They're fully independent and don't need any help from you. In our case, it was nearly all of these things. The heart muscles change to adjust to the increased workload. It keeps us mired in the mass consciousness of those around us, and is probably the greatest factor keeping us from reaching for our potential as we get older. Accessed Oct. 16, 2018. • Going through each stage appears to be necessary for the emergence of the next stage of development, which includes but transcends the sum of all prior stages. Book: Mayo Clinic on Better Hearing and Balance. National Institute on Aging. The choices you have at this point are similar to those you’ve had all along. • Optimal aging requires a different form of intelligence that can be developed, perceived, acquired through readings or teachings, learned from experience, or intuited by an individual for the purpose of applying this knowledge to one’s own aging process. Stages of Aging #2: Your Parents Think They Don't Need Help (But They Do) At this point, you’ve noticed some things that have you concerned. I have observed the behavior and heard the conversations of hundreds of older adults over this period. This stage in the model is open-ended in the sense there are probably an infinite number of higher stages of development a person can aspire to, but the numbers of real life examples become much fewer and harder to find as we progress. I believe optimum aging is both an intelligence and a developmental process, similar to cognitive, emotional, social, spiritual, and moral development, for the following reasons: Maybe someone in the family stepped up and is providing the care your parents need, maybe you’ve hired an agency, maybe your parents moved to a senior living community or assisted living. For men, impotence might become a concern. Since optimal aging requires more than just a book understanding of the subject and years of experience, the mastery we are trying to achieve more closely resembles Abraham Maslow’s ideas on self-actualization – which is based on a process of personal development beyond a mature ego and societal standards, towards consistently greater levels of self-understanding, differentiation and integration, purpose/meaning, self-motivation, authenticity, awareness of one’s unique potential, and integrity. With age, your skin thins and becomes less elastic and more fragile, and fatty tissue just below the skin decreases. You can expect some of the projected incidences during or close to the five stages. Understanding the 5 Stages of Aging from Self-Sufficiency to End of Life Jun 21, 2016 In the next few decades, America will experience a gerontological explosion, and it's critical that adults recognize the stages of aging to prepare for the high probability of disease and decline. This content does not have an English version. Positive feedback creates a self-reinforcing, self-perpetuating, and self-energizing set of behaviors which lead to continuous growth and self-expansion. I have observed the behavior and heard the conversations of hundreds of older adults over this period. Mastery involves the continuous learning, and greater understanding of a subject, with the intention of applying this knowledge to become the very best at one’s chosen field of endeavor. Additional learning opportunities are created through risk-taking, experimentation, the testing of boundaries, and consistently operating on the “edge” of our capabilities, skills, and comfort zone. Stages of Aging Development. Here’s a summary of the stages of aging. Agencies often have minimum hours requirements, too, because they know that getting reliable help requires a mutual commitment. • Adopt new practices such as positivity, brain-training, and stress reduction – but still not in a systemic manner. Accessed Oct. 18, 2018. Yet they reacted to suggestions that they hire help as if they were independent. Stage #4 – Systemic Aging: At this point, you’ve noticed some things that have you concerned. Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below. The Model assumes that optimal aging involves a systemic growth or developmental process that not only allows the individual to become more self-aware, autonomous, adaptable to changing life conditions, compassionate, and accepting of self, others, and whatever life throws at them – but also the discovery of new meaning and purpose that is both personally satisfying, as well as making the world a better place for all to live. I believe this is evidenced by the success of the Dynamic Aging Program I am currently teaching at OLLI at Furman, and the enthusiasm most of my students have for this process. For women, vaginal dryness can make sex uncomfortable. The National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine recommends at least 1,000 milligrams (mg) of calcium daily for adults. My mother went from needing no help at all to needing daily help in one day. You might even become a bit shorter. Calcium: Fact sheet for health professionals. Your heart rate at rest will stay about the same, but it won't increase during activities as much as it used to. She was stable for years and now needs daily help in a skilled nursing setting. The most common change in the cardiovascular system is stiffening of the blood vessels and arteries, causing your heart to work harder to pump blood through them. National Institutes of Health. March 19, 2015 Dudley. Vitamin D: Fact sheet for health professionals. For example, healthy older adults might forget familiar names or words, or they may find it more difficult to multitask. Like other stage theories of development, it is extremely difficult for a person to truly understand more than one stage beyond what they are currently experiencing. (Remember only you know your parents already need help!). Your bladder may become less elastic as you age, resulting in the need to urinate more often. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. However, we will also each have a more or less consistent set-point – where our understanding and behavior are the same, and becomes almost habitual around the characteristics of a particular stage. Accessed Oct. 16, 2018. • Begin to change more easily and at a deeper level as they experience cognitive dissonance in their interactions with the environment. This is the stage where you call up your parents and they’re too busy to meet up, or are traveling, or spending half a year in a different town. We will have a complete range of emotions, minimal self or societally imposed restrictions on our thoughts and actions, and exhibit a complete congruence between our self-concept and behavior. To promote bladder and urinary tract health: Your brain undergoes changes as you age that may have minor effects on your memory or thinking skills. Taffet GE. If that sounds like you, remember, your parents likely value their independence as much as you value your own, so try to be patient. National Institute on Aging. Accessed Oct. 18, 2018. There are currently very few “structures” in our society that provide any sort of support for this more proactive and motivated approach to aging. To promote bone, joint and muscle health: Get adequate amounts of calcium. Stage #2 – Active Aging: Heart Failure Clinics. However, on a positive note, there are a growing number of older adults who are awakening to the truth and wisdom of partaking in a more proactive aging process – where the goal is not simply to hang onto a certain level of cognitive and physical functioning, but to expand and explore the hidden potential we each have within us. But do you know how aging will affect your teeth, heart and sexuality? Free Download: Learn what to do in each stage to better prepare. With age, you might have difficulty focusing on objects that are close up. • Develop a more systemic view of the world, along with a need to engage more mindfully and meaningfully with their environment. In my case, the lack of preparation wasn’t for lack of trying. With age, bones tend to shrink in size and density, weakening them and making them more susceptible to fracture. It involves – for the purpose of aging optimally – a basic understanding of the science behind optimal aging, greater mindfulness, continuously higher levels of personal development and self-awareness, improved reasoning, problem-solving and planning capabilities, the ability to think abstractly but realistically about one’s own future, the understanding of complex and often conflicting ideas, and acceptance of all people and things that cannot be changed. This stage was purgatory for me because my parents were getting a lot of help — from me and my brothers. At this stage we realize there are not just a few more things we can “do” to age optimally, but instead we must adopt a systemic approach to aging, and improve the quality and quantity of our interactions in order to maximize our opportunities for growth and development. However, this neediness today is like an anchor around our neck when it comes to aging optimally. But maybe not every day.” Maybe your mom wants some help four hours a week, but not on the same day of the week. She blogs about end-of-life and emergency planning at lifeinmotionguide.com. Physical changes with aging. This doesn’t mean they do these things to any great degree, nor does it mean they care enough about these things to learn about them and implement them optimally based on their lifestyle, body type, personality, physical limitations, etc. Maintaining a healthy weight. Accessed Oct. 16, 2018. • Is still very self-centered and pleasure-seeking. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency. Urinary incontinence in older adults. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/sexuality-later-life. Accessed Oct. 23, 2018. Karen Purze is the author of Life In Motion: A Guide for Gathering Life’s Vital Details, a workbook to help people get their affairs in order. 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