Free Essay Example on Later Life Issues

Introduction

There are four main developmental phases, which apply to every living person. These stages include childhood, adulthood, middle age, and finally, old age, respectively. Nonetheless, it is indisputable that as we age, responsibilities continue to grow. Individuals at childhood and early adulthood are often taken care of with their primary responsibility being to learn. However, there is a drastic transition in roles and responsibilities when approaching late adulthood and middle age. These responsibilities are broad and entail caring for other people than self (Ivan). These tasks include nurturing an intimate relationship, paying bills, managing a career, caregiving to children, household management, and making crucial decisions, among many other breathtaking roles. Therefore, it is strenuous to balance all these responsibilities, which may affect an individual at an old age.

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Moreover, at middle age, most people encounter devastating disappointments such as the death of a loved one, conflict in marriage, which may result in divorce, parenting issues, or even single parenting. All these mentioned factors cause trauma and depression among individuals in the middle age. Depression is exhibited when one is full of grief and often feels displaced (Lawrence). At work, the person becomes redundant and less productive. Further, being unsuccessful at middle age while approaching old age is of significant concern. The thought of it causes stress from every angle and may lead one to be stressed. Such situations cause one to resolve to alcohol and drug abuse with the idea of eschewing their problems even for a moment (Charles and Carstensen). However, resorting to drug abuse will severely affect their health at old age.

Life Issues Effect

After an old aged individual has tirelessly worked in adulthood and middle age, the person loses strength and flexibility, especially in the tendons, joints, and muscles. Besides, the skin becomes drier and bristle, leading to one developing wrinkles. The health of the individual deteriorates, and they become prone to chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure, due to decreased body activities. These chronic illnesses can also be caused by some essential body parts, such as the kidney becoming defective. Furthermore, one is more susceptible to becoming overweight since they engage in little physical activity and have a slow metabolism. Older adults also start developing hearing problems, which can be attributed to excessive noise through one's lifetimes. The accumulation of wax can also be a factor leading to the development of hearing problems. Other individuals may lose sight and the ability to perceive specific colors.

Conclusion

Cognitive abilities entail learning, thinking, and understanding, among many other mental processes. As one gets older, improving cognitive skills becomes minimized (Burke and Mackay). Further, there is reduced memory activity, and brain development declines. The rate of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, also increases. Alzheimer’s is described as the decrease of daily living activities encompassed with a change of behavior and declination of cognitive abilities. The condition causes brain-tissue loss and the death of nerve cells affecting the whole functionality of the body. There are also other neurological disorders at old age, which come about when the brain lacks the full capacity to communicate and transmit signals. They include dementia and Parkinson’s diseases.

Works Cited

Burke, Deborah M., and D. G. Mackay. “Memory, Language, and Ageing.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, vol. 352, no. 1363, 1997, pp. 1845–1856., doi:10.1098/rstb.1997.0170.

Lawrence, Blake J. “Is Hearing Loss Associated with Depression in Older Adults?” The Hearing Journal, vol. 72, no. 7, 26 Apr. 2019, pp. 8–19., doi:10.1097/01.hj.0000575352.06069.0e.

Charles, Susan T., and Laura L. Carstensen. “Social and Emotional Aging.” Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 61, no. 1, 21 Aug. 2010, pp. 383–409., doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100448.

Ivan, Julie. “Adulthood Challenges: Courses: Distance Education.” Adulthood Challenges | Courses | Distance Education, ACS Distance Education, 7 Mar. 2020,
http://www.acs.edu.au/info/behaviour/developmental-psychology/adulthood-challenges.aspx.