Social Work: Intervention Strategies for an Elderly Arab Man Who Lost His Wife - Research Paper Example

? Social Work: Intervention strategies for an elderly Arab man who lost his wife Bio-Psychosocial History/Assessment  Man is a social animal who likes to lead a life in company of others. Normal people never like to lead a lonely life whereas people with introvert personalities or psychological problems may try to avoid the company of others. In the case of Arab people, socializing has more importance. Arabs usually like to spend more time with their family and friends. In fact Arabs consider lonely life as a life equivalent to death. The life of elderly Arabs especially that of an elderly Arab man who lost his wife would be pathetic. Such a scenario would create lot of biological, psychological and social problems. It isn’t unusual to become apathetic after losing the person you loved. You may feel you can’t be bothered to wash or get dressed – all you want to do is pull the bedclothes over your head and hide. You may think nothing has much point any more. The very idea of enjoying yourself again is unthinkable. This apathy is a form of depression and quite understandable, although you’re less likely to suffer from it if there’s a routine you must stick to, such as looking after children or going to work (National Association of Widows 2007, p.9). Depression is one of the most common psychological problems generated among elderly people because of the loss of partners. “It has been estimated that perhaps somewhere between 10 and 30 percent depressives and manic depressives kill themselves” (Klein, & Wender, 2005, p.1). In some cases, depression may motivate people to kill others also. In other words, depression developed among elderly people may generate social or family problems also. It is difficult to leave a depressive person alone in home. The supervision of somebody is necessary for the elderly depressive patient all the time to prevent from him showing some harsh behaviors. Genetically, a person’s physical and mental strength may decline when he approaches his end of life situations. The absolute uncertainties about life after death may create lot of psychological problems among such people. Such people normally share their thoughts with the partners to relive their emotional problems. The death of wife may prevent an elderly man from doing so. Thus, his emotions and stresses will get accumulate in his mind as time goes on and an emotional catharsis may take place at some stages of his life. Proper support from the family members and the society is necessary for him to sustain his life in a healthy way. “When a partner dies, we often wish we’d done more for them. Even if your relationship was happy, you can always think of things you ‘should’ have said or done” (National Association of Widows 2007, p.10). Such thoughts will haunt the life of an elderly both in day and night. He may not get proper sleep during night time because of such irritating thoughts because of guilty feeling. “The magnitude of the marital bereavement effect on mortality seems to vary with age and Sex” (Tomassini et al., n.d., p.321). Many studies have proved that men tend to show more sorrow when they lose their partners than women. In other words, the life of a widower is extremely difficult than the life of a widow. Research Report  The main risk factors for alcoholism in the elderly subject are loneliness, death of the spouse and the presence of an invalid or bedridden spouse. In the elderly, tolerance to and dependence on alcohol are rare and appear late. Psychiatric complications include anxiety, depression and especially suicide (Ades & Lejoyeux, p.1994, p.1439). Even though alcoholism is comparatively less in Arab countries compared to western countries, some of the recent reports showed that even Arab people started to use alcohol quiet frequently as the westerners. Cultural reasons or religious beliefs earlier prevented Arab people from tasting alcohol; however, the close interactions with western culture did succeed in spreading alcoholism in Arab countries also. An Arab elderly who lost his wife may definitely think of tasting alcohol for getting rid of his emotional problems. Such people may become addicts quiet easily because of their lack of hope for a happy life. Chu et al. (2008) pointed out that an elderly person who loses his wife may not accept the reality and he may develop difficulties in adjusting to life after his wife's death. Moreover he may develop tense and distant relationship the beloved ones (Chu et al., 2008, p.90). All these things can develop suicide tendency in the mind of that person. Feelings of loneliness, helplessness, hopelessness and incapability haunt such people throughout their life after the death of their wives. The details of a study conducted by Azaiza et al in 2010, about the consequences of losing of wife upon an Arab elderly are given below. Death and dying anxiety were examined among elderly Arab Muslims in Israel. A total of 145 people aged 60 and over were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire. Nursing home residents reported higher death anxiety than others; women and uneducated participants reported greater levels of fear of death and dying than