Harold G Koenig

If retirement is approaching or you've recently retired, Adventures in Senior Living can help you prepare for the opportunities, needs, problems, and challenges that retirement often brings. Through 31 lively and interesting interviews, you learn how other people have found positive and rewarding ways to make their retirement years meaningful and enjoyable. Opening windows into their own lives, these inspiring retirees share with you a wide range of retirement ideas that pertain to volunteer work, travel, selecting your living arrangements, and getting involved in your community. Retirement doesn't have to bring feelings of boredom or restlessness. Adventures in Senior Living shows you that your retirement years can be your most fulfilling, productive, and fun years. You'll have more time to work in that garden you love, make quilts with your friends, spend time with your loved ones, and get exercise. But, possibly even more important than that, you'll have the ability to participate in your community on an entirely new level and to make a difference in other people's lives as well as your own. The life-loving, generous people who come together in this wonderful book are sure to inspire you as they speak about their accomplishments that include:recording books on tape for blind people conducting missionary work at home and abroad brightening the lives of patients in nursing homes and hospitals teaching Sunday school caring for a spouse with Alzheimer's delivering meals on wheels to shut-in people establishing a battered women's shelter rescuing prostitutes from the streetThis book presents retirees, teachers of courses in aging and retirement, activity directors at retirement and nursing homes, family members, and health and mental health care providers with many stories of extraordinary volunteerism, service, and kindness, but it also talks about the needs of retirees and their daily, more personal experiences. To this end, Adventures in Senior Living discusses the importance of continuing study, discussion, meditation, prayer, and fitness in the lives of seniors.

Is Religion Good for Your Health? takes you deep into the heart of the ageless debate on the importance of religion and faith to physical and mental health. On the one hand, you will learn about important research findings from cross-sectional, longitudinal, and intervention studies that have demonstrated positive effects of religious belief on both mental and physical health. On the other hand, you will learn how the vast clinical experiences of leading health experts suggest that religion can have negative effects on health. Integral to the book’s exploration of the relationship between health and religion are the trends that have occurred in society over the last century. You will learn about significant demographic changes, changes in health and health care, and shifts in values, attitudes, and religious conviction, all of which have direct implications for health care providers, the clergy, the “baby boomers,” and older adults. From Author Harold Koenig, a leading expert on religion and health who has frequently been interviewed by major broadcasting networks such as ABC, National Public Radio, the British Broadcasting Corporation, NBC, CBS, and “Ivanhoe Broadcast News,” you will also learn about:pathological uses of religion the need for cooperation and collaboration between health and religious professionals studies on the relationship of religious beliefs and practice to physical conditions such as blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and cancer links between religious behavior and depression, anxiety, and drug use the waning of religion’s influence in America first-hand accounts from patients who have faced painful and/or life-threatening illnessAs Is Religion Good for Your Health? analyzes the pathological aspects of religion, you will begin to understand how religious beliefs have the capacity to strongly influence people’s lives and their health, whether positively or negatively. Health care providers, public policy experts, religious professionals, medical researchers, and medical students will find the book’s overview of the issues at stake, particularly the implications for our public health care system, crucial to the advancement of health care practice into the next century.

Is Religion Good for Your Health? takes you deep into the heart of the ageless debate on the importance of religion and faith to physical and mental health. On the one hand, you will learn about important research findings from cross-sectional, longitudinal, and intervention studies that have demonstrated positive effects of religious belief on both mental and physical health. On the other hand, you will learn how the vast clinical experiences of leading health experts suggest that religion can have negative effects on health. Integral to the book’s exploration of the relationship between health and religion are the trends that have occurred in society over the last century. You will learn about significant demographic changes, changes in health and health care, and shifts in values, attitudes, and religious conviction, all of which have direct implications for health care providers, the clergy, the “baby boomers,” and older adults. From Author Harold Koenig, a leading expert on religion and health who has frequently been interviewed by major broadcasting networks such as ABC, National Public Radio, the British Broadcasting Corporation, NBC, CBS, and “Ivanhoe Broadcast News,” you will also learn about:pathological uses of religion the need for cooperation and collaboration between health and religious professionals studies on the relationship of religious beliefs and practice to physical conditions such as blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and cancer links between religious behavior and depression, anxiety, and drug use the waning of religion’s influence in America first-hand accounts from patients who have faced painful and/or life-threatening illnessAs Is Religion Good for Your Health? analyzes the pathological aspects of religion, you will begin to understand how religious beliefs have the capacity to strongly influence people’s lives and their health, whether positively or negatively. Health care providers, public policy experts, religious professionals, medical researchers, and medical students will find the book’s overview of the issues at stake, particularly the implications for our public health care system, crucial to the advancement of health care practice into the next century.

There’s good news for middle-aged and older adults who wish to grow emotionally and spiritually and experience satisfaction and joy in their mature years regardless of circumstance, health, or age. A Gospel for the Mature Years shows you how to achieve joy and fulfillment by developing a deep, personal, intimate relationship with God, recognizing your God-given gifts, and using your abilities in service to others. Our later years are not meant to be a time for idleness and withdrawal from life. Rather, this is an exciting, meaningful, and action-packed time when we should grab hold of life and live it fully, advancing God’s kingdom in our families, communities, and nation. Meant both for individual reading and for use in churches as a workbook for small discussion groups, A Gospel for the Mature Years is arranged to facilitate use in classes running on a calendar quarter of 13 Sundays. Questions for discussion at the end of each chapter have been designed to encourage individual preparation for participation in the group. Specific topics you learn about include:emotional growth and spiritual development achievement of well-being and fulfillment achieving Christian maturity preventing depression counseling and caregiving using one’s gifts and talents overcoming barriers to loving and serving others avoiding burnout and exhaustion when loving and serving others These are increasingly difficult times, requiring that God’s people work together by utilizing their talents for the benefit of others. The authors make clear that the call to service does not end with retirement. We can use this inspirational book to identify our gifts and learn how to best use them in service to God and others. A Gospel for the Mature Years will help us produce a society of people with vision--a vision of hope that life can have meaning and purpose regardless of circumstance, and of faith that every person has been given a gift that will enable them to make a difference in this world and make it a better place for their children and grandchildren.

