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
Roberto, K. A., & Jarrott, S. E. (2008, January). Family Caregivers of Older Adults: A Life Span Perspective. Family Relations , 100-111.
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
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.
Ageism is defined as having an attitude that discriminates, separates, stigmatizes, or otherwise disadvantages older adults on the basis of chronologic age (Ageism, 2009). This is an act of singling out a certain population and choosing to providing unequal opportunities and treatment just because of a person’s age. In our situation, “Seniors admitted to acute hospitals are more likely to have multiple chronic diseases, as well as impaired cognition and higher levels of dependency (including mobility) than younger adults. Acute hospitals frequently present a “hostile environment” that leads to functional decline in the frail elderly and a “cascade of dependency” that results in approximately one-third of older patients losing independent functioning in one or more activities of daily living. This decline is not related to acute illnesses but to the adverse effects of modern therapy and current hospital practices, which are designed for younger people.” (Huang, Larente, Morais,
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.
In addition, declining birthrates may cause people to have less familial care and support as they age. To be able to provide the necessary care for senior citizens, a government funded long term care insurance program is needed. Medicare is the federal program that provides health coverage for people who are 65 and older (Green, 2003). Although many assume that Medicare provides long-term care, these benefits are very limited and are not efficient enough to accommodate the much needed care services for older adults. For example, Medicare programs do not help pay for personal care services such as eating, dressing or using the bathroom, even though these “activities of daily life” are the most needed services for most seniors (Green, 2003).
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.
“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.
Stress may play a causal role in a wide variety of mental disorders. Some of the mental disorders in which stress appears to have a causal role are anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and substance-related disorders.
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.
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.
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