GOOD MENTAL HEALTH TIPS FOR SENIORS DISCUSSED DURING SENIOR-WISE

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(Casper, WY) -- Being pro-active about our health -- and not just physical health -- can be critical in how we see life and how we enjoy it. That was the message shared recently during "Senior-Wise" at the Casper Senior Center, by Kelly Shipley, Clinical Therapist with the Central Wyoming Counseling Center. She encouraged seniors to take care of their mental health, too, because being healthy mentally can mean a better quality of life and a longer life. "You'll also feel better while you live," she said.

She said it's common for seniors to live alone but being alone is not the same as being lonely. "Lonely is a passive state," she noted. "You can be alone and still be very active. You can be interested in things, and interacting with people -- even if you're by yourself. Loneliness is something that can cause physical problems and hasten death."  She shared studies that show loneliness can send misleading hormonal signals to our bodies. "Long lasting loneliness not only makes you sick," she cautioned, "it can kill you. In fact, emotional isolation ranks as high a risk factor for mortality -- as smoking."

Shipley also pointed out that loneliness can make our brains play tricks on us. "We can interpret things differently and incorrectly if we're in a depressed state or a lonely state," she said. "So, it's important for us to be aware of where we are in our individual emotional states. Our brains may be telling us things that aren't actually happening  but because of the loneliness we don't see it that way." 

Engaging with other people is a key to fighting loneliness, she said, and it's not about quantity -- it's about quality. "We don't need a thousand friends," she encouraged, "we just need a few people who either depend on us or we depend on them. Realize you're not alone. Get involved with activities. Join a class. Come to the Senior Center. Do something that interests you."

She said the idea is not to allow yourself to wallow. "Distract yourself and stay busy," she chuckled. "Challenge yourself to take the initiative in social situations; show interest in others and listen more than you talk. And especially, be a pleasant person."

She concluded by telling local seniors that being by yourself is not necessarily a bad thing as long as you understand the difference between loneliness and being alone.

Senior-Wise is held Tuesdays at 12:30pm at the Casper Senior Center, 1831 East 4th Street, Casper.

GOOD DENTAL CARE TIPS OFFERED DURING SENIOR-WISE

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        (Casper, WY) -- Senior dental care isn't that different from dental care for everyone else, according to Dr. Mike Keim (above), Casper dentist in practice locally for nearly 40 years. "There are some differences that show up as individuals begin to age that contribute to some of the problems that are unique to seniors," he said. For instance, seniors can have fairly involved medical histories and those can complicate treatment and can dictate ways the dentist will treat -- such as the anesthetic used or length of appointment time.

           Dr. Keim made these comments to a group of seniors recently during the Senior-Wise program at the Casper Senior Center. He said dry mouth is one of the biggest problems he sees in his older patients. "Dry mouth can be caused by several factors," he said. "It can be due to certain medications they're on, blood pressure medications in particular." He added that saliva is important in protecting teeth because it helps wash bacteria away from the teeth and it also contains calcium. "Calcium helps to remineralize the teeth," he added, "and when your saliva flow rate drops then quite often you'll have more cavities." 

         He said if you have trouble with dry mouth one of the best ways to deal with it is to chew sugarless gum because sugarless gum stimulates saliva flow and cleans your teeth. When asked about the old camper's trick of putting a rock in your mouth he chuckled, "That will help saliva flow but it can also lead to broken teeth."

           He also said another cause of cavities for seniors is the loss of gum tissue height. He cautioned that if you don't take adequate care of your teeth you tend to lose a little of the bone that supports the teeth and as you lose the bone height then the gum tissue height will recede. He says that can cause root surfaces to become exposed instead of the enamel on the crown of the tooth, and he noted that root surfaces are much more susceptible to decay than the enamel.  

         He did have some good news, however. 'If you brush your teeth and do an adequate job of removing the bacteria and food particles and plaque around the teeth you can pretty well prevent periodontal problems from setting in," he said. "If you do these things you can keep your teeth to a much older age."

          Senior-Wise is held Tuesdays at 12:30pm at the Casper Senior Center, 1831 East 4th Street, Casper.

VEGETABLE GARDENS DISCUSSED DURING RECENT SENIOR-WISE

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(Casper, WY) -- Planting a vegetable garden in Wyoming presents some challenges not faced in most parts of our country but be a successful effort by understanding local weather and soil conditions and following some basic rules. That was the word from Donna Hoffman, Natrona County Horticulture Specialist (pictured above) during her recent visit to the Senior-Wise program at the Casper Senior Center.

She said local gardeners have to do a lot more to maintain their gardens and get them growing. "It's not like the Midwest where you can just drop seeds into the ground," she said. "There, they have 5-10% organic matter in the soil while we have about 1% organic matter in our soils. In addition, the soil must be loose enough for new roots to grown down so you should always add organic matter when you till. In fact, that's your reason to till -- to add organic matter into the soil." She advised tilling as deep as you can get it, as most roto-tillers go 6-8 inches deep while an agriculture plow will go down 12-18 inches.