There’s good news for middle-aged and older adults who wish to grow emotionally and spiritually and experience satisfaction and joy in their mature years regardless of circumstance, health, or age. A Gospel for the Mature Years shows you how to achieve joy and fulfillment by developing a deep, personal, intimate relationship with God, recognizing your God-given gifts, and using your abilities in service to others. Our later years are not meant to be a time for idleness and withdrawal from life. Rather, this is an exciting, meaningful, and action-packed time when we should grab hold of life and live it fully, advancing God’s kingdom in our families, communities, and nation. Meant both for individual reading and for use in churches as a workbook for small discussion groups, A Gospel for the Mature Years is arranged to facilitate use in classes running on a calendar quarter of 13 Sundays. Questions for discussion at the end of each chapter have been designed to encourage individual preparation for participation in the group. Specific topics you learn about include:emotional growth and spiritual development achievement of well-being and fulfillment achieving Christian maturity preventing depression counseling and caregiving using one’s gifts and talents overcoming barriers to loving and serving others avoiding burnout and exhaustion when loving and serving others These are increasingly difficult times, requiring that God’s people work together by utilizing their talents for the benefit of others. The authors make clear that the call to service does not end with retirement. We can use this inspirational book to identify our gifts and learn how to best use them in service to God and others. A Gospel for the Mature Years will help us produce a society of people with vision--a vision of hope that life can have meaning and purpose regardless of circumstance, and of faith that every person has been given a gift that will enable them to make a difference in this world and make it a better place for their children and grandchildren.

This important book examines the relationship between religion and mental health throughout the life cycle, with a special emphasis on later life. It asserts that successful aging is possible regardless of physical health or environmental circumstances, and that religious beliefs and behaviors may facilitate successful aging. Aging and God thoroughly examines the effects of religion and mental health on aging and provides a centralized resource of up-to-date references of research in the field. It focuses on recent findings, theoretical issues, and implications for clinical practice and contains ideas for further research. In Aging and God, you’ll also find information on project design that can help you develop grant applications and carry out studies. Aging and God is a helpful book for both mental health and religious professionals. It helps mental health specialists better understand the spiritual needs of older adults and the impact that religion can have on facilitating mental health. It also describes how religion can be utilized in clinical practice and integrated into psychotherapeutic approaches to older patients. The book brings religious professionals current knowledge of the major psychological problems that older adults face and how religion can be used to help alleviate these problems. Full of pertinent information, Aging and God addresses theoretical aspects of human development, focusing on cognitive, moral, and religious faith development examines situations and disorders of particular concern to older persons and looks at how religion can be used as a resource applies research findings to the problem of meeting the spiritual and mental health needs of elders with chronic or acute health problems provides an in-depth look at end-of-life issues such as physician-assisted suicideHospital and nursing home chaplains will find this book informative and encouraging, as will gerontologists, hospital administrators, and community clergy faced with increasingly older congregations. It gives mental health professionals new strategies to help improve the later years of older adults, and makes an excellent text for courses on religion, mental health, and aging. Middle-aged and older adults, as well as their families, will also find Aging and God enjoyable and inspiring as they attempt to grapple with the myriad adjustment and coping problems associated with aging.

This important book examines the relationship between religion and mental health throughout the life cycle, with a special emphasis on later life. It asserts that successful aging is possible regardless of physical health or environmental circumstances, and that religious beliefs and behaviors may facilitate successful aging. Aging and God thoroughly examines the effects of religion and mental health on aging and provides a centralized resource of up-to-date references of research in the field. It focuses on recent findings, theoretical issues, and implications for clinical practice and contains ideas for further research. In Aging and God, you’ll also find information on project design that can help you develop grant applications and carry out studies. Aging and God is a helpful book for both mental health and religious professionals. It helps mental health specialists better understand the spiritual needs of older adults and the impact that religion can have on facilitating mental health. It also describes how religion can be utilized in clinical practice and integrated into psychotherapeutic approaches to older patients. The book brings religious professionals current knowledge of the major psychological problems that older adults face and how religion can be used to help alleviate these problems. Full of pertinent information, Aging and God addresses theoretical aspects of human development, focusing on cognitive, moral, and religious faith development examines situations and disorders of particular concern to older persons and looks at how religion can be used as a resource applies research findings to the problem of meeting the spiritual and mental health needs of elders with chronic or acute health problems provides an in-depth look at end-of-life issues such as physician-assisted suicideHospital and nursing home chaplains will find this book informative and encouraging, as will gerontologists, hospital administrators, and community clergy faced with increasingly older congregations. It gives mental health professionals new strategies to help improve the later years of older adults, and makes an excellent text for courses on religion, mental health, and aging. Middle-aged and older adults, as well as their families, will also find Aging and God enjoyable and inspiring as they attempt to grapple with the myriad adjustment and coping problems associated with aging.