Loneliness and Relationships for Senior Adults
When one has been married or in a relationship for a long time, the loss of a partner is devastating. Grief, whether from divorce or death, is very, very personal and the length of the grieving period does not necessarily reflect the amount of love one felt for the lost partner, or broken relationship. Some people need to quickly begin a relationship with someone new, because there is a desire to replace the loss of companionship and intimacy. Others are able to embrace a single lifestyle, and while being alone, they are not lonely.
Loneliness and new relationships can be tricky for those over 60. Physical and emotional insecurities can be as prevalent after 60 as they might have been at 16, especially in terms of intercourse and sexual intimacy.
After 60, meeting new people can cause anxiety. It is important to remember that if a person wants to meet a new potential partner for emotional and physical intimacy, one cannot be overly restrictive, but rather, should remain open to all opportunities to meet new people. If a person is interested in finding a new partner, a positive attitude is important, because new relationships can present additional challenges.
Financial or health concerns may make remarriage impractical; very few people want to be a nurse or provide substantial financial support to someone else. Yet, even with the problems of aging, a couple may wish to share time together and be intimate, including having a satisfying sexual relationship with each other. Physical love as well as emotional love can happen again after the loss of a relationship. Sex for seniors is viable.
When those over 60 enter into a relationship, adult children may present a challenge, as well. Adult children can be threatened by the thought of their parents being sexual. Adult children also grieve the loss of their parents’ relationship, and, in the case of death, grieve the loss of a parent. Additionally, sometimes children resist accepting a parent's new love because of a fear that they will be deprived of an inheritance.
Sex Over Sixty helps aging baby boomers discover effective ways to bridge the gap between loneliness, new relationships, loss, adult children and sexual desire for a new love, opening up new doors about the prospect of sex for seniors, or baby boomer sex.
