Aging is A Mental Game Introduction Our health depends on our mental being. “Mind over matter.” I noticed that people who have less stress in their lives, live a healthier and longer life. Stress can alter memory functions, and make you susceptibility to diseases. Emotional distress is often a factor in illness, mental issues, and disability. Illness, mental issues, and disability is often related to emotion, social, and cultural factors. Methods I interviewed my brother Norman Gabb, who is 69 years old. He was an elevator operator, maintenance person for a building in New York City, New York before he retired. He served in the United States Army for 4 years in the 1970s. He is a caregiver for my 90-year-old mother who has Alzheimer’s. …show more content…
He spoke of not wanting to live if he is in the mental state my mom is in. I asked him about the right to die/ assisted suicide and he agrees that people should have the right. We spoke of healthcare. Who should the government (specifically) consider deserving of rationed healthcare. A young person or an elderly person. My brother said “an elderly person should receive more healthcare than a young person because a younger person is most likely healthier. “ Unprovoked, he mentioned religion. He said, “I believe in God, but don’t go to church.” I asked him if he believe people go to church to socialize. Especially an elderly person. He said, “yes, but I won’t go even if I needed it.” My brother believes a routine (not changing the things you do, and how you do it) is the way to a healthy and long life. I asked him about if taking an elderly to see a psychiatrist for depression while in Hospice care is okay. He said, “I believe that an elderly person, especially those who doesn’t have too much time to live, should receive whatever they want.” He didn’t use nice words when he said that. He doesn’t feel that this generation gives respect to the elderly like we did when we were younger. There isn’t any respect for the …show more content…
This is needed for us to understand the growing burden on families due to these conditions, as well as understanding the challenges of aging in the United States. We need to understand how aging will affect health care and how much it will cost. Conclusion: The point I trying to make is that stress is what makes a person feel old. Stress is what makes an elderly person get sick. Whether it’s because of the climate you live in, your financial situation, loneliness, or sad because of a loss. I believe stress is the number one reason people over 65 have medical issues. Even in younger older people, stress causes heart attacks, anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders(OCD), and depression. My daughter has OCD, and she says that school stressed her out and caused her to be irritable. Did I mention my brother lives in New York, where it’s cold, easily irritated, smokes and he’s an alcoholic? References: Andersen LA, Edwards VJ, Pearson WS, (2013), Adult caregivers in the United States: characteristics and differences in well-being, by caregiver age and caregiving
In the Unnatural Causes film, UC Berkley Professor and Epidemiologist, Leonard Syme, states that an important component of overall health is the “ability to influence the events that impinge on your life,” or another words, the means by which you are able to effectively manage the stressors in your life will greatly impact your health (2015). It is common knowledge that stress can negatively impact your health and the film points out that chronic stress affects the body by increasing cortisol levels, heart rate, blood pressure, circulating glucose levels and decreases the immune system’s response. All of this increases the risks of diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses (Smith, director, 2015). If we have power, control and
Therefore, prolonged stress included adverse psychological and physical health effects as well as the increased risk of premature death (Denollet, J., et al.
Nelson compares and contrasts this rationality by stating that being prejudice towards the elderly is no different than being racist or sexist. By comparing ageism with racism via a birthday card example, Nelson efficiently shows that the only difference between the two is that American culture deems it okay to be ageist because of the fear of aging and death. Also, there is a great strength in this argument because Nelson provides data from a survey, which states that individuals spend a vast amount of money in order to hide any signs of aging. Nelson strengthens his resolve by providing data that a general fear and “taboo” of aging exist in western culture. Due to this fear, individuals deem it okay to have harsh feelings towards the elderly because they fear the aging process, and they believe they are being truthful, not hurtful or
Roberto, K. A., & Jarrott, S. E. (2008, January). Family Caregivers of Older Adults: A Life Span Perspective. Family Relations , 100-111.
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.
