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Is Aging a Disease? Mental Health Issues and Approaches for Elders and Caregivers

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Mindfulness and Buddhist-Derived Approaches in Mental Health and Addiction

Part of the book series: Advances in Mental Health and Addiction ((AMHA))

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Abstract

Aging, illness, loss, and death are part of life. Mindfulness offers an important perspective on these inevitable facts of life. Western medical innovations have extended the life trajectory, resulting in a greater prevalence of chronic diseases, often accompanied by pain. Mindfulness interventions have demonstrated effectiveness in ameliorating chronic conditions, cognitive decline and pain, and problems disproportionately impacting elders and often leading to emotional distress. Mindfulness interventions have also provided skills to alleviate the stress of caregiving, an essential component of the well-being of frail elders. In this chapter, we will describe the most common mental health problems for elders and caregivers, as well as adaptations of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) to provide relief.

The real adventure is, and always has been, your whole life.

Kabat-Zinn, 2013, p. xxix

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Columbia University School of Social Work, 207 West 106 St., Apt. 12C, New York, NY, 10025, USA

    Lucia McBee

  2. Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, 145 Euclid Avenue, Hastings on Hudson, New York, NY, 10705, USA

    Patricia Bloom

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  1. Lucia McBee
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  2. Patricia Bloom
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Correspondence to Lucia McBee .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Awake to Wisdom, Centre for Meditation and Mindfulness Research, and Psychology Division, Chaucer Building, Bodhayati School of Buddhism, Nottingham, UK, and Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom

    Edo Shonin

  2. & Nottingham Trent Univ., Bodhayati School of Buddhism, Nottingham & Nottingham Trent Univ., Nottingham, United Kingdom

    William Van Gordon

  3. Nottingham Trent University , Nottingham, United Kingdom

    Mark D. Griffiths

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McBee, L., Bloom, P. (2016). Is Aging a Disease? Mental Health Issues and Approaches for Elders and Caregivers. In: Shonin, E., Gordon, W., Griffiths, M. (eds) Mindfulness and Buddhist-Derived Approaches in Mental Health and Addiction. Advances in Mental Health and Addiction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22255-4_17

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