She also spoke of the importance of creating windbreaks. Because our winds usually come from the southwest, creating a windbreak for that direction will also provide afternoon shade during some of the hottest summer sun. Also, most vegetable garden plants need at least six and preferable eight hours of sunlight per day.

Several vegetable varieties do well locally, she said, both cool season and warm season crops. Warm season crops are tomatoes, watermelons, cucumbers, squash, and peppers. "For these, we need to wait to plant," she cautioned, "because the soil temperatures are too cool in the early spring." She also said when you plant your garden it's best to start with cool season crops like cabbage, peas, lettuce, radishes, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli since all those are easy to get started in the early spring. "You can start these several weeks prior to our last expected frost of the year," she noted, "and typically our first frost free day of the year is May 22." She said many old timers have said never to plant your garden until the snow is off the face of Casper mountain. 

She concluded by relating that our average annual rainfall is about 13 inches and that's typically not enough for most vegetable garden plants. She said cool weather vegetables may not need additional water until May while warm weather garden items need about an inch of water per week.

Senior-Wise is held Tuesdays at 12:30 at the Casper Senior Center, 1831 East 4th Street in Casper.

WY HOUSE BILL 119 DISCUSSED DURING SENIOR-WISE

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(Casper, WY) -- House Bill 119 -- the so-called "Death with Dignity" bill -- was introduced in the Wyoming State Legislature this session and it was the topic of discussion during a recent edition of Senior-Wise at the Casper Senior Center. The presentation was made by Casper resident Alicia Loveland (pictured above), who addressed the House committee in support of the bill. "I'm not with any organization," she began her presentation. "I'm just an individual citizen and Iwant to present what the bill is about." She said the Wyoming bill is somewhat similar to a bill that was approved in Oregon. "I have strong feelings on the subject," she said.

She said HB 119 includes several required steps. First, an oral request must be made to a doctor, followed by a 15 day waiting period. After that, a return visit to the doctor is required where an additional request must be made. Then, the bill would require the doctor to explain all options and a written request must be made and it must be witnessed by two other people, neither of whom could benefit by the ultimate decision. The doctor would again explain the options and would direct the patient to another doctor for confirmation of a terminal diagnosis. This doctor would write a letter explaining the condition, confirming that it is terminal and provide an estimated time of life expectancy. The bill would require the doctor to wait 4 days before prescribing the end of life drugs. Finally, the doctor would call the pharmacy and the pharmacy decides whether to fill the prescription.

Strong opinions on the moral, legal and ethical implications of this bill were expressed during the discussion period, and it was acknowledged that few physicians and pharmacists would take part in the process. Loveland explained her support for the bill was due in part because her family had been touched by the tragedy of suicide. 

Montana, Vermont, Oregon and Washington currently have these assisted suicide laws on the books. HB 119 was not voted out of committee in the Wyoming state legislature and therefore lacked support for a vote before the entire House.

Senior-Wise is held Tuesdays at 12:30 at the Casper Senior Center, located at 1831 East 4th Street in Casper.

INCOME TAX FILING INFORMATION PRESENTED AT SENIOR-WISE

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(Casper, WY) -- Tax filing season is here and that can mean lots of questions from tax filers. Sandy Sowder of Liberty Tax Service in Casper (pictured above), addressed the Senior-Wise group at the Casper Senior Center recently to answer questions some of those questions. 

One of the first questions she addressed concerned the safety feature involved in filing an income tax return annually. "If your sole source of income is Social Security and you have no other form of income you may still want to file your tax return each year," she recommended. "You can do it as an information filing to make sure that your Social Security number is not being used by anyone else in the IRS system." She said Liberty Tax Service will do a free information filing just on your Social Security income. "It's a good idea to bounce that off the IRS each year," she said, "to make sure your Social Security number is not being used in their system for any other purpose." She pointed out that Social Security fraud can also catch up with seniors from a medical standpoint at the hospital, because in the hospital's record system you are also your SS number. "If someone checks into a hospital using your Social Security number then a medical profile starts to build that doesn't belong to you," she cautioned. "It can be very difficult and very expensive to get your identity back."

Tax forms like W-2 and 1099 should already been in your possession. "They don't have to be delivered by the end of the January but they must be postmarked by the end of January," she said. But she also noted it's the tax filer's responsibility to make sure these employers have a current address. This is easy one to forget if you use direct deposit, she said, because your address can change while your bank account number did not. 

If you plan to do your own taxes there are some valuable resources to consult. She recommended checking the irs.gov website as a useful and user friendly resource. She said there's more security and safety filing your taxes with a professional firm, since franchises like Liberty Tax are required to follow even tougher regulations that what the IRS requires. She also said it's more difficult now to obtain paper copies of tax documents. "Almost all tax information is being directed by the government to irs.gov," she said, "but you can still order the paper forms for free from irs.gov and they'll be mailed to you." 

Senior-Wise is held Tuesdays at 12:30 at the Casper Senior Center, 1831 East 4th Street, Casper, WY.