Fact Versus Reality With Aging

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society we seem to place research on the brain in high regard. In what ways is this sentiment positive for science and the care of humans, and in what ways might this be negative? Does neuroscience always hold the "best" answers?

A way in which the focus on the brain is positive is that it is indeed true that the brain is really the "center of action" in a lot of ways. When it comes to the most intriguing, fascinating and important parts of the body, the two top really have to be the brain and the heart. The heart is the catalyst for things like circulation, oxygen flow and so forth. The brain, however, has many more important things behind it including the nervous system in general, memory and so forth (Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2011; YouTube, 2015; YouTube, 2015).

However, ordaining the study of the mind as it currently exists as the "end-all, be-all" is less than wise, and for a number of reasons. First, while a lot more is known now about the brain and how it works, there are still some gaping holes of knowledge. Further, it could very well be that there are major things we are missing. Third, while the brain is very important, there are other things that influence and impact the brain and the nervous system so limiting one's awe and focus to the brain just does not make sense. As far as an example of how science does not have the answers, science tends to act in generalizations and broad statements. Of course, there is a fine line between that and stereotyping. One of the YouTube videos that was used for this assignment puts the lie to the general idea that older people are always miserable. While getting told TENDS to do that to a lot of people, it is not an absolute. Some people just develop a different perspective while others have mitigating factors such as nice hobbies, a strong support system, a strong and present family system and so forth. It is fair enough to say that there are tendencies but it is important to say that there are always outliers (Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2011; YouTube, 2015; YouTube, 2015).

2. Which physical change do you think causes the most anticipatory stress to people as they age (i.e., they worry about this change occurring in their near future)? Which physical change do you think is actually most stressful once it occurs?

There are probably two main things that people look towards when it comes to fear of aging ...fear of memory/mind issues and fear of the body becoming frail. Indeed, that is indeed what TENDS to happen with many people. The mental acuity and sharpness of people tends to wane over the years just like the body tends to start break down slowly or quickly based on genetic precursors and/or how well a person has taken care of their body in terms of diet, alcohol, smoking and so forth. While the author of this response finds both rather terrifying, the general loss of body health is probably what concerns most people. The obvious rationale for that is that there can be a moderate or huge loss in independence and a concurrent rise in the need to rely on others up to and including the possible need to be put into a home so that one can be watched and care for (Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2011; YouTube, 2015; YouTube, 2015).

However, the mental aspects of getting older cannot be ignored. Even if one's mental acuity remains fairly sharp, there is always the fear that one will start to lose grip with reality. Even if that never happens, there is the tendency, per the "Misery Myth" YouTube vide, for people to become miserable and angry that one's life is starting to come to an and. As the video points out, that is not always the case and it is really up to each person to break that proverbial template. Indeed, one can look back at life and find a legacy or feel resolute in that the end of life on Earth is the beginning of something greater. How one approaches it will vary based on religion, upbringing, experiences and background. However, it is more a matter of dealing with it the right way because being angry or hostile about getting older will obviously not change the fact that it is happening (Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2011; YouTube, 2015; YouTube, 2015).

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3. What special support might older adults who have cancer need, as opposed to younger and middle-aged adults who have cancer? Justify your response.

The one big thing that older adults will need that will probably not be an issue with younger or middle-aged adults with cancer is the fact that older adults face a harder battle even in the best of circumstances due to the body's aging, the wear and tear it has endured (although that can vary widely based on the person and how they have lived) and so forth. For example, an older person will tend to be more frail and fragile than someone that is younger or middle-aged. A person that is older will have had more wear and tear and this goes double if that older person has heart disease and/or diabetes, just to name two things that can go wrong (Cavanaugh

However, people of more advanced age have different mental needs. They are at a different point in their life than younger or middle-aged people and this is true in a number of ways. They will have different friends, will engage in different social activities and they will have different mental health needs. People that are younger will often be married and/or have children. Older adults, if they had kids, are probably now empty-nesters and it could also be true that their spouse has died due to old age or health issues like cancer, diabetes and other disorders. In short, the special support that is offered to older adults needs to be tailored to older adults and the unique lives and lifestyles that they have compared to younger and middle-aged adults. A one-size-fits-all approach will not work. Just like cultural differences matter, the same can be said of age-based differences. As noted in an earlier answer, there are always outliers. Some older adults are very physically fit and some are very mentally sharp even in older ages like the 70's and 80's. At the same time, cancer patients in their later years will tend to have certain needs and needs will differ from the needs of those who are younger (Cavanaugh

4. Can the models of person-environment interactions be complementary or are they fully competing models? Support your responses.

The answer to this is "it depends" because some models will complement and otherwise interact fairly good to very well while model pairs will be like oil and water. For example, if a person is an introvert, there will be situations where that person will tend to do very poorly, there will be situations where it will be great and there will be situations where it will depend. For example, if an introvert is home alone, they will probably be just fine. If that same person is in a crowded room at a party, they will probably not do so well. They will probably be shy, cling to the wall and the chances that they will make introductions of themselves or otherwise be comfortable is not all that great. In between those two, a small gathering of friends where the introvert knows the people involved would probably be fine. If one took an extrovert, the situation would be reversed. The extrovert would probably be averse to being cooped and alone but they would revel in being in a crowd of people. A common theme from prior answers is that there are always outliers. Some people may tend to be introverted but they may do well in crowds if they need to be. The gist to take from this is that person/environment combinations that are clearly at odds will present problems while other combinations can be complementary. However, whether there is discord or symbiosis will obviously depend on the context and the details of the situation and the people involved. No wide-ranging summary is going to be true in all instances (Cavanaugh

5. What are the stereotypes about memory performance in older adults? What does the research suggest about each of these areas: myth versus reality?

Coming back to a common theme in the answers for this assignment, stereotypes and broad-based assumptions are not always true or helpful. For example, it is commonly held that drinking excessive amounts of soda is detrimental to one's health. Similarly, having a high caloric intake over time can be extremely damaging for a person in many situations. However, there are always….....

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