Aging related changes:
• Physiological changes are insomnia, nightmare, loss of appetite, palpitation, tiredness frequent urination ,muscle pain ,
• Psychological and emotional changes are anxiety, fear, frustration, depression, restlessness, poor concentration, forgetfulness, loss of companionship, loss of social activities.
Common sources of stress for elderly include:
Financial insecurities
Death of relatives, beloved or close friends
Decrease of physical abilities and chronic illness
Not being able to live independently
Worries for isolation and loneliness.
Stress related theories:
• Hormonal stress theories: Hormonal stress theory is the aging in body hormonal systems can lower resistance and increases the disease related risks. Hormonal stress theory may be a theory that attributes stress response to stressors (internal and external ) that cause the hormonal cascade reactions involving multiple hormones, especially they hypothalamic, pituitary, adrenal axis, cortisol and eventually norepinephrine and serotonin as well peptide which is involve in flexibility. In the long run promotes blood sugar glucose and lipids in the blood can lead to chronic illness such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease , and the immune systems become suppress.
• Erickson’s Integrity vs Despair: Integrity versus despair is the eight stage of Erickson’s theory of psycho social development. The stage starts from age 65 years through the end of the life. During this period people redirect back on the life they have lived and comes away with either sense of fulfillment from the life they have live and come away with either a sense of fulfillment from the life well lived or regret sense and dejection over a life misspent.
• Activity theory: The activity theory suggests that ageing people should remain as active as possible, increase their activities beyond their daily routine, and to improve friends their own ages. The social act and seeking a specific role within the society during the maturity has proven to dramatically decrease the possibility of depression and solitude.
• Stress theory of ageing: Stress theory of aging g , a stochastic theory of aging that hypothesis n that ageing bad death result from the e effect of environment stressors that cues wear and there on cells and disrupts their functions . The generations of free radicals during the oxidative cell process is sometimes cited as specific stressors that disrupt DNA proteins and functions as it leads to aging.
