Co-dependency in Baby Boomers

15 Sep Co-dependency in Baby Boomers

Psychological Articles by Boomeryearbook.com

Baby boomers are getting on; it’s an indisputable fact. The instigators of the sexual revolution of the sixties are turning whiter by the day, although their impact on the world lives on even as they slowly succumb to older age and the problems that ride along with it.

Baby boomers that made a life with one partner necessarily face the loneliness of older age when that partner becomes disabled by illness or even dies.

People who co-habit over a lengthy marriage or partnership tend to become dependent on their spouses or partners, both for emotional and practical support. The baby boomer generation is now moving into the booming senior years and partners who have been there for forty or fifty years are suddenly no longer around.

Dependency can be a comfort for the dependant person and a huge responsibility for the provider of support. That provider might be someone in advancing age and suffering from certain disabilities and limitations themselves. Often, long term partners who have cared for someone with a serious illness suddenly ‘give in’ to their own ailments once the other person has passed away; as if all the strength they provided for the other person is suddenly drained, leaving the carer no option but to finally rest and tend to their own needs.

Dependency among partners who are devoted to each other can have an adverse effect on the survivor once death or illness removes the other person. Simple tasks like the paying of bills and the daily shopping for groceries might be undertaken by the stronger of the partnership: on death, the survivor is left with insecurities they do not feel equal to tackling alone.

Baby boomers can face the problem of dependency and find a solution to it by social networking with other boomers and by making sure that both partners understand the processes by which their home is maintained and paid for. In just about every town and city there are courses on a range of self help subjects such as computer literacy; home maintenance; cooking and basic bookkeeping. By attending such courses together, while they are able, both partners might safeguard the security of the other by guaranteeing independence and survival in the event of the unthinkable.

It is a fact that during the grieving process, men take longer to come to terms with living alone than women. This is likely due to the fact that mostly, women run the home and manage cooking and domestic matters. When men are left to carry on alone, some do not know where to begin to re-organize a routine that does not include their late partner.

Baby boomers are beginning to understand the dangers of dependency and address the problem intelligently to insure that they do not end up alone and scared without their lifelong companion. Also, more is being done in communities to recognize that a great deal can be achieved by teaching the aging boomer and the elderly useful skills rather than baby sitting older victims of dependency.

The Psychological Article on Co-dependency in Baby Boomers is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of baby boomers psychological coaching tips and how to alleviate elderly problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.

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