Musculoskeletal: This results in the individual’s loss in mobility which may result in creaking joints, aching bones and stiff muscles. Due to aging, the bones and also the muscles may begin to shrink as they may be worn out and so this will may the individual feel as if they are useless. This is because they are unable to do certain things. The muscles may begin to become thinner as there may be a lack of exercise and also a lack of a healthy nervous/immune system.
Absorption of nutrients: This is when the muscle is being wasted due to the poor absorption of nutrients. This is due to the older people not having a healthy diet, also if they consume regular diets either it will not consist of the correct vitamins and minerals or the diet may not be to fully satisfactory. Diseases occur when there is a lack of nutrients which are vital for growth and health. Lack of food can lead to either malnutrition or starvation, this also causes nutrient deficiencies. The older people need a balance of a good health as it is the basis of any healthy diet, it portrays the amounts of each food group we should all eat on a daily basis and we should split our daily diet between the various food groups.
Skin: Hair may start to turn grey or be lost from late teens onwards. Many young men have well established . People become more vulnerable to more and more diseases, resulting in a remarkably rising death rate. There are three main parts of the skin: the outer part (epidermis) contains skin cells, pigments and proteins. The epidermis has three layers, stratum corundum; this layer consists of fully mature keratinocytes which contain fibrous protein (keratin (protein)) the outer layer sheds every now and then. The skin of the individuals becomes wrinklier and also begins to sag; this is the most significant sign of aging. Your skin is thinner, more fragile, and the protective subcutaneous fat layer is lost. In addition, your ability to sense touch, pressure, vibration, heat and cold may be reduced. Therefore, your skin is at higher risk for injury. Sun exposure, also known as ultra violet rays, has also been directly linked to skin cancers and the rays are too damageful for the older people as they cannot bare the heat.
The sunlight can cause the loss of elasticity, it may thicken the skin and so it would be seen as extra skin and also it causes for large pigmented spots also known as liver spots or age spots.
Effects of smoking: it is said that smokers in their 60’s and 70’s are ten times more likely to have a heart attack; this suggests that the individual is more likely to have a low life expectancy than non-smokers. Smoke contains 4,000 different chemicals which can damage the cells and the systems of the human body; from which 80 of these chemicals can cause cancer. Smoking also increases the risk of having a stroke and also it contributes to coronary artery disease; this is when the heart’s blood supply may gradually narrow and may become blocked as the arteries are more hardened. In addition, smoking causes damage to the lungs and there is an increase of lung cancer.
Dementia: Once the disorder begins to degenerate, the individual with this disorder experiences difficulty in their ability to think, feel, understand, speak and act. As this disorder progresses, the individual may experience difficulty in completing any basic life functions that were once second nature. This disorder is more common in aging as in occurs in older people. This disorder originates in a part of the brain, which controls two-thirds of the brain functions such as the sensory and the cognitive functions. Basic functions like walking, standing and sitting may become an extreme difficulty for the older people who have this disorder.
Psychological changes
Effects of ageism: The stage of aging can be seen in many different ways as the younger generation does not take much importance of older people but, the adults take some importance of older people. Some adults respect older people as they know that they will also face the same life stage and so if they help the older people then the younger adults will also learn and so may do the same. Many older people are stereotyped and discriminated by others as they are seen as less important and also as a burden to society in which they should accept the final stage of stage; this supports the social disengagement theory as society wants the older generation to just accept their death.
Effects of loss of partner: The loss of a partner is very grieving for an individual as it is a huge tremor which drastically occurred in their life. This was an unpredictable life event as the individual would never have thought about this; also this is very painful and stressful in which may increase the risk of the individual going into depression. It is seen as an immense amount of sorrow or fear at the idea of being alone and so the individual may even feel angry that their partner left them. Depression is the most common effect of the death of a partner. Most individuals who experience depression do not experience the symptoms for more than two years; this however is still very grieving in their life as it is seen as a difficulty.
Effects of retirement: During this life stage of aging, individuals face increased health problems, less mobility and less social interaction, all of which may be stressful. Depression would usually occur in older people as they may feel isolated in which also shows the reduction in the number of social interactions that retired people engage in; it may also be associated with the loss of a job that the individual is unable to recognise the fact that the job is not a part of their daily life anymore. However, for others, retirement is seen as a part of freedom as this is the time in which a few of the older people can complete any undone tasks, and also enjoy this time to complete different activities.
Financial concerns: Many people who are aged of 65years old and above own their own home and those who are mainly over 65years have higher levels of savings as they mostly have saved from their previous jobs after retirement. Most of the older people live in the higher standard as they are able to survive on her own expenses; only about one of five adults may live in poverty, this is seen as a problem. Older people who do not receive any private pension funds may have difficulty with their expenses and they will have a budget. This will decrease the individual’s intellectual needs and also it may concern them about paying for heating, shopping and coping financially.
