Essay On Aging Myths

doctor, then what are they to do? They can not just sit at home and

It is a known fact that people are living longer today and with older age comes many obstacles for which the elderly overcome. Such obstacles as; physical changes, mental changes, changes in income, friends, family, and at times their way of life. As the baby boomers are getting older, some find that their social life has declined because most of their friends have died. Moreover, some of the boomers are maintaining their lifestyles as though nothing has changed, while others are in the midst of significant changes in their lifestyles and their way of life. The purpose of this discussion board is to compare and contrast two social theories about aging and how it relates to the role of the caregiver. Furthermore, I will discuss the one new

According to an article in the New York Times, aging wisely is all about how you feel, your attitude, health and how productive you are. Therefore if we have a positive attitude as we age we will tend to take better care of ourselves, exercise and eat healthy. Graham mentions in the article that the stereotype that as we age we become useless the attitude can become that person. On the other hand if there is satisfaction and production the older adult is more likely to work hard to be healthy and may even recover more easily from illness (Graham, 2012)

The truth about how sex among older adults is portrayed in the media and popular culture is simply that it is not portrayed very often in these mediums. Preadolescents and adolescents tend to receive much of the sexualization that is used in these mediums while the elderly tend to never get portrayed doing these types of activities. This can be attributed to the media's presentation of the perfect human specimen, man or woman; of which most elderly people do not satisfy as they have wrinkles, sagging skin, more skin marks (moles, freckles) and overall are not attractive by the media's standards. Older people have the life experience and intelligence to ignore such impositions and therefore, it does not affect their sexual lifestyle. To the

Participation in physical activity has been shown to have many health benefits for older adults; this study does not provide strong support that it protects against cognitive decline. Reports have been made that physical activity may help guard against stroke and coronary heart disease, both of which may be associated with the development of dementia. Some studies were either limited in their scope or had short follow-up times. In all they find that for older adults, physical activity alone may not protect against cognitive decline. (By Charnicia E. Huggins: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/exerciseforseniors.html)

As people continue to live life and grow older, it is inevitable that they will age. Aging has many effects on an individual’s physical health, emotional well-being, and cognition. Key developmental changes occur in vision and hearing; both begin declining as people age (Weiten, 2014). The deterioration of these senses can be seen in Young@Heart during the scene where a few members are joking around in a car. The driver was Lenny, an ex-World War II pilot, because he was the only one out of the group who could still see properly (Walker, 2008). The vision of every other member in the car had worsened to a point where it impacted their functioning in daily life by limiting their ways of transportation.

There’s been use of a new term in recent years “50 is the new 60”, and “40 is the new 50”. The term applies that people are not as old as they used to be, certainly they don’t think as old as they used to. Society has seen a revolution in physical fitness among older workers and people in general. This is a benefit not yet acknowledged by employers, but has shown to involve those who choose to work past retirement. Older workers tend to boast of their good health and are often complimented on how well they look for their age.

Ageism simply means and is presumed that older adults are frail, weak, and disabled permeates society. This label cares negative stereotypes, such as discrimination and prejudices. Ageism exists in the workplace, certain cultures, and social classes and within health care.

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.

Knowing how to age successfully rather than searching for youth should be the key. According to Dan Buethner (2008), ageing only has an accelerator pedal and most American’s are pushing it too hard and too much!. Health and longevity are the key to living a progressive life and optimizing

A quick Google search for common myth about aging will yield about 12,000,000 results. The magnitude of the number leads you to believe that, as a society, we are completely disillusioned by the process of getting older. We are assume, as a society that as you age your brain shrinks, you will be cranky and unhappy, dementia, weight gain, muscle loss and loneliness are unavoidable. The picture painted by these myths is ugly and possibly reinforce the idolization of youth and beauty in American culture. No one want to volunteer for the possess of getting old if it is so stigmatize, let’s face it no one wants to turn into the grumpy, old, deaf blind, intelligent oaf that is described by the media.

As aging is a stage of development that cannot prevented, the question of “can one’s aging be more successful than another?” is posed my many. Researchers continually consider the differences between aging successfully, and aging unsuccessfully. As researchers work to complete their studies, many find a reoccurring basis of successful aging. A basis of successful aging can be set including: physical health disease free, chronic illness free, mental health disease free, among many others. The only problem with this basis is the difference from person to person in terms of what makes aging successful. As individuals age, their mental state is a large predictor of how the person will age. A positive mental state about aging, will have a more positive effect on a person’s aging process. Many factors may influence the positivity of aging, such as negative aging stereotypes and discrimination because of older age. These negative aging stereotypes include but are not limited to: older adults are not as smart, older adults are angry all the time, older adults are bad drivers, older adults are isolated and never socialize. In adult aging and development, having a positive outlook on aging will lead to better mental and physical aging.

Aging comes naturally and people should not be frighten be it. As it turns out the fear of this process is enough to speed it up. The negative attitude is a very powerful factor in this process and has a great effect on the physical aspect of aging. It is enough to put people into deep depression or lose their confidence with many other things like good posture. On the other hand maintaining a positive thinking can really slow the process down. In fact it can do miracles, regular exercises and healthy diet can bring new life. Often people feel threatened by aging and put a hold on their lives, while they should be constantly evolving as they go through life. With positive thinking, it is all possible. This paper will show that despite

Like most people in American society and culture, when I hear the term aging it is almost always thought of negatively. Americans have become obsessed with finding ways to live a longer and healthier life and when one of those people here the term ‘aging’ it is viewed as a detriment to their thought of living longer. It is often a scary thought because people assume that the best years of their life are behind them. I personally do not feel physically as old as I do mentally. I am weary, however, as life goes on that my body will eventually catch up to my mind. I hope however that I can be healthy all around at an older age because I would hate to be ill and not be able to enjoy life at its greatest potential. I believe that most people, including myself, have the perception that aging limits your mobility. People often assume that the once you get to a certain age you will be limited to where you can live and must be forced into a retirement home. This perception more than likely is false, and perhaps coming from individuals that have seen loved ones not being cared for and have taken a similar path. This perception most likely comes from observation of adults telling younger ones by word of mouth however untrue it may be.

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