P5: Explain the physical and
psychological changes which may be associated with ageing.
All
individuals go through physical and psychological changes within their lives,
there are many changes we must face as individuals who grow older, whether it
be our appearance or changes within our bodies. Bellow I am going to describe
some of these changes for my individual Kehlani Parish who will eventually go
through or who has already been through these experiences.
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Physical changes:
Hormones:
As we age
our hormone levels can decrease, increase or stay the same. As we age, changes
naturally occur in the way our body systems are controlled. Some target tissues
become less sensitive to their controlling hormone. The amount of hormones
produced may also change. My individual Kehlani’s hormones will change as she
ages which can also dictate the path she takes in her future.
Many of the
organs that produce hormones are controlled by other hormones. Aging also
changes this process. For example, an endocrine tissue may produce less of its
hormone than it did at a younger age, or it may produce the same amount at a
slower rate.
Arthritis:
This is when
the joints in our body become weaker and more brittle as they have become
damaged. As we age the cartilage in our bodies becomes weaker thus arthritis is
more common in older age individuals. There are two main types of arthritis
that individuals can suffer from these are:
·
Rheumatoid
arthritis: this form of arthritis is a long-term condition that causes pain,
swelling and stiffness in the joints. The hands, feet and wrists are commonly
affected, but it can also cause problems in other parts of the body. This form
often tends to occur in people around the age of 40 and 50 About three times as
many women as men are affected.
·
Degenerative
arthritis/ Osteoarthritis: this is a common form of arthritis that affects the
hands, feet, spine and joints that bare our weight. This form of arthritis
often develops in people over the age of 50, It usually happens with age, but
it can also result from joint injuries or obesity (which puts extra stress on
our joints).
Menopause:
This is a
part of ageing that is bound to happen for women. This is when women stop
having menstrual cycles, symptoms of menopause are things such as hot flashes, night
sweats, anxiety and a low sex drive. Menopause is a natural part of ageing that
usually occurs between 45 and 55 years of age. Women who go through these
symptoms tend to take oestrogen because menopause decreases their oestrogen
levels.
Psychological changes:
Ageism:
This is when
an individual is being discriminated and treated unfairly due to their age,
older aged people are usually seen by younger individuals as having lived their
lives and unable to do certain things that a younger generation can do. This
can effect an individual mentally because they will feel less wanted and
useless it also effects an older individual because they are less likely to
gain employment.
Confidence:
Many people
lack confidence due to the way society treats individuals, however for an older
individual it can affect them mentally because they may lack confidence and
distance themselves from others. I believe that my individual will be very
confident as she is now because of the people she surrounds herself with.
Financial concerns:
Many elderly
people rely on their pension as a means of income however this amount can
barely cover bills and other household things. Many elderly people can go into
debt if they have issues that prevent them from remembering things like
dementia or Alzheimer’s.
It is good
for an individual to have a support system around them as they have someone
they can rely on, above I have stated three ways physical changes and
psychological changes effect an individual with ageing.
M3: Discuss the effects on self-esteem
and self-confidence of the physical changes associated with ageing.
Bellow I am
going to describe the effects of physical changes that my individual may face,
the physical changes that I had chosen which are associated with ageing are:
- · Menopause
- · Hormones
- · Arthritis
I will also
link my physical changes with the way it effects someone psychologically. As we
grow older we encounter many changes whether it be our appearance or through
stress related life events. Many psychological changes can cause stress such as
financial problems and healthcare. These psychological changes can become
physical changes such as the deterioration of health and negative changes of
appearance.
Many
individuals are uncomfortable with how they appear, as we age we physically
start to change which can impact an individual emotionally and psychologically.
Elder individuals begin to lose the elasticity in certain areas of their body
which starts to become loose, both women and men sometimes feel that they are
not in shape and don’t feel as attractive as they used to because of it. This majorly
impacts a person’s self-esteem and how they see themselves opposed to younger
people.
It is said
that as we get older around the times we retire our self-esteem becomes low,
this could be because as we age our sight becomes impaired and many other
physical ailments. On average, women had lower self-esteem than men throughout
most of adulthood, but self-esteem levels converged as men and women reached
their 80s and 90s. Blacks and whites had similar self-esteem levels throughout
young adulthood and middle age. In old age, average self-esteem among blacks
dropped much more sharply than self-esteem among whites. This result held even
after accounting for differences in income and health.
There are
many physical changes that can occur in our bodies as we age some of them are:
- · Skin, bones, joints and muscles: our muscles become weaker as we lose body mass and density, we also lose height as we age because our foot arches become less prominent. The long bones within our arms and legs become more brittle as we lose minerals, our joints become less flexible and our hips and knee joints become stiffer and less flexible.
- · Organs: Many tissues within our body lose mass as we age, our organs also begin to lose its functions and the main organs that begin to change are the kidneys, heart and lungs.
- · Cognitive changes: Our attention span becomes quite complex as we age, older individuals tend to lose focus on certain aspects within their lives which could lead them to have less confidence in themselves. As we age our long-term memory also declines unlike short-term and working memory, requires retrieval of information that is no longer present or being maintained in an active state.
- · Degeneration of the senses: A we age our senses become less sharp which makes it harder for us to notice certain things. Sensory changes can affect our lifestyle as we could be unable to participate in certain activities or be involved with family and friends. These type of changes are what I consider being a large factor in why an elder individual would go along with the disengagement theory. Our senses receive information from our environment. This information can be in the form of sound, light, smells, tastes, and touch.
Our physical
capabilities change as we age which can become a big factor in an individual’s
life. It is important for a person to have a support system when they are going
through anything in life but especially when they are elder as their self-esteem
and self-confidence has deteriorated. I believe my individual Kehlani would be
surrounded by people she loves no matter what physical changes she faces.
There are
also many issues that a person can face that will influence the individual’s
psychology these are:
·
- Role changes: A person who cared for people all their life is now being taken care of, this may make them lack self-confidence in other things and feel less dignified as they have to be dependent on someone.
- Retirement: Becomes isolated from friends and has less ways to communicate with other Individuals. Retirement also means loss of a main income and having to depend on the government for a way in which to be provided.
- Theories of ageing: There are many theories that have been discussed throughout years with many discoveries being found, many elder adults are expected to follow these theories whether they know it or not they are a part of a theory of ageing.
The issues I
have stated above have large effects on an individual’s self-esteem and
self-confidence. Elder individuals rely on people to give them positive energy
and feedback rather than negative as that can damage them mentally and
emotionally. If an elder adult is criticized people usually hurt them by bring
their age into an argument, this is why elder adults are quite critical on
themselves and rely on others to make them feel better and worth the effort.