Increased leisure time: Increased leisure time is the amount of free time an individual may get; it enables older people to engage in different activities such as; problem solving, walking, table tennis and also activity holidays. Older people can also choose to complete different activities; may these be physical, intellectual, social and mental activities. As shown in the statistics, the National Statistics Online (2006) reported that 51% of older people between the ages of 60years to 69 years old had participated in some form of learning.
Culture, Religion and beliefs: The country becoming multicultural in which every culture is treated the same; none of the cultures are treated with low respect. Also, every culture has their own beliefs and traditions in which they follow individually the individuals’ needs to consider these factors before doing an activity as these make an impact of their health and well-being. This shows that every individual will be treated the same in which they will not feel discriminated in any way. This influences the way we think, the food we eat, the people we interact with and the way we behave. Culture shows your religious beliefs as well as your parental belief; it shows the right path to follow the truth.
M3 – (discuss how those changes could affect their self-esteem and confidence)
Cardiovascular system: With increasing age the heart becomes more vulnerable to disease. Even in the absence of detectable disease, the heart undergoes deleterious changes with advancing age. As you get older people may develop a narrowing of the arteries and other blood vessels. This is because the blood vessels become coved with fat such as cholesterol. This can cause high blood pressure and high blood can cause a risk of strokes and heart attacks. Khan would be majorly affected by this; due to the fact that he is known to many different diseases and would not want to be infected by any disease. Also, it may decrease his self-esteem as he would lack confidence and may be scared to face the difficulty.
Respiratory system: Emphysema is a disease in which the air sacs in the lungs (alveoli) become damaged. This can cause shortness of breath and cause heart failure. There will also be chance of you getting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is when there is an obstruction on airflow such as emphysema or bronchitis. Khan would become upset because he may have a chance of getting emphysema or COPD. Many part of the body such as the chest muscles and the lungs may reduce in which they may not work efficiently, this is because both the body and the individual is becoming weaker due to the less function of the blood supply. Khan would have a lack of confidence and also may have a decrease in his self-esteem as he wouldn’t socialise much with others.
Nervous system: Nerve cell may begin to transmit messages more slowly the past. The waste products can collect in the brain tissue as nerves cells break down. This will cause abnormal structures called plaques and tangles to form. The breakdown of nerves can affect the senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and tastes) this can lead to problems with moving safety. This would affect Khan in a very bad way as he would be in huge difficulty and it would be extremely hard for him to communicate with other around him. This would result in Khan having a lack of confidence as he may feel timid of his difficulties in which he has to face. Also, his self-esteem would be lessened as he cannot complete in all the activities he wishes to as they may be some difficulty.
Degeneration of the sense organs (Sight): As you get older the lenses can become hard and cloudy. This can stop the process of lens to change shape or transmit light appropriately and can cause blurred vision. The individual may begin to see blurring and cloudy images in front of them and also may begin to not recognise their own family; also known as loss of memory. This would decrease Khan’s self-esteem as he would not be known too many people and he would feel left out, in which may cause him to become isolated. Also his self-confidence may decrease as he would become less socialised and may begin to communicate less with the people around him.
Degeneration of the sense organs (Hearing): Hearing is also a sensitive sense organ and so it also is affected very easily during the aging process. At this life stage, many older people find it hard to hear many different sounds as to them it may be unrecognised or it may just be that they have high hearing. This would decrease Khan’s self-esteem as he would be hard of hearing and so it may cause him to become frustrated easily due to the fact that he is unable to communicate with the other individuals. It would also decrease his self-confidence as he would see himself with a difficulty which other may not have; this may cause him to go into depression.
Cognitive changes: As the older people continue to progress through this life stage, as they become older, it takes them time to complete/do things as sometimes they may need to reconsider the activity in which they are doing. Many older people have memory difficulties in which they only have a short-term memory due to their brain to function slower than any other life stage; this is mainly due to the weakness in the brain and the individual’s body. This will make the Khan feel low, and also may have a low self-esteem due to the fact that he is aware of the difficulties in which he is facing. Khan should do activities which may stimulate his brain to become healthier and also to ensure that his memory is strong, on-going and correct. Khan’s self-confidence will also decrease as he realises that he will not be able to socialise with many people due to his instability.
Musculoskeletal: Due to aging, the bones and also the muscles may begin to shrink as they may be worn out and so this will may the individual feel as if they are useless. This is because they are unable to do certain things. This would decrease Khan’s self-esteem as he would feel unknown to the society due to the fact that his muscles are not working properly, also this decreases his self-confidence and so Khan may stop socialising and interacting with others. This may cause harm to his mental state as he may become both physically and mentally ill.
