Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/447803
22 PosiTiVe Mind | PosiTiVe Bonds So how does someone face all of these challenges and still maintain mental wellness? A lot of it, says Draayer, has to come from within — especially if your reality, like Mathies', involves a chronic disease. "You've got to look at it not as a pit you've fallen into, but more in terms of dips and turns on this path you never thought you'd be on. You've got to learn how to manage your situation when you're down in the valley, and in that process, know you're going to come back up again." A vital part of that, she adds, is "developing a framework from the get-go that includes paying attention to your emotions … if you don't tend to the emotional part of yourself, this whole thing is going to catch up to you." Sometimes that framework "means medication and sometimes it means needing to talk with someone — a third party that might not be the caregiver." The most important thing, Draayer says, is that boomers don't "close the shutters on the world" and become isolated. Thompson agrees, describing habits of boomers who live well and maintain good mental health: "They maintain a sense of purpose through prosocial involvement — committee activities, volunteer work, positive family attachments, spiritual and/ or community engagement — as well as a good alliance with health care providers who take the time to provide education and support." Volunteering has been part of Mathies' mental-health formula. She pours her energy into advocacy and fundraising work for the Colorado Neurological Institute and Michael J. Fox Foundation and also leads a support group for newly diagnosed patients. "I don't want it to just totally be all I am, but the camaraderie between people who have (Parkinson's) is special," Mathies says. "That kind of community has been really important." "By the time you're 56, you've had a fair amount of experiences in your life, and they all lead up to then. I think I just felt strong enough to handle it."