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Essay on wellness for the elderly
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The phases that elderly people go through in their life leave them exposed to physical and emotional vulnerability. The elderly face many challenges in day to day life, from physical and emotional difficulties to stereotypes propagated in the media. In the face of such stereotypes, the elderly population often behaves in a way expected of them. The elderly are forced to devise methods to cope with these challenges if they are to fulfil the last stage of their life journey in a positive manner. Either by putting a positive spin on situations or by receiving support of family and healthcare professionals, the elderly must learn to live with the unique challenges that face them at this critical stage of their life. It is essential to point out here that old age doesn’t happen overnight, but age-related physical declines take place gradually. And, getting older certainly doesn’t mean that one becomes incapacitated. It is essential for older adult to prepare well ahead of time for these age related declines that they are likely to face when they turn 60, 65, or 70. Due to some serious health ailments, they might not be able to carry out their daily tasks and may need the help of their family members and social care givers. The aim is to promote wellness and support the elder in coping with the stresses that accompany age-related disability or physical declines. By working together, the older adults, their family members and health care professionals can improve their quality of life. Sometimes, one may need to modify their homes to face the age-related physical declines. Older people can keep mentally alert by following lifelong learning and find educational programs that focus on practical and social aspects. Using the right mat... ... middle of paper ... ... for lowering the power and prestige the elderly once held. Elders are mostly ignored and under-represented, and whenever we see them in the media and popular culture, we find them often shown in the stereotypical way. There are very few elderly who have meaningful relationships with those around them. Complex depictions of elders and lack of meaningful portrayal of elders by the media only creates negative images of seniors (Berk, 2014). Being a senior means advancing to the final stages of our life journey. There is nothing much to do except look at the good old days. There are health problems and loneliness to deal with. It is essential for society to help our aged population cope well in the last stage of their journey. It is our duty to take care of the senior citizens. They took care of us when we were young and helpless, now it is time to return the favor.
As we age, we become more prone to a wide array of diseases, such as cancer and heart disease and treating these diseases most definitely helps us live longer but they do not seem to halt the natural aging process that eventually causes our bodies to weaken and wither away. New research suggests that, like several biological processes, the aging process could also be controlled and this could lead us to live much longer lives. However, commoners and bioethicists alike are often concerned about the bioethical issues pertaining to the life extension phenomena. They argue that the quality of life may be compromised in exchange for longevity and this may be due to intervention in the
Aging is universal and it is a process that everyone has to go through. The only difference is that everyone goes through this process at their own pace influenced by factors that will be discussed later on in this paper. When we think about factors that have an influence on older adults and how their life may be affected, we must consider the different social institutions while analyzing influences from social factors, cultural factors, and personal values. Abuse to older adults, stereotyping and informal care and technological advancements that affect older adults are the three topics that will be discussed in this reflection. Furthermore, will connect the three topics I have chosen to the knowledge that I have gained from my interaction
stereotypes and reinforcing the realities of aging as they care for older adults in all care
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...
older adults. Journal of Nursing Education, 47(6), 269-271. Retrieved from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.
Men and women are portrayed differently in media in relation to their socially constructed roles. As mentioned above about the agentic and communal roles, there is also double standard of ageing. Women’s lives: A psychological exploration defines “Double standard of aging” as, “the stigma of aging is much greater than it is for me” (Etaugh & Bridges, 2013, Pg. The media shows the public by giving them the bias that ageing men are more acceptable than aging women.
I for one did not know the amount of damage categorizing older adults by their stereotypes could cause to their psyche. When my grandfather was 75 years old, he was put into the hospital for heart problems and my family would visit him often. I always remember my mother and father slowing their speech down, or just talking differently towards him while he was in the hospital bed. It is as if seeing my grandfather in a hospital bed triggered age stereotypes of older adults, thus changing the way my parents commutated toward them. Applying Social Identity Theory (Giles et al. 2014) presented in COMM 119 to that interaction made me realize for the future that I must look past these stereotypes, and base my communicative behaviors around the individual, and not their group.
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,
Active ageing does not stop when elderly people retire, as they can remain active through their families, peers and communities. Active ageing aims to allow elderly people to realise and bring awareness to their own psychological, physical and mental well-being. As the goal of active ageing is the autonomy and independence of elderly people (Alexandre, Cordeiro, & Ramos, 2009). Ageing is a continuing life cycle, it is an ongoing developmental event that brings about certain changes in one’s own psychological and physical state. It is a time in one's own life where an elderly individual reminisces and reflects, basks and lives on previous accomplishments and begins to finish his life cycle.
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.
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.
This posting is about the elderly and their reminiscence of their own life. Throughout the post, I will discuss some of the difficulties I have experienced in providing care for the elderly. Furthermore, I will describe my own thoughts and feelings about the required video and what changes I will include in my nursing practice after watching the video.
After having attained a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology and a Master’s degree in Gerontology, I felt I should gain some first-hand experience in physical therapy and thus volunteered to work as a caregiver in a reputed Evergreen rehabilitation center Ga. However, while working as a caregiver I realized I needed to learn much more in order to provide better care in meeting the psychological and physical caring needs of the elderly. I have always had the inherent desire to serve the elderly in reducing their hardships and providing them with the much needed physical and psychological support so that they can lead a happy and trouble-free life.
Aged care is becoming such a huge part of our health system and society in general. It is so important that we come to an understanding on not only how it affects the community and society that we live in but the requirements that need to be met in order to care for older adults. Throughout this paper, we will discuss active ageing and the cultural, physical, economic and social well-being of older adults, as well as the affect that community as on the older population and visa-vasa. Accompanying this essay is a flyer that well be used to define active ageing, why it is important to individuals and the community. It is important to understand what active ageing is and that health is measured by more than just physical