Not just in the hospital, but in any part of their in general. Often the older adult is seen as confused and forgetful, poor, chronically ill, frail or disabled, unfriendly and grumpy, deaf and blind, and dependent. Changing nursing views on this issue and not forming biases towards this population will improve the care provided. It is important to differentiate your personal views while working in the healthcare industry. You must be culturally sensitive and not pass judgement on your patients. Our attitudes are formed by our past experiences in different situations, but as professional nurses, it is time to change and be able to recognize and find ways to improve negative attitudes and stereotypes towards aging. Not only in the acute care setting, but also in the subacute and home setting. “Given the increasing number of older adults in health care settings, forming positive attitudes toward them and gaining specialized knowledge about aging and their health care needs are priorities for all nurses. It is critical for you to learn to respect older adults and actively involve them in care decisions and activities.” (Korem,
Despite that many don 't realize the dangers, stress is one of the most significant problems of modern times, causing serious problems on physical and mental health. Stress symptoms may be affecting a patients health, even though a doctor may not realize it. Don 't assume that an illness is to blame for that excruciating headache or your sleep deprivation. Let 's face it, everyone copes with stress. Sometimes stress is in our favor, but other times it could feel like stress is taking over. " Stress is a normal physical response your body uses to protect itself from challenges life throws at it each day"(Stress and Health: How Stress Affects Your Health) Stress affects everyone differently, so it 's important to understand what may be causing
Kick, Ella. "Overview: Health Care and the Aging Population: What Are Today's Challenges?" The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. N.p., n.d. Web.
Today, the world’s population is aging at a very fast pace and the United States is no exception to this demographic change. According to the U.S Census Bureau, senior citizens will account for 21% of the American population in 2050 (Older Americans, 2012). Although living longer lives may not seem like a negative sign, living longer does not necessarily mean living healthier. Older adults of today are in need of long-term health care services more than any generation before them (Older Americans, 2012). Because of the growing need for senior care, millions of families are facing critical decisions on how to provide care for their parents.
There is a lot of research evidence to suggest that people who have higher levels of stressful events in their lives have higher levels of illness. At the extreme end if the scale populations which are exposed to earthquakes, nuclear accidents and war, show higher rates of sudden cardiac death at the time of the disasters, over a long period of time levels of depression, cancer and heart disease may be increased. At a more minor end of the scale, students coming up to their exams and people reporting more stressful life events generally have been shown to have higher rates of colds and other infections. People in long-term stress situations are more likely to suffer from stress, for example people working with Alzheimer’s patients have been found to have slower healing rates and also show other suppressed immune systems. Stress has been linked to coronary heart disease, ulcers, diabetes, digestive disorders and although it hasn’t yet been proved or directly linked there has been a great deal of research into the relationship between stress and cancer.
Stress is “the body’s reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental, or emotional adjustment or response.” Many people realize that stress has a great impact on psychological health; however, they do not realize that physical health can be compromised as well. When the body is put under stress, physiological changes take place, such as increased heart rate or blood pressure. Many individuals do not know the extent to which stress can impact their bodies because they cannot see the changes taking place. If stress is prolonged, physical symptoms may begin to arise. These symptoms are real; however, they may or may not be due to some sort of physical disorder. Stress-induced anxiety may begin to form within the individual because of a constant fear that they have a serious medical condition. The cycle will repeat itself with potentially worsening symptoms.
The present paper illustrates my reflections regarding the article “Memory and Aging: Selected Research Directions and Application Issues”, the third lecture “Psychosocial Issues”, and our class discussion. All of them brought up important issues regarding the psychological health of older adults, however, one theme was common across them: the role of social interaction on cognition and emotion.
“You don’t have to talk to us old people a certain way, because we’re the same as everyone else.” I believe as a society we have a way of discrediting the elderly, or treating them in a lesser way because of their age. It’s important to continue to give senior citizens the respect they deserve. That does not mean to ignore the issues that are unique to the group, but we must not allow it to cloud our view and influence our actions towards the group.
Aging is a fact of life. As the years progress, the amount of aging individuals in the United States has been projected to increase considerably. In fact, Wiener and Tilly (2002) expressed that, the number of aging individuals is estimated to increase by 135% between 2000 and 2050. Moreover, the number of aging minorities is expected to increase as well. By the turn of the next midcentury, they are projected to increase by 500% (Scharlach, Fuller-Thomson & Kramer 2002). With this substantial growth, I set out to uncover the underlying reasons to why the quality and longevity of life for those of the aging minority differ in comparison to their counterparts. Through critical analysis, theoretical perspectives, I intend to discover the societal views, strengths and differences that exists among minorities.
Stress is the combination of psychological, physiological, and behavioral reactions that people have in response to events that threaten or challenge them. Stress can be good or bad. Sometimes, stress is helpful, providing people with the extra energy or alertness they need. Stress could give a runner the edge he or she needs to persevere in a marathon, for example. This good kind of stress is called eustress. Unfortunately, stress is often not helpful and can even be harmful when not managed effectively. Stress could make a salesperson buckle under the pressure while trying to make a sales pitch at an important business meeting, for example. Moreover, stress can increase the risk of developing health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and anxiety disorders. This bad kind of stress is called distress, the kind of stress that people usually are referring to when they use the word stress.