Unit 4: P5/M3

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.

Photo from:https://images.rapgenius.com/504f96e3a3d104a9e0763ad33552c05a.670x340x1.jpg

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.

Hurd, R(2014) Aging changes in hormone production, https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/004000.htm (accessed: 1^st January 2016)

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.

NHS choices(2014) Rheumatoid arthritis, http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis/Pages/Introduction.aspx (accessed: 1^st January 2016)

·         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.

Live Science Staff(2010), Self-Esteem Drops After Retirement, http://www.livescience.com/6264-esteem-drops-retirement.html (Accessed: 2^nd January 2016)

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.

Taylor & Francis Group(2007), Changes in Cognitive Function in Human Aging, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3885/ (accessed: 2^nd January 2016)

• ·         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.