Absorption of nutrients: As the body ages it becomes less capable of absorbing nutrients, making a healthy diet and nutritional supplements essential to well-being. The B vitamins, selenium, and vitamin E are of particular importance.
Skin: People become more vulnerable to more and more diseases, resulting in a remarkably rising death rate. The skin is at higher risk for injury. Sun exposure, also known as ultra violet rays, has also been directly linked to skin cancers and the rays are too dangerous for the older people as they cannot bare the heat. Khan would be majorly affected as he loves his skin, although he uses a lot of make-up during his career. This shows that as he tends to older aging, his skin would have many wrinkles and also it would begin to sag much quicker and easier than those who don’t use make-up. By this occurring, Khan would have a low self-esteem as he is affected drastically, also his confidence would decrease as he would know that his appearance is not nice and that he looks ugly.
Effects of smoking: Khan is 46years old, it is said that smokers in their 30’s and 40’s are five times more likely to have a heart attack; this suggests that Khan is more likely to have a low life expectancy than non-smokers. Smoking also increases the risk of having a stroke and also it contributes to coronary artery disease; this is when the heart’s blood supply may gradually narrow and may become blocked as the arteries are more hardened. In addition, smoking causes damage to the lungs and there is an increase of lung cancer. Khan would feel scared regarding this matter as he may become isolated as he would feel that he is being left out of his family; he would be leaving them in despair. Also, Khan would have a lack of confidence as he may not be able to bare the fact that he has a serious disease in which may result in him dying.
Dementia: This disease will not stimulate the individual’s mind and also the individuals are not eating healthy foods; this will be seen as a difficulty as the individual will not be able to understand properly. As this disorder progresses, the individual may experience difficulty in completing any basic life functions that were once second nature.
Effects of ageism: Memory loss is one of the most common psychological effects of aging. For many people, remembering everyday things becomes more difficult. Memory loss affects short-term memory more than long-term.
Effects of loss of partner: This is seen as a sorrowful life event, as losing someone who was extremely close to you is seen as a huge shock. It is seen as an immense amount of sorrow or fear at the idea of being alone and so the individual may even feel angry that their partner left them. Depression is the most common effect of the death of a partner. Khan would be very upset regarding this matter, as during this life stage he would need emotional support from which he could only receive from his partner, with whom he was with for the last 40-50years. This would decrease his self-esteem as he would blame himself for the cause, also this would be seen as a drastic event in which may cause Khan to go into depression. Khan’s self-confidence, would be decreased to the minimum as he may not believe in relationships due to the fact that he lost his life partner, also he would not communicate or interact with others as he would want to spend his final moments of life, memorizing all the good events he had.
Effects of retirement: During this life stage, most people retire from work and also mostly, their children have moved out, this gives them the opportunity to do what they had always wanted to. This shows that the individuals have more time to enjoy themselves, and also complete any activities in which they wanted to do but could not due to the lack of time; they now have the time of their life in which they can do anything.
This would increase Khan’s self-esteem as he would be able to forget about his tensions and spend his free time with his family and also spend his last final moments to be as memorable as possible. Also, it would increase his self-confidence as he would be able to socialise with the people around him and communicate more, in order to make more friends.
Financial concerns: If the financial needs of an individual are not met, then it may result in them being in depression which also increases the stress and the blood pressure. Due to this it increases the risk of an individual having a heart disease. If the individual however, has a pension fund then it is more likely that they would fall ill as they would not be able to satisfy themselves. The amount of pension in which the individual receives will affect their self-esteem as their self-confidence will also decrease; this shows the standard of living.
Increased leisure time: Older people can also choose to complete different activities; may these be physical, intellectual, social and mental activities. By doing this it increases both their self-confidence and their self-esteem as they know that they are now capable of doing different activities and also it is seen as good for their health. Khan has more free time in which he may complete a variety of activities; these are seen as improving his health as well as his stability. This increase both Khan’s self-esteem and his self-confidence as e is proud of himself that he is using his time wisely, also this may prevent Khan from getting a disease or illness.
Culture, Religion and beliefs: Also, every culture has their own beliefs and traditions in which they follow individually the individuals’ needs to consider these factors before doing an activity as these make an impact of their health and well-being. This shows that every individual will be treated the same in which they will not feel discriminated in any way. Khan was always taught to respect all religions in which he acknowledged that everyone is different and many people have different beliefs. The beliefs in which he was taught has been valued a lot, as although he got married to a Hindu girl he respected both religions as he didn’t force his wife to change religion. Also, the holy book, the Qur’an and the Hindu holy statues are also kept together to show that religion does not make any difference to him. This increases Khan’s self-esteem and self-confidence as he is encouraged to do the right things, and also it shows that he is not discriminating another’s beliefs whereas other many do so.
by
jaspreet13 (student)
