How Should We Accept Inevitable Progression Of Growing Old And Finally Death? Essay

Aging and death is unquestionable. Each person will experience death in life. Presumably, the average human life is age 70 (Schilling, Wahl, & Wiegering (2012) this number greatly depends on a persons' age, gender, health, cultural background, in addition to geographical location. Aging comes with carrying years of having obstacles, shock, and sorrow which in the end puts a stinging strain on the body. The pressure of death and dying likewise causes innumerable distresses, which produces a broad range of sadness. These reactions cause one to begin experiencing bereavement, grief combined with mourning (Clegg,

Throughout a human beings lifespan, an individual experiences many pivotal changes both physically and mentally. Of all of these life stages, none is more difficult a reality as late adulthood. Individuals are given a taste of youth and vitality, and must watch as it is slowly taken away. In some cultures, the elderly are treated with respect and care, and in others, the elderly are considered a burden and receive little respect and poor care. How do perceptions of death and dying vary from culture to culture? The ancient Egyptians spent their entire lives preparing for death and the afterlife, but how do other cultures perceive these experiences? To gain a better

Humans undergo several stages during their lifetime including growth, development, reproduction and senescence. Senescence is defined as the deteriorative biological changes that organisms experience as they age eventually leading to death. These changes include low metabolism, a weak immune system, memory loss, poor vision and loss of hearing. Senescence begins in humans during their post-reproductive years. However, gerontology research has shown that individuals who reproduce late have longer life spans compared to individuals who reproduce early. Nonetheless, it does not indicate that senescence is inevitable. All organisms experience senescence,

The aging process in late adulthood is called senescence. People cannot stop the effects of aging but there are alternatives that can help ease the process. These measures are not always followed because people make poor life choices such as smoking. Aging adults will even spend millions of dollars trying to slow the process of aging. No matter how much money they spend aging will occur.

Aging, though it is usually defined as a biological process, it is also the gathered development of change with time. Aging is a continuous, complex and dynamic process that begins even before birth and ends with death. Unless death occurs at an early age, all humans grow old and experience the effects of the aging process. The process of aging does not

Dying is a natural phenomenon which affects everyone; however, nobody stops to think about it and its implications. If humans truly reflected on what dying meant, it would affect the way they live. Mitch Album, author of Tuesdays with Morrie, was able to study and learn much about life from Morrie Schwartz, his old college professor, who wanted to impart the knowledge he learned as he died to Mitch so he could learn how to live. Morrie believed, “’Once you learn how to die you learn how to live’” (P. 82 M).

Aging is an inevitable part of the lifecycle. At some point in their lifespan, every person will experience changes that occur during the process of aging. Many changes that occur, such as loss of muscle tone, decrease in vision, decrease in hearing, and decreased bone mass, can be attributed to the natural processes that occur as you age (Robnett, Bolduc, & Murray, 2015). The progression of these changes, however, can be influenced by many factors in an individual’s life. The effects of aging on an individual are not only dependent upon genetics, but also upon their physical and social environments and their cultural, personal, temporal, and virtual contexts (Brossoie & Chop, 2015).

The biological changes associated with later adulthood are the taking of responsibilities from personal level to those depending on a person. Apart from responsibility, the brain changes to become independent and care for others becomes a priority. But all of the above can be done effectively by a positive change of mind . The major biological change is the maturity of the mind.

Normal aging is a gradual decline in certain processes (Gladyshev, & Gladyshev, 2016). The decline is not static and can be increased or reduced depending on choices made (Gladyshev, & Gladyshev, 2016). Changes commonly attributed to aging include declines in the five senses, most organ systems, appearance and brain function (Tully, 2016). The five senses include reduction in taste buds, smell, ability to hear high frequency sounds and speech discrimination, reduced ability to see in the dark and a reduction in tactile sensory (Tully, 2016). In the organ systems there is a reduction in the hearts response to work, bone mass, skin turgor, vital capacity in the lungs, renal and colon function (Tully, 2016). Most notable is the age-related changes

The good news is, we are not victims of the aging process like our parents and grandparents believed. We do not have to surrender our health, freedom and independence once we hit “a certain age.” Instead, we can make healthy choices on a daily basis that will keep our bodies and minds working optimally so we can enjoy our lives fully.

When a person thinks of aging, they can think of many things, from a baby getting taller, to an older person growing gray hair. A person’s body changes constantly throughout the span of their life. There is no helping it. While most people think of a person getting older as a person getting wrinkles, losing hair, and becoming more fragile, there are actually many other affects than just those. There are visible effects, and effects that are not visible by just looking at someone. In this paper, both types of effects will be discussed.

Tuesdays with Morrie is a movie in which the main character, a college professor, develops amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease and the progression of the disease until his death. In this essay, I will discuss how I felt after watching this movie, how touch and intimacy can be beneficial to the older adult’s well-being. I will also discuss how some adults feel that aging is part of a spiritual journey and what nurses can do to help facilitate this journey. Lastly I will explain what Morrie meant when he said, “Learn how to die and you learn how to live” and “Aging is not decay but growth”.

The attitudes towards death in late adulthood include the age of the person and how that influences the way they experience and think about death. Individuals in late adulthood understand that death is final and irreversible (Santrock, 2009, p. 623). Older adults think more and talk more about death. They also have more direct experience with death, as more friends and family pass on before them. This increased thinking and talking of death, as well as increased integrity through a positive life review, may help them to accept death. Older adults are less likely to have unfinished business than younger adults. They usually do not have children depending on them, their spouse has more than likely passed and they have no projects to complete. Death then is less emotionally painful to them (Santrock, 2009, p. 625). However, physical losses and other problems may diminish their pleasure in living (Papalia, Sterns, Feldman & Camp, 2002, p.

On Death and Dying By Elisabeth Kubler-Ross For my book review, I read On Death and Dying, by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. Dr. Kubler-Ross was the first person in her field to discuss the topic of death. Before 1969, death was considered a taboo. On Death and Dying is one of the most important psychological studies of the late twentieth century. The work grew out of her famous interdisciplinary seminar on death, life, and transition. In this paper, I give a comprehensive book review as well as integrate topics learned in class with Dr. Kubler-Ross' work. Like Piaget's look at developmental stages in children, there are also stages a person experiences on the journey toward death. These five stages are denial/isolation, anger, bargaining,

Within this novel, Morrie embraced his mortality with “love, acceptance and open communication” as he gave the reader a glimpse into what he considered to be “The Meaning of Life.” Using Mitch Albom as a vessel to pen his “own culture values,” Morrie was able to define the contradictions between others vision of “popular culture values” and his style of truly living through “life, death and reincarnation.” With the use of materials obtained from the course, this writer was able to summarize various observations about Morrie’s “final lecture” on life, death and family amidst his perceptual understanding that reorganized “aging as growth and not