COPING WITH THE AGING BODY
Human bodies are not well built, powerful, or immortal, in fact, they are set up for failure. Biological, cognitive, and pathological forces knock on the door of survival every day intensifying its power of evil. At first, these changes are welcomed as one matures, grows stronger, and gets smarter, but it is an illusion of what is in store. These transformations slowly rob a person of who they were and what they were able to accomplish. People in all types of societies try to stave off the progression of growing old by any means necessary, but eventually; the bodies, minds and souls cave.
The fundamentals of biological aging are determined not by calendar years, but by what physical structures of the physique have become altered, and these variations of our former selves; good and or bad, have been happening from the moment of conception and continues until death. Physical adjustments are noticeable and undeniable as they are the first signs of aging that one can observe without medical training, are common, expected, and normal. As a whole, elderly people will experience thinning and wrinkling skin, graying hair; loss of teeth, vision and hearing impairments, taste and smell might become altered, and their height might no longer be where it once was. (Toussier) Not every senior will encounter every aspect of growing old, but the probability and likelihood of encountering at least one change, is a sure shot. These changes are naturally genetic and in no way reduces a person’s ability to live a productive, creative, and fulfilling existence, but can create “difficulties for the elderly to handle their daily life if they live alone and experience medical ...
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At this stage of the aging individual’s life it should be noteworthy and documented. The
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
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Prominent musician, Celine Dion, once said, “There’s no such thing is aging, but maturing and knowledge. It’s beautiful, I call that beauty.” To many, growing old is just a natural, beautiful part of life. It is inevitable. It is inescapable. The functionalist perspective of sociology states that the elderly perform a function in order to keep society running with ease. Functionalists focus on the disengagement theory and how people tend to disengage from society as they approach death. Symbolic interactionists focus on how environmental factors and relationships with others affect the aging experience, focusing on the activity theory and the continuity theory (Carl, 2011, p. 220). Conflict theorists focus on the discrepancies that arise between different age groups. They also focus on the economical side of aging and the issues that may arise due to an active elderly population (Carl, 2011, p. 221).
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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...
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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.
In the body-transcendence versus body-preoccupation stage, one must be able to learn and accept physical changes that happen as we get older, we refer to this as transcendence. If someone is unable to do so, they become preoccupied with the physical deterioration, to the detriment of their personality development. Although the physical capabilities are not the same in the elderly as when they were young, many older people stay regularly fit considering their age. The changes that began in middle adulthood are becoming more unmistakable by the time one finds themselves in late adulthood. The two distinct types of aging are primary aging and secondary aging. Primary aging involves the irreversible changes that occur as people get older due to genetic programming. Secondary aging refers to the changes that are bought on by illnesses and diseases, not increased by age itself. Late adulthood is a very interesting period of life. Since people are now living longer than ever before, late adulthood is increasing in length. Whether we say it starts at 65 or 70 years, the amount of people included in this stage is larger than ever before, due to medicine and technological advances. One of the most obvious signs someone is in late adulthood would be a person’s hair. Most people’s hair become distinctly gray and eventually white, which may thin
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When it comes to the elderly minority, the social theories of aging resonate like no other. More specifically, the gerotranscendence theory. This theory involves the transition of aging as developmental process which is done internally, largely focusing on inner thoughts and emotions. So much so that “The individual reaches a fundamental acceptance of life lived, regardless of how good ...
...otecting them from further dangerous exogenous substances, a price is later paid with a weakened dysregulated immune system, becoming susceptible to aging and age related diseases (DeVeale, Brummel & Seroude, 2004). Despite continued research into the complex aging process, humans are continually aging both physically and mentally. However, just as the immune system is a part of the complexity of the human being, so is aging (Effros, 2005).