Charlie Woodson: The Perception Of Aging

As we grow older, reflecting on one’s life becomes a natural part of the aging process. This paper is a life review taken from my grandfather, Mr. D.H., who was born in the 1940’s, he is currently 75 years old. He has a birthday coming up soon in November where he will be 76 years old. He currently lives by himself in an apartment in a retirement community designed for older able adults, where this interview took place. Overall for his age, his health is stable only suffering from Type I diabetes and a thyroid condition (didn’t specify), that he was diagnosed with in his late 50s that didn’t allow him to work anymore. Despite his current disorders, he’s still able to do for himself, and continues to smoke cigarettes plus indulge in a beer or two a day.

My interviews with Jane took place in Damen Student Center on Loyola University Chicago’s Lakeshore Campus. My main goal for my learning about older adults is to overcome my fear of aging and the elderly. I have always been nervous around older people because I feel that the process of aging is scary since it is an inevitable part of life that means you are closer to the death. By talking with Jane, I hope to realize that older people are of value to society, and that they can contribute a great deal to the world at large. My three biggest challenges with this assignment are 1) worrying that I’ll offend Jane with some of my questions about aging. I know she is elderly, and she knows it too, but I still want to be sensitive about it. 2) I want to make sure I obtain as much information as possible during the interview while maintaining a sense of dignity and respect. It is sometimes difficult to find a balance between the two. 3) I also want to have the opportunity to ask as many questions as I can so that I can gather as much information as possible during our time together.

This interview process really taught me how to listen to and accept the viewpoints of other people who are not necessarily from the same background that I am from. I spoke to one person that I have known for years, and another person who I never spoke with prior to the interview. My first contact was Ms. Tessy Hunt, a direct support counselor for individuals with special needs. The people who Tessy serve, face challenges that not everyone is equipped to support. I chose to interview Ms. Hunt because she provides actual services for a group of individuals who are not allowed the same opportunities and same rights that many of us take for granted. I have known Tessy for several years, and I know that her line

The late adulthood interview took place on March 29, 2017 at approximately 4:30 p.m. The interviewee’s name was Doris Cotton, who is one of my close cousins. The interview took place in her home in Scooba, MS. The atmosphere of her home was very warm and cozy. Hanging from her living room ceiling was a large chandelier, and she had shiny hardwood flooring of a teak color. Her home also had a sweet smelling aroma of lavender scent. Doris is a 68-year-old, African American, female. She is the second oldest child of five girls. Doris regards herself as a Christian woman who attends church regularly, where she sings in the choir. When asked what she most and least enjoyed about getting older, she stated that she most enjoyed the flexibility of doing things at her own will. She also enjoys that she gets to spend more time with her daughter and granddaughter. She has the freedom to enjoy life and do things that she values, especially since she is retired. One of her least things about getting older is that health issues and

When most people think of aging, the only thing that comes to mind is frail, weakly and wrinkled. In fact, a lot of people associate aging with disease prevalence. These myths and stereotypes about aging have been brought about by the media, jokes we hear and even the films we watch. Some of these you hear are blown out of proportion and exaggerated.

Hi this is Loura Abdou. I am in PSY 447 Psychology of Aging. I am trying my best in this course and I worked really hard on this paper. I would have probably have gone to the writing center if I had extra time, but I also had a medical emergency of my own. I understand that grammar is important when it comes to writing papers. I have written many papers in my time, but I have to say that I have never received so many points taken away all to do grammar especially for a first time assignment. I hope that you can reconsider my grade or if I can resubmit the paper again for the grammar changes.

The person I interviewed is my Grandpa ‘Paul Flames’. My Grandpa is a farmer and loves to hang out with his grandchildren like me. I have known him all my life because he is my Grandpa and I go to his house a lot. He is a very hard working man at his farm work and helping me out with my fair animals at his house. One of the schools he has attended is Elmwood High School. Also, he has lived in towns like Portage and Findlay. His parents are Marcel and Jean Flames. Sibling names are Marlene and Teresa. My Grandpa was born in Findlay Ohio on August 31st, 1947.

In the study of aging, our understanding of issues is always colored by the training and perspectives of the researchers whose work we read. The purpose of this paper is to examine the interdisciplinary nature of gerontology. The disciplinary perspectives to be considered are psychological, sociological, and economic.

Aging is obviously a complicated process and many individuals hold different perspectives towards the topic. In my opinion, aging is best defined as the process of becoming older. In the concept of aging, there is a type of aging referred to as successful aging.

