All Posts in "Lifestyles"

Adventure photographer is still answering nature’s call

Dan Clements couldn’t believe what he was seeing. For the past week, he and five others had been trekking through British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest, returning to a sailboat anchored off the coast of Gribbell Island to sleep before resuming their search for one of the world’s most elusive species. It was September 2017. The mud was thick and the wind unrelenting. And now the spirit bear—a unique species of black bear that, due to a genetic mutation, has white fur—was standing in a stream just feet from Dan.

It was a spectacular moment in a place where “myth and reality merge,” says Dan, a photographer and University of Puget Sound alum who’s visited some of the world’s most remote and breathtaking locations. He’s photographed tigers in India and had close encounters with polar bears in the Arctic. This summer, he will be photographing jaguars in Brazil. But the spirit bear sighting was particularly special to Dan. It validated his decision to make adventure photography a career relatively late in life.

Eleven years ago, Dan was a public sector financial director entering his third decade in finance. He and his wife, Karen Amundson Clements, had raised two sons and lived in Everett. At 59, Dan began to feel restless. His own father had been a prominent ornithologist who had given him an extremely adventurous childhood. He visited Central American jungles, completed first ascents of multiple peaks, summited Mount Rainier at 10, and scuba-dived with his father off the California coast. But after he graduated from Puget Sound with a bachelor’s degree in English, his outdoor explorations were tamed. “Life centered around raising my sons,” he says.

Dan had been an amateur photographer for many years, and he decided that it wasn’t too late to make his passion his career. So he retired and set off around the world. To finance the adventures, he dusted off his scuba gear, renewed his certification, and began taking underwater photographers on dive trips around the world. He self-published a book of photos he had taken off the coast of Edmonds on intermittent dives on evenings and weekends, and worked with the Pacific Northwest Underwater Photographic Society to create a magazine, which helped to open doors within the local diving community. “It has been a lot of fun, and I have met some outstanding photographers and environmentalists from many different countries,” he says.

But about 10 years in, a diving experience in California made him re-evaluate life again.

“When I started putting dive trips together, in the back of my head I knew that if I got to the point where I couldn’t rescue-swim somebody back to a boat or land I would quit putting the trips together,” he says. “I had to rescue somebody in Point Lobos. He ran out of air, and he kind of panicked. I did it fine, but I realized I’m not 20 any more, so I started phasing out the trips.”

Dan took what he knew about organizing domestic and international photography trips and shifted from water to land. He started organizing adventure photography trips to document wildlife and landscapes from Montana to the Arctic and everywhere in between. Now 70, he shows no signs of stopping. “Who says you have to do just one thing in your life?” he says. “I’ve had the good fortune to see things that most people will never see.”

Anneli Fogt wrote this article for The Hatchet, a weekly e-newsletter from the University of Puget Sound about its students and alumni.

srmedia by — September 19, 2019 in Lifestyles

There is a strong correlation between human connection and engagement and the overall impact on an elder’s physical and mental health. Seniors who are imbued with a sense of purpose are less likely to succumb to the negative effects of social isolation and loneliness.

Isolation can increase the risk of mortality, falls, and re-hospitalization among older adults. Feelings of loneliness have a negative impact upon an individual’s physical and mental health, and perceived aloneness may contribute to cognitive decline. Social isolation makes seniors more vulnerable to elder abuse, and it can instill a sense of pessimism about the future.

How can seniors avoid becoming socially isolated and reap the benefits of remaining engaged?

Volunteer. Freely offering time and skills can decrease social isolation and feelings of solitariness. When you help others, you will find something greater than yourself. This experience is an opportunity to channel energy and, for some elders, their grief and challenges into something constructive and meaningful. For example, the national Senior Corps specializes in placing adults 55 and over in volunteer placements where their wisdom, talent, and skills may be best utilized.

Prioritize engagement. Recognize that your mental health and well-being is equally as important as your physical health. Honor your social engagements as you would a doctor’s appointment.

Be curious. Venture out of your comfort zones, take risks, and try activities you never attempted before. Remaining curious about the world, about learning, and about others is a powerful way to stay engaged.

