Chapter 5 is a very interesting chapter because I
favor the mental health field. It starts off with the psychology of aging. A
major review of diagnoses in Medicare, published in 2008, claims to identify
depression in later life (Crystal, Sambamoorthi, Walkup, & Akincigil,
2008). It discusses the physical factors, the psychological factors, the
personality factors, and medications. According to Hillier & Barrow (2011),
The National Institutes of Mental Health [NIMH] (2009) report four major
groupings under which causes of depression in older adults can be placed: 1)
Physical Factors such as predisposition to depression, constant pain, or a
major health issue such as cancer; 2) Psychological Factors, including
increasing fear of death (especially following the death of a loved one),
lingering feelings of guilt or sadness for unaccomplished goals, or problems
adjusting to changes inherent in frailty of old age; 3) Personality Factors,
such as difficulty with becoming dependent, or loss of self-esteem or
self-confidence; and 4) Medications, some of which can trigger depression in
the older adult. The chapter discusses cognitive processes and the basic
cognitive functions. The basic cognitive functions which are information
processing that describes the kinds of cognitive processes involved in memory
are the senses, the sensory memory, attention, perception, psychomotor speed, and
intelligence. Chapter 5 discusses learning and memory, which are the primary
memory, working memory, secondary memory, and the tertiary memory. Memory
retrieval skills may decline with age but only if they are not used. Hillier
& Barrow (2011). The discussion also consists of the psychopathology and the
myth of senility, functional disorders (anxiety disorders, depressive
disorders, personality disorders, affective disorders, and schizophrenia).
According to Hillier & Barrow, the most common form of organic brain
disease is Alzheimer’s disease.
Hillier, S., & Barrow, G.
(2011). Aging, the individual, and society. (9th ed., pp. 3-28). California:
WADSWORTH..
This learner enjoyed the details of aging in this chapter. The National Institute of Mental Health reports for four major groupings under which causes of depression in older adults can be placed where very interesting to me as well. For the first cause, physical factors, such as constant pain, or a major health issue such as cancer seems to be one of the more popular causes. Second, psychological factors including increasing fear of death and this feels overwhelming when you lose a loved one or feeling like the person has unaccomplished goals. Third, personality factors, such as difficulty with becoming dependent, or loss of self-esteem or self-confidence would definitely be something I would be afraid of as I aged. Lastly, medications which could possibly trigger depression in the older adult.
ReplyDeleteThe types of memory in the brain were discussed and the basic functions in this chapter. This learner found it interesting how complex the brain and memory are in the body. All of the parts working together to help function as humans. Overall this chapter had interesting aspects throughout.
I found this chapter interesting as well but that is also because I have a mental health disorder in my family's medical history. With all of these different disorders it really shows you how complex the brain actually is and how memory is such a huge part in our lives. Even I as a 20 year old have trouble with remembering things all the time. I cannot imagine losing my entire memory. I also could not imagine getting any of the disorders such as schizophrenia or a generalized anxiety disorders. I personally am scared to develop Alzheimer's because my grandmother had it, but I guess it's just apart of aging and like we've all said, you should embrace it and live life to the fullest.
ReplyDeleteOf the four major groupings that cause depression in older adults, I found the fourth one the most interesting: medications, some of which can trigger depression in the older adult. Of course it is common knowledge that medications can have side effects but depression is not normally thought of to be a common side effect of taking a medication. One of the basic cognitive functions is the five senses, which are vision, touch, hearing, smell, and taste. The most interesting comment about the senses was that “some very old people experience no sensory declines” (p. 125). I thought it was common for vision to decline as we got older but that comment gives me hope that vision loss is not definite and instead can be retained. Thankfully, loss of memory is also not definite. The mind can be exercised in fun ways such as doing puzzles, talking with friends, reading or learning new things.
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