Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief, all will go through the aging process. However, how well each endures that process depends on the individual. After my Visit at English Oaks Convalescent Home, a skilled nursing facility for adults’ age 55 and older, I found this to be true. During my visit, I conversed with many “residents” whom were alert and oriented and very aware of the aging process. We conversed about the process of aging and the factors that appear to account for a longer life. We talked about adjusting to aging as well as the positives of growing old. After my visit, I realized that we all age at different rates and aging is a highly individual process that affects people in unpredictable ways.
It is inevitable that we all grow old, but it is not inevitable to grow old in such a manner as not to be able to bend down and tie our shoelaces, or do the everyday ordinary chores without the resultant aches and pains. Slowing the "aging process" therefore depends on the individual and what steps they employ to do this. While visiting with residents, each spoke of factors, which they felt, accounted for their long and healthy lives. Just as the Abkhasians, three main factors appear to account for their long lives. The first is their diet, the second is their lifelong physical activity and the third factor is a highly developed sense of community (Henslin 2004). These factors were very similar to the ones that the elderly I spoke to had. The residents at English Oak also felt that diet, exercise and regular visits from friends and family contribute to living a longer and healthier life. Another common factor discussed by many was the importance of being involved at the facility. This presents opportunities to meet new people. Although New friends may never replace the lost closeness shared with someone who they knew before their hair turned grey, or before their first child was born, the support network that comes with sharing life with peers can counter loneliness and goes a long way toward dispelling feelings of isolation. Many felt that the more people they interact with daily, the more chance there is to form new bonds. The Abkhasian culture integrate each individual from childhood into a primary group and remains so throughout life. They have no nursing homes and the elderly do not live alone. The elderly continue to work and contribut...
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...ging. I was told that creativity learned early, does not diminish with age, elderly are sexually more relaxed and the ability to cope increases and stress levels decrease. I was told that as we grow older we take more responsibility for our health, we understand ourselves with better perspective and we are more confident and care less what other people think. I was also told that the capacity to love increases, gratitude deepens and sense of humor is heightened. This made me smile and for the first time look forward to my older days.
Old age is not a popular subject in our culture. We don't like to think about the prospect of growing old, so we put it out of our minds. Consequently, when it happens to us or a family member, we have no idea of what to expect. Many factors are involved in the aging process. Aging is an extremely complex process that affects all of us physically, socially and psychologically. It is important that we understand how aging affects us as individuals. As the old adage saus, “Take The Bull By The Horns” means we must do everything in our power to slow down the aging process. By slowing down the aging process, we are extending our life expectancy.
Aging is an inevitable process where we as living beings grow old. Aging has some benefits and may bring some problems too. There is a great variety of researches done with different purposes which provide us with some information and statistics.
Aging affects every individual and is inevitable, despite our valiant attempts to prevent it. The aging process beings the moment of conception however some can argue it begins at birth. The process of aging is heavily impacted by health, genetics and environmental factors. As people age we have to become accustom to the changes associated with life. The question becomes what changes happen and how? Although we cannot predict what will happen to us we can work to prevent specific things from happening by living healthier lives.
Greeson et al. point out that many children in foster care “have histories of recurrent interpersonal trauma perpetuated by caregivers early in life (2010).” They identify this as complex trauma. This may include physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect or domestic violence. This study included 2,251 foster children who were referred for treatment. Of those youth 70.4% reported two or more of the forms of complex trauma abuse, and 11.7% reported all five types. Every child in custody has experienced some form of trauma. At the very least they have been through the traumatic experience of being uprooted from the home they know and placed somewhere new, with people they don’t know. Even if they are being taken from a terrible, abusive environment, that is still their family and they are being torn away. The authors point out that children in custody do not receive the most exhaustive mental health screenings possible, so instead we end up treating the most visible symptoms instead of screening trauma exposure and trauma-related symptoms. Time and resources are inevitably spent treating problems that are actually symptoms secondary to trauma experiences and PTSD.
...negatively affect a trauma survivor’s ability to maintain relationships with family members (Schwerdtfeger & Goff, 2007). The research in this area suggests that traumatized adults may be emotionally or functionally (or both) unavailable for their infant, increasing the likelihood of enhanced symptomatology within the child. Parents with a trauma history may “pass on” their trauma symptoms or reactions to their children, either through the children’s direct exposure to the parents’ symptoms or through the parents’ potentially traumatizing (e.g., abusive) behavior. Additionally, depression, anxiety, psychosomatic problems, aggression, guilt, and related issues may be common in the children of trauma survivors. These findings suggest the complexity of understanding the effects of trauma that may impact family members across generations (Schwerdtfeger & Goff, 2007).
An interview was arranged with an older adult to discuss issues related to aging. The interview was designed to gain appreciation and understanding of an older adult. One theory of aging came into mind when I thought about this topic. Erik Erikson Life-Course and Personality Development theory, “Erikson described the task of old age as balancing the search for integrity and wholeness with a sense of despair.” NS is the older adult that I conducted the interview with. I’ve decided to pick NS to interview because she is very positive about life and her age. Everything that I have come across about aging is negative such as depression, isolation, and illness.
