Senior Living Fall 2018

12 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP SENIOR LIVING FALL 2018
At what age is your self
esteem at its highest?
By Karen D'Souza
THE MERCURY NEWS
PHOTO | TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
A recent study suggests self-esteem peaks around age 60.
In our youth-obsessed culture, where
ageism has never been stronger and
looking younger is next to godliness, it
may be easy to assume young people
feel happier than older ones. Nope. According
to science, at least one thing
gets better with age and that’s your
self-esteem.
In fact, a paper published recently in
the journal Psychological Bulletin, selfesteem
seems to peak around age 60
and that uplifting feeling may well last
for an entire decade. So maybe 60 really
is the new 40?
“Midlife is, for many adults, a TIME
of highly stable life circumstances in
domains such as relationships and
work. Moreover, during middle adulthood,
most individuals further invest
in the social roles they hold, which
might promote their self-esteem,”
study co-author Ulrich Orth, a professor
of psychology at the University of
Bern in Switzerland, told TIME. “For
example, people take on managerial
roles at work, maintain a satisfying
relationship with their spouse or partner,
and help their children to become
responsible and independent adults.”
Researchers examined 191 articles
about self-esteem, which included data
from almost 165,000 people, for a comprehensive
look at how self-esteem
changes with age, exploring different
demographics and age groups. Apparently,
self-esteem begins to rise between
ages 4 and 11, as children develop and
revel in a sense of independence. Those
feelings level off in the teenage years
and hold steady until mid-adolescence.
After that, self-esteem grows substantially
until age 30, then more gradually
throughout middle adulthood, before
peaking around age 60. Unfortunately,
sometime after age 70, it seems to take
a hit, a factor which gets more worrying
as you approach 90.
It should also be noted that women
tended to have lower self-esteem than
men in young adulthood, but gain parity
as the decades wear on.
Sadly, it also appears that people in
happy relationships experience the
same drop in self-esteem during old
age as people in unhappy relationships.
So much for romantic bliss.
“Although they enter old age with
higher self-esteem and continue to have
higher self-esteem as they age, they decline
in self-esteem to the same extent
as people in unhappy relationships,”
said co-author Kali H. Trzesniewski,
PhD, of the University of Western Ontario,
as the American Psychological Association
noted. “Thus, being in a happy
relationship does not protect a person
against the decline in self-esteem that
typically occurs in old age.”
The upside is that the years between
60 and 70, generally speaking,
appear to be as golden as they have
been made out to be.
Social Security: You’ll feel
like you’re on vacation
with how easy this is
By Nicole Tiggemann
TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
August might be the last of the
months that people think of when we
say “summer vacation,” but it’s by no
means the least. People are still taking
trips and hosting family while
enjoying America’s beaches and national
parks. Social Security might
not be on the top of your to-do list
when you’re on vacation, but we’ve
made it so easy to do business with
us online that you can connect with
us pool-side or on the go.
We are constantly expanding
our online services to give you
freedom and control in how you
wish to conduct business with us.
Our online services help you plan
for the future and keep you in
control of your benefits. You can
go online to:
• Find out if you qualify for benefits;
• Use our benefit planners to help
you better understand your Social
Security protection;
• Estimate your future retirement
benefits to help you plan for your financial
future;
• Apply for retirement or Medicare
quickly and easily; and
• Open your personal https://www.
ssa.gov/myaccount/ my Social Security
account. It is a powerful tool
to help you stay in control of your
Social Security record. If you don’t
receive benefits yet, you can:
• Get your Social Security Statement
to review your earnings and
make sure they’re recorded correctly;
• Get a https://www.ssa.gov/hlp/
mySSA/df-beve.htm benefit verification
letter to prove you don’t
receive Social Security benefits or
that you applied but haven’t received
an answer yet;
• Request a replacement Social Security
card if you meet https://www.
ssa.gov/ssnumber/#issnrc certain
requirements; and
• Check the status of your application
or appeal a decision.
If you receive benefits, you can:
• Change your address and phone
number;
• Get a https://www.ssa.gov/hlp/
mySSA/df-beve.htm benefit verification
letter to prove you receive Social
Security benefits, Supplemental
Security Income (SSI), or Medicare;
• Change your direct deposit information
at any time;
• Request a replacement Medicare
card; and
• Get a replacement https://www.
ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10057.pdf Benefit
Statement (SSA-1099 or SSA-
1042S) for tax purposes.
Kick your feet up and grab your
laptop or even your cellphone. You
can access our online services page
and do much of your business with
us when you’re on the go at www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices.
Remember, you can easily share our
webpages and resources by copying
the link and messaging a family member
or friend. Now, go enjoy that vacation
or start planning your next one
knowing that, at Social Security, we’re
securing your today and tomorrow.
"You can access our online services page and do much of
your business with us when you’re on the go at
www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices."