeing into later life at a retirement village. Did you know that one in five older people who live in the community and two in five who live in care homes experience depression or poor mental health?

A retirement village is a community for people generally over 60, centred around a hub of social activity. They offer older people the opportunity to live independently in a property they own, as part of a wider community. They are exciting, innovative and contemporary villages where residents can continue to live life to the full. Luxury retirement villages have a wide range of leisure activities, services, support and care and they promote well-being whilst helping the residents maintain an active and independent lifestyle.

The beauty of retirement villages is that they can provide numerous benefits fundamental to  maintaining your wellbeing including:

• Activities – Our retirement villages offer residents the chance to do meaningful and enriching activities every day. Residents can choose activities based on their interest or try completely new ones! Getting older and being ready to retire involves a significant change in lifestyle for most people. It is important to keep busy and make time for your own interests. It can be an opportunity to try a new activity or learn a new skill that you have never had time to explore before.
• Medical and specialist care needs - Sometimes friends and family can only help so much, and you need to get more practical support. Care staff are on site 24/7 and flexible care services are carefully tailored to meet the specific needs of each resident. Care can be from as little as a reablement package, after a fall or a stay in hospital, assistance remaining independent in your own retirement home, through to compassionate end-of-life care. If you and your partner have different care needs, this type of arrangement may suit both of you and allow you to continue living together. People with health problems such as mental health problems or degenerative conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis can also get help from our on-site specialists.
• Safety - Often as people get older, they feel more isolated and are cut off from friends, family and neighbours. We want all of our residents to feel safe, and all of our specially designed retirement properties are safe and secure. They have a personal alarm communication with an on-site 24-hour response team and there is video and audio door entry for the building entrance door to ensure you know who you are letting in. They are also fitted with a smoke and fire alarm in each apartment which is also connected to the on-site 24-hour response team. Residents can have complete peace of mind knowing their security is top of our mind. There will always be someone on hand in case of emergencies and you can rest assured that your property is safe whilst you are away from home.
• Companionship – In our retirement villages you will have ample opportunity to socialise with people who are at a similar age and whose situations are related to themselves. Living alone in isolation can often mean that you could go days without any interaction resulting in a poor effect on one’s mental, emotional, and even physical health. Moving into an integrated retirement community helps provide the residents with a ready-made supportive environment and helps to limit the consequences of being cut off from society. Managing worries and concerns become much easier if we talk to someone about it, which makes us feel supported and  less alone. You could talk to friends and family or a friend you have met in the village if you feel you need to talk about something you are concerned about.

We do understand that difficult feelings can often stop you from getting on with life and you may need more specialist help, some of which we have detailed below:

• Samaritans provides confidential, non-judgmental emotional support 24 hours a day.
• Cruse Bereavement Care promotes the wellbeing of anyone affected by bereavement and enables bereaved people to understand their grief and cope with their loss.
• Your GP can help in practical ways, as well as offering a listening ear; for instance, they can recommend exercise therapy, counselling, help from a specialist, or support from another part of the health service.
• Counselling offers the opportunity to talk about issues in confidence and to create a structured plan to make a positive change to your life.

We are big believers in planning ahead for your retirement. Having a plan in place to deal with changes will help to put you in charge of your future and improve how you feel about things. Some of the things you may start to worry about when you get older are: retirement, staying active and mobile, pensions and financial considerations, access to transport and local facilities, remaining independent, caring for yourself, and thinking about wills, end of life and funerals. Having a plan can help you to think through all aspects of a situation and when doing your research, you could add in a clear aim and include feelings you may experience and how you might be able to deal with them as they crop up.

We know that considering a move to a retirement village is a very personal one and a choice that has to feel right for you. Our village sales advisors are always available at the end of the phone to discuss and talk through any questions you may have.