Cultural Strengths Of Older Americans

Signs of aging will start to show. For some it might be a concern as they might have health worries due to age. This is the time that they might become a grandparent, this will boost their self- esteem. The individual might be coming to terms with dying or may have already have accepted the fact of death.

Emotional Wellness – To be able to accept and control your feelings. To have a good self-esteem and to not stress or be disappointed. You have to accept what you have done and be happy with what you have done. You need to find solutions to your problems to have a good emotional wellness and if you need to ask people for help to solve your problems then ask.

The elders in indigenous cultures carry generations of wisdom passed down from their teachers. They are instrumental in passing down their knowledge of the land to their communities and are valuable in nurturing self-esteem, self-worth, and confidence.

In Josh Barro’s article, he mainly discusses the theme of Social Security. He explains how if we raise the age for people to access Social Security, that will harm poorer Americans who have a lower life expectancy due to the type of work they do or because of lack of other proper benefits. In the video, Coming of Age in and Aging America, they discuss the main theme of aging in America and the difficulties and obstacles these individuals face on a daily basis, especially in terms of Social Security. The video covers a variety of situations that the elderly face and how America can work to make the lives easier especially in a world where our elderly population in growing. One example was in a hospital where they were able to integrate new techniques and systems to make it easier for people to work longer into their lives. The main themes of Sharon Kaufman’s journal article were health care and the reform of current plans, and discussion of life-prolonging procedures. She discusses the three main procedures used in the U.S. which are organ transplantation, cardiac procedures, and cancer treatments. Finally, Segal’s text covers the themes and policies related to aging and elderly population. She discusses the acts and programs that have been put into place such as the Older Americans Act of 1965, social security, pensions, and Medicare/Medicaid, along with a variety of others.

Recent data have cited that Asian Americans are the fastest-growing ethnic community in the United States. As a result, the United States will experience developing and new societal changes. This introduces the urgency for cultural competence. Cultural competence is the ability to communicate and work with multicultural and diverse people. Therefore, this capability will help accommodate for the expanding society. By being able to learn and discuss topics concerning racial relations, this can lead to stronger connections being formed with communities outside of our own.

"You are time, foul time who steals the gold from a maiden 's hair and takes the sapphire from a child 's eyes. Dark time, who has stolen from everything there ever was. The things that it held precious and divine... And left nothing but memories and ashes and the grave." - Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Endless Nights

Spirituality does not have one definite definition, it varies depending on who is searching for the meaning. The meaning of spirituality can change within one person, the more they search for answers and find their beliefs. To this writer, spirituality reaches beyond ourselves, it is the connection between ourselves and something greater.

“Spirituality is derived from the Latin word spiritus, spirit, the essential part of the person which controls the mind and the mind controls the body. Thus the spirit is the vital life force which motivate people and influence ones life, health behavior and relationships” (Baldacchino & Draper, 2001). She also stated that spirituality is the mainstream of life which unifies all aspects of the human being. Spirituality applies to both believers and non believers, including the presence of diverse cultural beliefs (Baldacchino & Draper, 2001). Culliford stated that : “In times of emotional stress, physical illness, loss, bereavement and death human beings tend to find comfort, peace, inspiration, reverence and meaning by focusing on their spirituality whether they believe in God or not” (Culliford, 2002). In a study conducted by Tuck and Thingajana the meaning of spirituality was voiced by person living with HIV disease and healthy adults. The definitions voiced by the HIV patients were that “Spirituality is relating and believing in God, who is always present. It is perceived as being guided or helped or being inspired or giving unto. Spirituality includes the process of journeying, discovering and centering and is outwardly expressed” (Tuck & Thinganjana, 2007). The definitions of Spirituality expressed by the healthy individuals were that:

It is important to look at death first; everyone will die and death affects all people psychologically, emotionally and relationally. Depending on the circumstances, when a death occurs it will affect each person in a different

Spirituality is defined by the Merriam-Webster (2015) dictionary as “the quality or state of being concerned with religion or religious matters.” That is the simple definition of it from a dictionary. In depth, spirituality is defined as a person’s beliefs, attitudes, values and connection

I have enjoyed reading your post, Sherri. I found your comments and ideas informative and thought provoking. Of course, aging is a process that is not approached welcomingly by the majority of the population as the decline in the physical capabilities coupled with the various health issues that could be related to aging make the aging individual yearn for those times where he or she was able to function independently. However, I think that Fonda’s speech was inspiring, and her views were valid. According to her, we should not succumb to the aging process because it is part of a natural change that we all have to endure if we survive through life’s third act. Therefore, we should approach this change optimistically and embrace the positives

Ever noticed an elderly couple performing normal daily activities and think to yourself, what would they do without one another? Many of us have elderly relatives who are either married or have someone with whom they have a tight bond with, such as a best friend, and we believe they keep each other alive. We are all born to die, but how we cope with death is different. When someone dies, persons affected may feel depressed, sad and even angry. Looking at death from a different perspective, such as a loved one going to a better place, instead of a loss can cause relatives to celebrate. This is usually the case when the cause of death is natural. When death of a spouse is because of a traumatic event, love ones are left with

Lastly, the studies of the dying process were asked to anticipate what the dying process might be like. However, few made any attempt at a literal description of the dying process or describe any sequence of decline over time. At most, many viewed dying in a metaphorical rather than a literal sense, often using the metaphor of sleep to represent death. That is death was depicted as a decline in alertness until a sleep like stage was attained. These elders did not seem to recognize a decline in health status, emerging physical symptoms, psycho-social change during dying, or the physical, social, and emotional needs that may be involved.

     Spirituality and psychology are two complex subjects to discuss and they become even more complicated when you try to relate one to the other. Psychology deals with the processes of sense perception, thinking, learning, cognition, emotions and motivations, and personality, focusing on the behavior of individuals. Spirituality, on the other hand, is all inclusive. “Spirituality is living one's life from the realization that the body/mind/ego personality we have been taught to identify with is just the tip of our iceberg, our little head sticking through the window of the senses into this world, whereas our true body is the universe. It is recognizing that our perceived world is mostly an illusion, a shared

What is spirituality? Everyone has it however not all understand what it is exactly. Individuals can experience and express spiritually differently. It can be confused with religion or ghosts (Lepherd, 2015). For many years, there have been many definitions and descriptions of spirituality; it is described as the search of the meaning of life, alleviation of suffering, or creating inner peace in an individual. Which explains how spirituality is made useful for meditation and practicing yoga. Each person’s spirituality is different from others because according to his article, ‘Spirituality: Everyone has it, but what is it,’ Laurence Lepherd (2015) explains, “People have [different levels] of depth or intensity of spirituality, from [person to person].”