There are many common myths of aging. The problem about these myths is they have a lot to do with ageism. I feel that everyone is different no matter what age they are in. It honestly depends on the person whether they can do something or not. According to an article from Healthy Women, one major myth is that “If you didn't exercise in your 20s, 30s and 40s, it's too late to start in your 50s, 60s or 70s” (Healthy Women). I feel that this is not a true fact because it depends on the person, whether they can get fit or not. For instance there’s this blog I read on Zen Lab Fitness named “You’re Never Too Old To Start”. In this blog Shannon Clark stated, “It’s perfectly possible to still get started on a good workout program no matter what your

Aging is described as a sequential, irreversible, progressive, and non-pathological process of maturation in an organism and that translates to a gradual decline in the ability to perform activities optimally. Aging is an individual process that can be a period of stress for individuals especially following their retirement (Hiller & Barrow, 2015). The current study sought to understand the process and experience of aging from the perspective of elderly individuals. In discussing matters of aging and retirement, many assume that women are always eager to retire, and adjust well, as compared to their male counterparts (Bauger & Bongaardt, 2016). Many people assume that since women are generally made as homemakers, they are willing and happy to retire while men, whose nature is to be the main source of family income, find it hard to be out of work (Moody & Sasser, 2014). Indeed, there exists very little literature that sheds some light on this area, particularly on the attitudes of each gender towards retirement and process of aging. Given the significance of retirement to this life stage, the study sought to understand the emotions and views of individuals regarding their retirement through the lenses of (1) Physical health and wellbeing, (2) Friends, Family, and Community, (3) Work and leisure, (4) Finances and lifestyles, and (5) Living

When you think of the term senior citizen what comes to mind? Do the words disabled and old come to mind, or do you visualize wisdom and patience? The word old is looked upon in todays society as a “dirty” word. Yet we will all be old someday. Ageism-the discrimination according to a persons age is a known stereotype just as racial, or religious discrimination. We must end this way of thinking soon or else our elders will feel unwelcome in their jobs and in their communities.

Humanity has come a long way as we evolve and adapt to the changing environment. Through the years, we have managed to overcome several limitations, which in the past were nothing more than dreams. We succeeded in landing on the moon and communicating over long distance, yet there are still some boundaries we have yet to cross despite our best effort. Aging is an inevitable process of nature. While we cannot stop the ticking clock in our body, we have made it possible for aging to be delayed and relieved to a great extent through advance technology and modern governance. High-tech equipments and medications are available for the treatments of more illnesses as our understanding of medicine improves and governments nowadays are doing

In this paper, I take a critical perspective in examining the concept of ageing. Ageing is not only biological and physical. It also is political, shaped by power relations, social structures, cultural ideals and ideologies (Wong, 2013, p.83). The social theory in relation to activity and disengagement with its roots in functionalism is fundamental in the understanding of ageing and has further recuperations in the formulation of ageing policies (Estes, Briggs and Phillipson, 2003). To briefly summarise it, the need for elderly to have a productive role in areas such as community and social work for them to be valued in society underlies ageing policies (Teo et al., 2006 cited in Wong, 2013, p.83). Absence of meaning affects older people as the sense of doubt and uncertainty permeate and influence their daily lives and social relations (Estes et al., 2003). Promotion of active ageing is the common course of action for governments dealing with ageing. For this paper, I would will be focusing on ageing in

Sexuality is not something that just magically disappears with age. In fact, to the majority of healthy older individual, sex is actually something that is often more enjoyable in their older age. Society has portrayed sexuality within the older population to be nonexistent or seen as negative due to the physiological effects aging has on the human body. The cartoon which is provided showcases the perceptions that society has implied towards the physical effects of aging. Being old is seen as unappealing and said to make a person less desirable ("Sexuality and Physical Changes With Aging-Cultural and Psychological Factors," n.d.). In the cartoon all four woman are presented with glasses, grey hair, wrinkled faces, no teeth, and using a cane or a walker. This implies to the viewers that aging not only makes a person unattractive but also broken. Hormonal changes are usually the culprit behind the many physical, sexual and reproductive changes that women experience as they get older. Slowed sexual arousal, vaginal dryness, as well as shorter less intense orgasms can all be contributed to menopause, the decrease in the hormones estrogen and progesterone. While both of these hormones obviously plays a large role in sexual simulation, reproduction, and libido, they also contribute to the changes in a woman's physical appearance. These characteristics in both male and females are very apparent in the cartoon presented. Just like the women, the man is also represented to be