Pastoral Friend Program

PFP Page 35

Social, physical, and psychological aspects of ageing

Social

All humans need connections with others in order to be healthy and happy. The more involved an ageing person is with their community, family and friends, the healthier and happier they will be. Social contacts may be more difficult to arrange than in the past, but they are no less important.

Often there are alternative ways for ageing people to take part in activities. Encourage your friend to keep up social contacts.

As friends, it is important that we recognise the reduced capability of older people in relation to their stamina/endurance. They become tired more easily. When we talk with them, we must remember that they may not have the enthusiasm for conversation that we have. They may become frustrated when they cannot think of something simple. They may not remember an event of a couple of weeks previously. We need to make allowances for this very natural ageing process.

Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly. Leviticus 19:34

It has become increasingly recognised that social experience is an important part of ageing. There have been two ideas about social aspects of ageing. One suggestion is that as people become older they want to have less and less to do with other people. They withdraw from the sort of contacts they had earlier in their life. Some aspects of this idea are that they have fewer and weaker emotional ties with others and they become more self centred and self occupied.

The other suggestion is that the more active older people are, the more they will gain life satisfaction. One aspect of this is that it is important to either encourage older people to continue the activities they once had, or find replacement activities.

Physical

Kirkwood states that symptoms of ageing include:

weakened immune system, with a greater tendency to contract seasonal infections, viruses and other illnesses;

greater likelihood of developing heart disease and cancer;

adverse changes in body mass and muscle tone;

failing memory, learning and ability to change and manage new situations; and,

changes in sensory organs: touch, hearing, sight, taste and smell are less acute, slower and weaker to respond and function.

Age brings a natural deterioration of the body. The signs that accompany it often reflect the kind of lifestyle lived in earlier years. These can include too much sun and sand earlier can lead to skin cancer, and inadequate exercise and poor diet can lead to overweight and potential heart failure, dangerously high cholesterol levels (and consequent stroke), and also diabetes and possible amputations

There are many other signs of ageing that are simply the result of the inability of the body to replace weary or dead cells.

The simple weakening of the immune system can lead to increased incidence of cancer. One of the most common kinds of cancer in men is prostate. Some 10,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in Australia;

Older people become physically smaller;

Older people are slower to move, to bend, to get up;

They may have impaired sight – they need more light when they try to read the card you brought; and,

They may have impaired hearing – they may ask you to repeat what you have just said.

Psychological

Psychology refers to the mind, emotions and personality. Immediately below are some general ‘mind’ issues that may relate to an ageing person. There may be:

anxiety about possible or actual illness;

a sense of shame and disgrace when some things that have been part and parcel of their life - neatness, cleanliness – become ‘tatty’;

a fear of memory loss (and embarrassment); and,

loss of excitement experienced in their active, younger life. Perhaps he/she was a good administrator or leader but now there are no opportunities to continue these skills.

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