Old Age and Death and
Dying
Where We End Up…
Old Age
• The single greatest fear of old age was
once considered the fear of DEATH.
Old Age
• Realistically, though, the greatest fear is
the fear of failure.
Old Age
• Decremental Model of Aging—Progressive
physical and mental decline is inevitable
with old age.
• Ageism—discrimination based on a
person’s age. Try and do away with the
stereotypes that older folks are irrelevant
or unable to do things for themselves.
Myths and Ageism
Changes in Health
• Four major Diseases that affect the elderly
– Heart Disease
– Hypertension
– Diabetes
– Arthritis
Heart Disease
Arthritis
Health
• Three major causes of death
– Heart Disease
– Cancer
– Strokes
Stroke
Health Care For The Elderly
• Rising health care means that many
people are unable to afford quality health
care in their later years.
• Prescription drug costs and hospital stays,
as well as permanent care facilities; often
drain people of their income.
Health Care For The Elderly
Life Situations for the Elderly
• 50% of women and 20% of men are
widowed by the age of 65.
• By the age of 80, 33% of men and 70% of
women are alone.
Widowhood
Depression and the Elderly
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Loss of a spouse
Genetic Pre-Disposition
Stress
Lifestyle
Unhealthy eating
Loneliness
Lack of exercise
Changes in Sexual Activity
• Healthy Partners enjoy an active sex life
well into their 70s and 80s.
• Some choose not to because of societal
pressure that they are “not supposed to
act” that way.
Changes in Sexual Activity
Changes in Sexual Activity
Adjusting to Old Age
• Society is slowly changing its attitudes
toward the elderly, influenced in large part
by organizations such as AARP.
Changes in Mental Functioning
• Crystallized intelligence refers to the
ability to use accumulated knowledge and
learning in appropriate situations. This
ability increases with age and experience.
• Fluid intelligence is the ability to solve
abstract relational problems and generate
new hypotheses. This ability generally
declines with age.
Crystallized and Fluid
Changes in Mental Functioning
• Two forms of loss of mental functioning
are senile dementia and Alzheimer’s
disease.
Changes in Mental Functioning
• Senile dementia is a condition where
people lose their memory, forget, don’t
know where they are or what time it is, find
it harder to think for themselves, have
short attention, personality gets altered
and have difficulty relating to others.
Senile Dementia
Alzheimer’s Disease
• Alzheimer’s Disease is the fourth leading
cause of death among US adults and is an
incurable disease that destroys a person’s
ability to think, remember and relate to
others.
Alzheimer’s and Senile Dementia
• The difference between senile dementia
and Alzheimer’s is that Alzheimer’s is a
form of senile dementia that is incurable.
Some of senile dementia is curable, some
not.
Death and Dying
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross Theory
• Kubler-Ross felt terminally ill patients go
through the following five stages:
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Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
Denial
• Used by almost all patients in some form.
It is a usually temporary shock response to
bad news. Isolation arises from people,
even family members, avoiding the dying
person. People can slip back into this
stage when there are new developments
or the person feels they can no longer
cope.
Denial
Anger
• -Anger at God: "Why me?" Feeling that
others are more deserving.
• -Envy of others: Other people don't seem
to care, they are enjoying life while the
dying person experiences pain. Others
aren't dying.
• -Projected on environment: Anger towards
doctors, nurses, and families.
Anger
Bargaining
• A brief stage, hard to study because it is
often between patient and God.
• -If God didn't respond to anger, maybe
being "good" will work.
• -Attempts to postpone: "If only I could live
to see . . ."
Bargaining
Depression
• Mourning for losses
• -Reactive depression (past losses): loss of
job, hobbies, mobility.
• -Preparatory depression (losses yet to
come): dependence on family
Depression
Acceptance
• This is not a "happy" stage, it is usually
void of feelings. It takes a while to reach
this stage and a person who fights until the
end will not reach it. It consists of basically
giving up and realizing that death is
inevitable.
• Hope is an important aspect of all stages.
A person's hope can help them through
difficult times.
Acceptance
In Conclusion (pun intended)…
• The theme does not change. A positive
life as a child through adolescence,
through adulthood, will indicate the best
chance of a happy elderly age and a more
philosophical view of life and its
conclusion: death. A negative or stressful
life, will lead more to feelings of despair.