others. There were no differences based on religiosity. Death anxiety was related to gender and education for elderly living in the community, but social support and self-esteem were additional correlates for those living in nursing homes. The results of this study indicate that fostering a sense that one has a supportive social and familial network is important in decreasing death and dying anxiety among elderly Arab people. It would also be beneficial to provide information and knowledge that might relieve some of the anxiety they experience (Azaiza et al., 2010, p.351). Arab Muslims are comparatively less educated than people of other religions. In fact Islam gives less importance to education than other religions because of some cultural beliefs. Education is important for a person to identify the realities of life. An Arab elderly who has less education may struggle to overcome the stress and emotional problems generated by the loss of his wife. Such people may think that there is no point in extending their life further and they may try to commit suicide in extreme cases. The loss of wife may prevent an Arab elderly from enjoying further sexual life. In otherwise the sexual life of an elderly person ends while his wife dies. Most of the elderly people would not like to have sex with others even though they may have the desire for sexual life. it should be noted that majority of the mental strains and agonizing thoughts will be get relieved while a person have sex with his wife. In the case of the Arab elderly who lost his wife, release of tensions through sex is difficult unless he remarries. Intervention Strategy Chan et al (2010) have stressed the importance of social support in preventing depression (Chan et al, 2010, p.46). Social support can play a major role in helping an Arab elderly to come out of the problems generated from the loss of wife. There are plenty of charity organizations in the Arab world which provide counseling services to the needy people. Even telephone counseling is available in many of the Arab countries. However, direct or face to face counseling is more effective than indirect counseling methods. It is difficult for a counselor to identify the emotional problems of a person though telephone. The assessment of body languages is important for a counselor to provide suitable counseling to the people who face emotional problems or depression. All the family members of the Arab elderly, who lost wife, should behave sympathetically to him. In order to achieve that objective family therapy or family counseling is necessary. Even a single unfavorable incident generated in the family may affect the Arab elderly drastically. The Arab elderly should develop a feeling that the end of the road is reached yet and there are miles to travel before reaching the destination. In order to generate that feeling, all the family members should behave properly with him. Ensuring proper socialization is another way of helping the Arab elderly to come out from his virtual world or world of imagination. It should be noted that an Arab elderly who lost his wife may try to stay away from others. He may not take part in social gatherings or family get together. It is necessary to motivate him to attend such social gatherings to get proper socializing. Man is a social animal who needs proper interactions with others to maintain good mental health. Depression could be the major psychological problem generated by the Arab elderly as a result of the loss of his wife. Antidepressants are available in the market for treating depression patients. The combined effect of medicines and counseling may help the Arab elderly to come out of his problems. In other words, a social worker should ensure the services of a psychiatrist to the Arab elderly who lost his wife. In short, a social worker should the Arab elderly to come out of his virtual world to real world with the help of counseling, support from family members, healthcare professionals etc. References Azaiza, F., Ron, P., Shoham, M., Gigini, I.(2010). Death and Dying Anxiety Among Elderly Arab Muslims in Israel. Death Studies, Apr2010, Vol. 34 Issue 4, p351-364, Ades J &Lejoyeux M (1994). Addictive behavior in the elderly. La Revue Du Praticien [Rev Prat], 1994 Jun 1; Vol. 44 (11), pp. 1439-42 Chan E.K. H., Limoges K. M,& Fung T.S. (2010). Functional Social Support and Major Depression In Cancer Patients. Psychology Journal, 2010 ISSN: 1931-5694 Vol. 7, No. 2. pp. 46-50 Chu HC, Chow PC & Hu L. Z. (2008). Providing grief counseling to a major depressive elderly widower: a nurse's experience.The Journal Of Nursing, 2008 Oct; Vol. 55 (5), pp. 90-6; Klein, D. F. MD & Wender, P. MD. (2005). Understanding Depression: A Complete Guide to its Diagnosis and Treatment. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Revised edition (May 12, 2005) National Association of Widows (2007). Losing your partner. Online booklet accompanying the BBC Two programme The Widow’s Tale. Retrieved from http://www.nawidows.org.uk/documents/losing_your_partner_booklet2.pdf Tomassini C, Rosina A, Skytthe A & Christensen K. (n.d.) The Effect of Losing the Twin and Losing the Spouse on Mortality. Retrieved from http://www.sis-statistica.it/files/pdf/atti/RSMi0602p321-324.pdf Read More