Obtain transportation. Physical and geographic location often lead to seclusion, and in the case of seniors who can’t drive, transportation challenges remain a significant barrier to living a full life. Seek out organizations near you that provide transport for elders.

Keep learning. This can also help promote overall well-being and create opportunities for socialization through classes and discussion.

Care for an animal. Your new friend doesn’t have to live in your home. Walk dogs at an animal shelter or play with kittens.

Adapt to social technology. Learn about social media/technology so that you can connect with new people online and friends and family.

Take up a hobby. Encouraging hobbies and activities is crucial to remaining engaged in the everyday. What do you love to do?

Finally, take part in activities at the local library, explore your local senior center, or contact local churches, synagogues, and other religious organizations that offer activities and opportunities for socialization.

Sherry Saturno, who wrote this article, is a licensed clinical social worker in New York. Information for this article also came from  helpstartshere.org, an online source of information and opportunities for social work.

srmedia by — August 27, 2019 in Lifestyles
Biking with no age limit

Cycling Without Age wants everyone to feel the wind in their hair on the back of a modified bike.

The elderly is one of the population groups that the non-profit organization helps get out and about. Volunteers sign up to take passengers for rides on trishaws—three-wheeled bikes—to give their emotional well-being a boost.

Since getting its start in Denmark, Cycling Without Age has formed more than 1,600 chapter locations around the world, and more are welcome. As of July, none were in Washington. Information on how to start a chapter is available at http://cyclingwithoutage.org.

srmedia by — August 13, 2019 in Lifestyles

The best time to make changes and have conversations with a senior about moving out of their home is well before you are forced to make the decision.

If you wait until a crisis strikes, you can end up making choices in a panicked state and be unhappy with the outcome. For example, if you wait for an illness or a fall, your loved one could be spending more money for emergency care and have to scramble to find a better housing situation.

How do you start a conversation with your parents or loved ones about relocating? You may feel it’s the right decision, but your loved one may not. Research out of Penn State University, the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging and the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine found that 77 percent of adult children believe their parents are stubborn about taking their advice or getting help with daily problems.

In order to help prepare for an honest and productive conversation around moving into an assisted-living facility or retirement home, we asked some of our behavioral health specialists to put together some tips. Behavioral health specialists (BHS) help with complex health issues like sleep, chronic pain, stress, chronic disease management, anxiety and depression.

“Always remember that demands and ultimatums will never achieve a positive outcome. Try not to be laser-focused to a specific result,” one BHS said. “The first step is truly just making the suggestion and seeing how they respond.”

  • Start the conversation as early as possible. Even though you may not be thinking about it now, if you have open communication around living, medical care and end-of-life decisions early, words like “assisted living” and “caregiver” can lose their sting later on. It’s important to lay the groundwork while your loved one is still safe in their home. It helps to ask questions like, “What do you think you’d want to do if you can’t live alone safely anymore?” and “What would your ideal living situation be?”
  • Plant the seed. There are times when adult children shouldn’t pressure their parents into moving, but there are also situations that can be teaching moments. Did your loved one fall but didn’t get hurt? You can use this opportunity to say something like, “That must have been scary for you, and I’m glad you didn’t get hurt. But what would happen if you did?”
  • Go on tours. Tours can be a gentle, low-pressure introduction to the idea of moving into assisted living. Tour more than one living situation and always ask your loved one for their input.
  • Put the burden on you, not your parent or loved one. Make moving your problem instead of your loved ones. For instance, you can say, “I’m concerned about you” versus “You have to do this…” More often than not, parents and people who love us don’t want to burden others and might respond better to communication that focuses on feelings instead of what they should do.

The decision by elders to move has to be their choice. Acknowledge that you can’t make decisions on how to run their life, but can give input on how it makes you feel.

Don’t beat yourself up. It’s natural to feel guilt over moving a parent or loved one into an assisted-living facility, especially if you promised that it would never happen. However, focus on what they need in this moment, not what was discussed previously in a different situation. It is okay to feel guilt, but oftentimes under the right care, your loved one can thrive.

In the end, the most important thing is to act with compassion. Showing that you are capable of understanding fears about moving might help.

Source: Iora Primary Care

srmedia by — July 31, 2019 in Lifestyles