Different Challenges and Situations Throughout Life and the Aging Process - Essay Example

The Various Phases of Aging of The various phases of aging have been analyzed after interviewing Dr. Safia, a doctor by profession. She is 73 years old and is living an active and healthy life. The questionnaire was prepared to find out how she felt and responded to different challenges and situations throughout her life. In the light of her experiences, it was inferred that socio-economic, cultural, hereditary, and biological factors greatly influence the aging process. The toughest part in her life was handling her emotional problems that resulted from her broken marriage. She learnt to take decisions for herself and for her only daughter at a rather early age, as her circumstances had forced her to mature earlier than other girls of her age. Keywords: aging, experiences, socio economic, emotional problems, maturity etc. Introduction Dr. Safia is over 70 years of age. Born in a small village of India in 1935, she had to struggle her way as a single mother while continuing her education in pursuit of building a career. She is currently working for a charity hospital in its maternity ward. She responded very well to the questionnaire I prepared, and I got an insight of her life through her detailed answers. Thus the analysis of her aging process is valid and reliable. I learnt from her, when she was asked about her education, that she got married when she finished her high school, at the age of 15. However, she resumed her education after two years, when her marriage dissolved. The reason for her divorce was giving birth to a girl- something that was almost considered as a sin, back in the early-twentieth century Indian sub continent. This incident has made a deep impact upon her personality and in forming relationships in later life. Consequently, she never remarried, nor she ever developed any intimate feelings for another man and dedicated her life to the upbringing of her only daughter. When asked what changes her education brought to her life, she replied that it enabled her to fight her circumstances in a much better way. When she resumed her education, she had a goal to achieve. She was more mature than girls of her own age, due to her marriage-divorce episode. Her maturation helped her in pursuing her career as a doctor and it also made her really strong. She said that it was really a difficult job for a woman to lead a single life, yet she accepted the challenges of life and made it through. Today, she lives with her daughter and grandchildren and enjoys an active life. Dr. Safia led a healthy life but with age, she has developed hypertension. She is also suffering from arthritis and thyroid-gland disorder, but her mental health is fine. “Arthritis is the most common chronic health problem of older adults.” (p.151)She is coping well with her medical problems by taking proper medication and tries to avoid financial and physical dependency on anyone, as much as possible. However, she seems to be emotionally dependant on her daughter and her family to a great extent; though she has a small social circle of her old friends with whom she chats on phone or meets from time to time. During her conversations with her old friends, she usually shares the memories of her past- that shows that aged people have strong tendency of reminiscing about their past. “The reason for telling a story may affect its accuracy or embellishment, which then affects memory.” (p.177) Dr. Safia vividly remembers her childhood, adulthood, college life and most events that occurred in the near past and demonstrated very good memory; but her learning process as an individual and a doctor has declined. She is not updated with the current research in the medical field. “Nearly half of adults in the United States receive scores representing the lowest levels of literacy in a survey. Surprisingly, these adults represent all level of education and occupations.” (p.278) Though she wishes to learn how to use computer or to operate all features of mobile phones other than simply dialing numbers or receiving calls- yet she has been unable to do so. Sometimes, she gets confused while using her mobile phone and she doesn’t know how to type text messages. When she was young, she indulged in creative activities like stitching, knitting, reading, and cooking; but now she can’t learn new recipes or new patterns of knitting, even if she wishes to. Psychometric researchers assume that creativity is the same for scientists, artists, and others, Gardner suggests that it is multi-factorial and may operate differently in different fields… creativity starts with a high degree of talent in one or more cognitive areas, but talent is not the whole story. Creativity is the web of biological, personal, social, and cultural forces. (Papalia, Sterns, Feldman, 2006, p.222) She has always felt strong in her spirituality, so much so that she actually converted from Hinduism to Islam when she was 30 years of age. Converting religion was not that easy as it might seem today- family and social pressures used to be highly discouraging, if someone wished to change belief. This radical step of hers at a young age demonstrates her will power, strength, maturity to take decisions, and determination to live her life according to what she believes is right. So, it is obvious that apart from education, her personal and socio-economic circumstances and experiences helped her in taking decisions for herself. She developed her own philosophy of life and gained wisdom with the hardships she faced as a single mother and a convert. It also had deep effects on her personality and relationships. Her parents and brothers disowned her for converting to Islam. Therefore, she derived strength from her spirituality and belief in God and learnt to live a life of isolation from her immediate family. Her revolutionary spirit might have made her switch her religion but she adheres strongly to the customs and traditions of society, most of which were common in Hinduism and Islam. She also confirms to the mentality of society and culture that had she borne a male child, she would not have had to suffer so much. She mentally lives in her past and constantly tries to relate the present circumstances with those of the past, which result in confusion. She has a habit of defining relationships and friendships according to old school of thought. When she was about 50 years of age, she got an opportunity to travel to the UK and Canada to reconcile with her brothers, who had broken all sorts of communication with her for almost two decades. She remembers accurately all the details of her visit even today. Twenty years later, she again got a chance to visit her grandson who lived in the UK. There is a huge difference in her remembering the incidents of the visit she paid when she was seventy. In her second visit, she complained about her arthritis and the chilly weather. She also faced adjustment problems, which most old people exhibit when exposed to a new environment. Though she is financially strong and independent, yet she has difficulty in coping with her emotional turmoil. The strong repercussions of her past of being divorced and later disowned by her own parents render her unstable emotional condition. The only regret of her life, in her own words is: “… I was not duly loved or respected by anyone- except for my son-in-law, who understood me and accepted me for who I was.” Old age is a phenomenon that is defined by many biological, cultural, social, and environmental factors. Loneliness becomes one of the major issues with old people like Dr. Safia, who wish to seek comfort in the company of their family and friends. Older adults need love and support of their families and friends to lead the rest of their lives in a caring atmosphere. Their psyche needs to be understood in the light of their lifetime experiences and expectations regarding their emotional responses and dependencies should be framed accordingly. References Papalia, D., Sterns, H., & Feldman, R. (2006). Adult development and aging. New York, NY: Mc-Graw Hill. Read More