Responses to Discussions

Discussion #1

Thank you for sharing your insightful thoughts on chronic illness and wellness within older adults. It is interesting that your views on the video and the challenges that the elderly experience in their day to day life, resonated with my personal perspectives. I was also inspired by the desire of the aging population to live a life of dignity despite the many physiological and psychological challenges they face. You have explained well how age-related changes affect cognitive and psychological functioning of older adults, including the presence of chronic pain, mental dullness, and loss of hearing among others. Personally, through research, I found that the changes in brain processes as one grows older are the major cause of these psychological manifestations (Reid et al., 2015). For instance, according to (Murman, 2015), the brain experiences atrophy as one ages, and this affects its functioning. I appreciate your practical experiences working with older adults, including the older man who had only been admitted to a hospital thrice in his life. His active and healthy life may give credence to the role of wellness.  He is also an inspiration to society on how age can be managed so that it does not affects one’s functioning and productivity within society. 

References

Murman D. L. (2015). “The Impact of Age on Cognition”. Seminars in Hearing, 36(3), 111-

21. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4906299/

Reid, M. C., Eccleston, C., & Pillemer, K. (2015). “Management of chronic pain in older 

adults”. BMJ, 350, h532. doi:10.1136/bmj.h532. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4707527/

Discussion #2

I appreciate the feedback on your thoughts regarding how older adults face physical and psychological changes, and how they can battle chronic illnesses to achieve wellness. I share your views on wellness, and specifically that it goes beyond good health; it also relates to the quality of life of older adults. Moreover, wellness encompasses emotional and spiritual support from family members who strive to improve the quality of life of older people under their care. Your perspectives on changes to cognitive processes among adults as they age, are consistent with mine. Specifically, the changes in the grey brain matter as one ages, and its cognitive impacts, are consistent with views by Murman (2015) on how the brain shrinks in size as people grow older. Moreover, you explain that some older adults with extreme cognitive impairment can experience fear, confusion, and anxiety (Harada et al., 2013). Do you have any thoughts on how to minimize the effects of these symptoms and help these adults to live normal lives? Personally, I think that professional health services such as professional nursing homes may be suitable for this category of patients.  

References

Harada, C. N., Love, N. & Triebel, K. L. (2013).” Normal cognitive aging.” Clinics in 

Geriatric Medicine Journal 29(4). doi: 10.1016/j.cger.2013.07.002.

Murman D. L. (2015). “The Impact of Age on Cognition”. Seminars in Hearing, 36(3), 111-

21. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4906299/