Beowulf is the protagonist of the anglo-saxon poem, he is said to be,” the strongest Geat-greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world.” (pg.42, ln.110). He is this god like warrior, and savior. Stronger than any man, in physical strength, and in faith.
In today’s society, what was once said to be true and taken as fact regarding older people is no longer the whole story. As Laslett states, “At all times before the middle of the twentieth century and all over the globe the greater part of human life potential has been wasted, by people dying before their allotted time was up.” (1989a), and to a great extent a lot
Aging and old age for a long time presented as dominated by negative traits and states such as sickness, depression and isolation. The aging process is not simply senescence most people over the age of 65 are not Senile, bedridden, isolated, or suicidal (Aldwin & Levenson, 1994). This change in perspective led the investigation of the other side of the coin. Ageing is seen as health, maturity and personal Royal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generatively, coping and acceptance of age-related constraints (Birren & Fisher, 1995). Psychological und...
The thought of aging is not void of hesitance given it produces questions deprived of answers in the absence of a crystal ball. Subsequently, aging parallels the unknown; thus, faced with uncertainty adopting a positive perspective remains elusive. Although, it’s preferred to view aging optimistically one cannot escape its negative connotations. Will I be an active agent or isolated burden remains a noteworthy unknown that enervates my optimism. Another consideration leading to my vacillating view on aging is, not knowing to what degree personal competencies and capacities will carry forward, thereby affording autonomy in the elder years. However, as research suggest, the aging process transforms healthy adults into frail ones; thus, dashing one’s hope that such traits will endure (Friis, 2010). Incidentally, at age 48, these lingering questions will soon be answered. In the interim, there is an inherent responsibility to prepare physically, psychologically, and financially for entry into the aging population. Ideally, the goal is to
Everyone will grow old, as the aging process of the human body is inevitable. However, each day in our life can bring on new adventures, new friends, and knowledge of the world a round us. Yet, many people have negative views towards those who are considered older adults and thus, have a negative belief on the aging process as a whole. Throughout the quarter, COMM 119 has taught us why there is this negative stigma around the aging process and specially, on older adults as a group. This paper will address my stereotypical views of the aging process before COMM 119, the effect of improperly discussing death and dying, as well as what it means to be a successful ager. Understanding these topics have helped me realize that my viewpoints of elder
Older adults are a very knowledgeable population and have had a lot of life experiences. As people age, things start to change physically, mentally, and socially. It’s important to understand the process of aging, so that older adults can be taken care of properly. I interviewed P.R. who is a 71-year-old male that lives alone in his home. P.R. is a retired coal miner, and is currently living off his social security and savings. He lives close to both his daughter and son, who frequently help him out with things that are needed. P.R. was able to give me a lot of insight about specific challenges that he has experienced in his life that is associated with aging. I will be discussing challenges that P.R experienced physically, mentally,
Ageing is a continuing life cycle, it is an ongoing developmental event that brings certain changes in one’s own psychological and physical state. It is a time in one's own life where an elderly individual reminisce and reflect, to bask and live on previous accomplishments and begin to finish his life cycle. There is a significant amount of adjusting that requires an elderly individual to be flexible and develop new coping skills to adapt in the changes that are common in their new life. (Dhara & Jogsan, 2013).
Late adulthood should be a time in a person's life where they feel fulfilled. They can look back on their memories and be happy with the way they have lived their life. Now, too many elderly people are not satisfied and look at this stage as depressing. Most fear death of either a loved one or for themselves. This topic is interesting to me because elderly people should make the best of their last stage of life. This topic discusses about getting older, the life changes that they go through physically, emotionally, and mentally. We should know more about it so that we can help our family and friends get through one of the best, yet toughest part of our mortal life.
When we are young we never think about what we are going to be like when we are 80 or 90. We just think of the present. Aging is something almost everyone experience’s in their lifetime. Everyone ages at their own rate and time, thus no one has the same experience. Some theorists believe that as we age we become disengage from society, others believe it’s the choices we make that cause disengagement from society. It’s something psychologists have argued for a long time. There is not a lot of research done on how adults age because of participant drop outs for a numerous amount of reasons; for example health issues, death or forgetting about the study all together. Older adults do not choose to become disengaged from society; the choices they make are the ones that fit their personal lifestyle the best.
Aging and being old was dominated by negative characteristics and conditions such as illness, depression, and isolation for a long time (Eibach, Mock, & Courtney, 2010). At first glance the terms “success” and “aging” seem to be in conflict to each other. When asking people about aging, their answers have many facets that are also found in psychological definitions: successful aging is seen as health, maturity and personal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generativity, coping, and acceptance of age-related limitations. In the psychological sense successful aging is also often seen as the absence of age-associated characteristics (Strawbridge, Wallhagen, & Cohen, 2002). It seems that successful aging means is not aging.