How To Bounce Back After A Setback

Researchers (Dr. Mabel Ho and Dr. Esme Fuller-Thomson) found that nearly 1 in 4 adults aged 60+ who initially reported poor wellbeing, regained optimal well-being within three years.

Another way of expressing that would be: more than 3/4 of adults aged 60+ who suffered poor wellbeing, didn’t bounce back with three years.

So, what was the secret of the happy few, and what did they do differently?

Holistic recovery

The first predictive factor was:

Good psychological and emotional wellness at the start of the study increased the likelihood of recovery fivefold. So for this, you might want to check out: Building Psychological Resilience (Without Undue Hardship)

Other strong factors included:

• being physically active
• sleeping well
• maintaining a healthy weight
• not smoking
• avoiding chronic health conditions

Non-physical factors included:

• being under 70 years old
• being married
• earning income above the poverty line

This is quite consistent with what we wrote about in: The Lifestyle Factors That Matter >8 Times More Than Genes, which also looks at how some factors aren’t necessarily entirely what they look like at first glance

You may be wondering: if someone has all those things in place, then what on Earth was the nature of their setback?

And well, there may be things outside of that list, but what this really says is that “recovery is easier, the fewer of those things go wrong at once”.

And yet, all too often, when one thing goes badly wrong, it can be very tempting to abandon the others:

• either due to neglect while trying to address the one thing that went badly wrong,
• or due to despair, and sinking into depression/hopelessness

Per Dr. Ho herself,

❝What’s powerful about this research is the reminder that later life can still be fulfilling, even after difficult periods. Good health is important, but so are the people, meaning, and joy we have in our lives.❞

You can find the study in full, here: Reclaiming wellness: Key factors in restoring optimal well-being in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

But what if I do have a chronic health condition, am unmarried, over 70, etc?

Well, that’s statistically unfortunate. The important thing is to continue to try to have as many of those listed things in place as is reasonably possible for you.

That doesn’t mean you need to rush out and get married, by the way! In fact,

• Only One Kind Of Relationship Promotes Longevity This Much! ← i.e. not just any old marriage will do
• Relationships: When To Stick It Out & When To Call It Quits ← because sometimes a relationship is actually deleterious to wellbeing, and we also include some science on people finding their best love in later life
• Singledom & Healthy Longevity ← absolutely an option too; it just has to be undertaken mindfully, that’s all, and many people don’t

Being over 70, well, there’s not a lot that can be done about that. Although it’s worth bearing in mind that while chronological age can’t be wound back, much of biological age can: Age & Aging: What Can (And Can’t) We Do About It?

As for chronic health conditions, we’ve covered these a lot at 10almonds, and of course there are very many of them, and you can use our search function to find the specific condition you’re looking for.

Meanwhile, as a catch-all starting point, you might like this remarkably good book we recommended a little a while back:

Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions – by Dr. Kate Lorig et al.

Take care!