The dictionary defines self-empowerment to mean an individual who is in control of his or her life and views the trials they face in life in a positive way. It is also about building self-esteem and confidence. With the right kind of motivation, a person can be empowered to have a happier life as they move through the transitions of aging. To be truly self-empowered means that you have the ability inside yourself to know what is really best for you. Therefore, your actions reflect the power of your own strength that you take from making your own decisions. If one is empowered, it is the same as having a clear vision of where to go and how to get there. This knowledge also implies self-belief, self-trust and self-leadership. As unique as we are throughout our lifetimes, we are just as unique in how we age. Some people age with minimal aches and pains, fully conscious mentally and engaging in life to their last breath. For others, aging is not so easy a task. Individuals that are challenged throughout the aging process sometimes forget who they once were due the loss of control they feel when making their own daily decisions. Continued research in the field of self-empowerment might then be focused on how we can teach continued empowerment to all individuals, no matter what stage of their life they are experiencing, in order to lead happier and more fulfilling lives as they move through this final, and hopefully best part of their lives.
In his article entitled, The Centenarian, author Henry J. Aaron notes that by the middle of this century, there will be more than one-million people living in the United States who are over 100 years-of-age. In 1960, there were one-million 85 year-olds. At the beginning of the twentieth-cen...
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...Needs. Digital image. Http://www.abraham-
maslow.com/m_motivation/Hierarchy_of_Needs.asp. N.p., n.d. Web.
H.E.L.P. | Empowering seniors, their families and caregivers, to make better choices. (n.d.).
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Margrett, J. A., Daugherty, K., Martin, P., MacDonald, M., Davey, A., Woodard, J. L., & ...
Poon, L. W. (2011). Affect and loneliness among centenarians and the oldest old: The role of
individual and social resources. Aging And Mental Health, 15(3), 385-396.
Russell, B. (n.d.). Elderly Empowerment Quotes. Retrieved from
http://www.searchquotes.com/search/Elderly_Empowerment/2/
Shapira, N. N., Barak, A. A., & Gal, I. I. (2007). Promoting older adults' well-being through
Internet training and use. Aging & Mental Health, 11(5), 477-484.
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Takamura, J.C. (1999). Getting ready for the 21st Century: The aging of America and the older
It is difficult at best to think positively when older people are viewed as “incompetent, boring, inactive, dependent, unproductive, weak, unhealthy, passive, ugly, dull, and sad” (Gething, 1999, p. 2). Essentially, a stereotype as such asphyxiates the wind from your sail early in one’s journey into old age. Then again, if the finish line is one of oppression, marginalization, and disempowerment, it’s a race best lost (Ranzijn, 2002). The most poignant negative affiliated with aging unquestionably centers on the end of life concerns. Although, our hope is for a peaceful demise there exists a chance of tremendous pain and suffering. The latter remains my biggest fear, which in and of itself sheds a negative light on aging. Subsequently, I turned to the article, Positive Psychology and Productive Aging in hopes it would provide
After spending an afternoon interviewing my elderly father-in-law, I gained insight into how he perceives the aging process and the impact on the quality of his life. First, and foremost he viewed aging in a very positive and healthy manner. He believes that a positive attitude assists in accepting physical and psychosocial changes and enjoyed the fact that he and his wife are both physically fit and cognitively alert. He felt confident that advances made in health care and the quality of their lives would continue to be empowering. He enjoys the benefits of being a senior citizen including discounted travel, free education, and other incentives marketed towards seniors. He expressed a sense of well-being with respect to the numerous housing options geared towards the graying population, such as Retirement Villages, and assisted living. However, the subjects of Long Term Care, Social security reform and government involvement in health care reform were subjects he regarded with very strong negative emotions. During the interview these issues as related to his experiences with health care were discussed with zeal and frustration.
The existing U.S. population is over 315 million and rising. In the year 2030, 72 million Americans will be 65 or older, a 50 percent change in age demographics since the year 2000. The change is primarily due to the aging baby boomers, who were born at the end of World War II. Americans are living longer than ever befo...
Larson, R. (1978). Thirty years of research on the subjective well-being of older Americans. Journal of gerontology, 33(1), 109-125. Data Retrieved from: http://geronj.oxfordjournals.org/content/33/1/109.short
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,
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.
These two theories are mainly concerned with the social aspects of aging.They both incorporate the importance of social context and individual variation. Attention is given to the contextual environment thus involving social aspects such as relationships with others and the impact of social trends such as cohabitation.
Stuart, G. L., Moore, T. M., Elkins, S. R., O’Farrell, T. J., Temple, J. R., Ramsey, S. E.,
Active ageing does not stop when elderly people retire as they can remain active through their families, peers and communities. Active ageing aims allows elderly people to realise and bring awareness to their own psychological, physical and mental well-being as the goal active ageing is the autonomy and independence of elderly people (Alexandre, Cordeiro, & Ramos, 2009).
Strawbridge, W. J., Wallhagen, M. I., & Cohen, R. D. (2002). Successful aging and well-being: Self-rated compared with Rowe and Kahn. The Gerontologist, 42(6), 727–33.
There are many ideas about what it means to be a senior adult based on both fact and assumption. Entering the older adult stage of life affects individuals in ways that cover every aspect of life psycho-socially, emotionally, and physiologically, and it is valuable to be aware of these effects before entering into a group counseling setting.
Ellis, B.J., Bates, J.E., Dodge, K.A., Fergusson, D.M, Horwood, L.J., Pettit, G.S., & Woodard, L.
Empowerment is the authorization of decision making responsibility by a leader to his follower. It can be achieved through encouraging active participation and sharing the process of decision making. To me, empowerment means sense of belongings and sense of meaning. From the perspective of a staff member in an organization, it helps me to explore my potential to the fullest extent and build my self confidence. It also helps to create a positive and dynamic working environment.
Concept of Empowerment: To define the term ‘empowerment’ is but a trying task. The dictionary meaning of empowerment is ‘to enable’ (oxford dictionary,1962:265). Empowerment involves the right of a person to decision-making and power of autonomy. When an individual is able to decide about his/her own life as per the situation s/he dwells in, then that particular individual is said to be empowered. However, the concept of empowerment is subjective in nature. Empowerment literally means making someone powerful, facilitating the weak to attain strength, to increase one’s self-esteem, to help someone to be assertive or self- confident, to enable someone to confront injustice and oppression and to support someone to fight for their rights. Empowerment is when an individual takes possession of the power to think and act freely, operate choice and to conform their possible potentials to become fully able and equal members of the society. Thus empowerment means a cognitive understanding of an individual’s control or influence on the actual social factors, political power and legal rights. It is a multi level formulation referring to individuals, organizations and community on the whole. It is something which involves mutual respect, critical reflection, caring and group participation, through which people lacking an equal share of valued resources, gain greater access to and control over these recourses.