Theories of ageing p5

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In the first part of my assignment I am going to describe the physical and psychological changes due to the ageing process. Firstly, I am going to start by describing the physical changes associated with ageing. The first two stages I am going to discuss are Puberty and the menopause. There are many physical and psychological changes associated with Puberty. This is because the body will have to make changes within the body itself to adjust it to a new type of change. During puberty the girls start to develop breasts that enlarge in size as they get older. The girl’s hip tends to widen and her waist narrows down because of the redistribution of fat under the direction of these hormones. Hair starts to grow in pubic places and the underarm and they tend to start to get thick and dark. The menstrual cycle starts as bleeding from the vaginal area of their body because of the egg not being fertilised. Another psychological change that will occur in the adolescence is mood swings. At any given time, the adolescence can be very happy but the mood can change to from happy to very angry. It is not surprising that, with the speed of these changes, some adolescents become very concerned about their appearance. They may need a lot of reassurance, especially if they are not growing or maturing as quickly as their friends. They and their parents may worry less if they remember that there's a lot of difference in the ages at which these changes occur. Growth and development uses a lot of energy, and this may be why teenagers often seem to need so much sleep. Their getting-up late may be irritating, but it may well not be just laziness. They make close relationships outside the family, with friends of their own age. Relationships within the family also change. Parents become less important in their children's eyes as their life outside the family develops. These friendships are part of learning how to get on with other people and gaining a sense of identity that is distinct from that of the family. Clothes and appearance are a way of expressing solidarity with friends, although teenage children are still more likely to get their values from the family. Peer pressure tends to take place during the life stage of adolescence because individual tend to listen to their friends rather than family. During the menopause, women face a lot of changes with their physical and psychological health and well-being. Just before, menopause occurs, the menstrual cycle will become irregular and this is a sign of menopause. Within the women’s body, many bodily changes are occurring and one of them includes the following; the ovaries become less responsive to stimulation by follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). To try to compensate for the decreased response, the body produces more of these ovary-stimulating hormones for a time. The level of these hormones will eventually decrease. The hormones produced by the ovaries include the different forms of oestrogen including testosterone. These hormones also decrease around menopause. The ovaries continue to
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produce small amounts of testosterone and some oestrogen. The hormones produced by the pituitary gland are also decreased. When menopause has occurred for more than a year and the women have not gone through a period that means menopause is officially taking over and the women cannot get pregnant again. Psychological problems such as hot flushes, mood swings, headaches, and sleep disturbances are also common symptoms that occur during menopause. The causes of these changes are also related to the decreasing amount of estrogen produced by the ovaries. Physically, the skin of the women gets thin and will become more ...

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