Download or read book Making Meaning in Older Age written by Annette M. Lane RN PhD and published by Word Alive Press. This book was released on 2017-01-25 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Making meaning in life can be challenging at any age. However, making and sustaining meaning in advancing age can be especially difficult due to physiological changes, declining health, and multiple losses. From years of personal and professional experience, and with much warmth, the authors address the multifaceted nature of meaning and offer practical ways in which older adults can find and sustain meaning despite the transitions experienced with advancing age. They also offer ways in which family members can help their aging loved ones in their journey of meaning-making. Bringing together the pieces of one’s life through meaning-making is vital for older adults and offers a precious gift for their loved ones!

Download or read book Making Meaningful Lives written by Iza Kavedžija and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2019-07-26 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What makes for a meaningful life? In the Japanese context, the concept of ikigai provides a clue. Translated as "that which makes one's life worth living," ikigai has also come to mean that which gives a person happiness. In Japan, where the demographic cohort of elderly citizens is growing, and new modes of living and relationships are revising traditional multigenerational family structures, the elderly experience of ikigai is considered a public health concern. Without a relevant model for meaningful and joyful older age, the increasing older population of Japan must create new cultural forms that center the ikigai that comes from old age. In Making Meaningful Lives, Iza Kavedžija provides a rich anthropological account of the lives and concerns of older Japanese women and men. Grounded in years of ethnographic fieldwork at two community centers in Osaka, Kavedžija offers an intimate narrative analysis of the existential concerns of her active, independent subjects. Alone and in groups, the elderly residents of these communities make sense of their lives and shifting ikigai with humor, conversation, and storytelling. They are as much providers as recipients of care, challenging common images of the elderly as frail and dependent, while illustrating a more complex argument: maintaining independence nevertheless requires cultivating multiple dependences on others. Making Meaningful Lives argues that an anthropology of the elderly is uniquely suited to examine the competing values of dependence and independence, sociality and isolation, intimacy and freedom, that people must balance throughout all of life's stages.

Download or read book Age Identity and Making Sense of Meaning in the Lives of Older Adults written by Jessica Anne Gish and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Disrupt Aging written by Jo Ann Jenkins and published by Public Affairs. This book was released on 2016-04-05 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book "sets out to change the current conversation about what it means to get older. In it, Jenkins chronicles her own journey, as well as those of others who are making their mark as disrupters, to show readers how we can all be active, financially unburdened, and happy as we get older. It's [a] ... narrative that touches on all the important issues facing people 50+ today, from caregiving and mindful living to building age-friendly communities and attaining financial freedom"--

Download or read book Cognitive Aging written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-07-21 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For most Americans, staying "mentally sharp" as they age is a very high priority. Declines in memory and decision-making abilities may trigger fears of Alzheimer's disease or other neurodegenerative diseases. However, cognitive aging is a natural process that can have both positive and negative effects on cognitive function in older adults - effects that vary widely among individuals. At this point in time, when the older population is rapidly growing in the United States and across the globe, it is important to examine what is known about cognitive aging and to identify and promote actions that individuals, organizations, communities, and society can take to help older adults maintain and improve their cognitive health. Cognitive Aging assesses the public health dimensions of cognitive aging with an emphasis on definitions and terminology, epidemiology and surveillance, prevention and intervention, education of health professionals, and public awareness and education. This report makes specific recommendations for individuals to reduce the risks of cognitive decline with aging. Aging is inevitable, but there are actions that can be taken by individuals, families, communities, and society that may help to prevent or ameliorate the impact of aging on the brain, understand more about its impact, and help older adults live more fully and independent lives. Cognitive aging is not just an individual or a family or a health care system challenge. It is an issue that affects the fabric of society and requires actions by many and varied stakeholders. Cognitive Aging offers clear steps that individuals, families, communities, health care providers and systems, financial organizations, community groups, public health agencies, and others can take to promote cognitive health and to help older adults live fuller and more independent lives. Ultimately, this report calls for a societal commitment to cognitive aging as a public health issue that requires prompt action across many sectors.

Download or read book Gray Matters written by Ellyn Lem and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2020-08-28 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gray Matters: Finding Meaning in the Stories of Later Life examines films, literature, and art that focus on aging, often made by people who are over sixty-five. These texts are analyzed alongside recent gerontology research and extensive commentary from interviews and surveys of seniors to show how "stories" illuminate the dynamics of growing old by blending fact with imagination, giving a fuller picture of the aging process.

Download or read book When I m 64 written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2006-02-13 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By 2030 there will be about 70 million people in the United States who are older than 64. Approximately 26 percent of these will be racial and ethnic minorities. Overall, the older population will be more diverse and better educated than their earlier cohorts. The range of late-life outcomes is very dramatic with old age being a significantly different experience for financially secure and well-educated people than for poor and uneducated people. The early mission of behavioral science research focused on identifying problems of older adults, such as isolation, caregiving, and dementia. Today, the field of gerontology is more interdisciplinary. When I'm 64 examines how individual and social behavior play a role in understanding diverse outcomes in old age. It also explores the implications of an aging workforce on the economy. The book recommends that the National Institute on Aging focus its research support in social, personality, and life-span psychology in four areas: motivation and behavioral change; socioemotional influences on decision-making; the influence of social engagement on cognition; and the effects of stereotypes on self and others. When I'm 64 is a useful resource for policymakers, researchers and medical professionals.

Download or read book The End of Old Age written by Marc E. Argonin and published by Da Capo Lifelong Books. This book was released on 2018-01-16 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The acclaimed author of How We Age, whose "descriptive powers are a gift to readers" (Sherwin Nuland), presents a hopeful and practical model of aging -- a guide to understanding how we can all make the journey better. As one of America's leading geriatric psychiatrists, Dr. Marc Agronin sees both the sickest and the healthiest of seniors. He observes what works to make their lives better and more purposeful and what doesn't. Many authors can talk about aging from their particular vantage points, but Dr. Agronin is on the front lines as he counsels and treats elderly individuals and their loved ones on a daily basis. The latest scientific research and Dr. Agronin's first-hand experience are brilliantly distilled in The End of Old Age -- a call to no longer see aging as an implacable enemy and to start seeing it as a developmental force for enhancing well-being, meaning, and longevity. Throughout The End of Old Age, the focus is squarely on "So what does this mean for me and my family?" In the final part of the book, Dr. Agronin provides simple but revealing charts that you can fill out to identify, develop, and optimize your unique age-given strengths. It's nothing short of an action plan to help you age better by improving how you value the aging process, guide yourself through stress, and find ways to creatively address change for the best possible experience and outcome.

Download or read book Epigenetics of Aging written by Trygve O. Tollefsbol and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-11-11 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent studies have indicated that epigenetic processes may play a major role in both cellular and organismal aging. These epigenetic processes include not only DNA methylation and histone modifications, but also extend to many other epigenetic mediators such as the polycomb group proteins, chromosomal position effects, and noncoding RNA. The topics of this book range from fundamental changes in DNA methylation in aging to the most recent research on intervention into epigenetic modifications to modulate the aging process. The major topics of epigenetics and aging covered in this book are: 1) DNA methylation and histone modifications in aging; 2) Other epigenetic processes and aging; 3) Impact of epigenetics on aging; 4) Epigenetics of age-related diseases; 5) Epigenetic interventions and aging: and 6) Future directions in epigenetic aging research. The most studied of epigenetic processes, DNA methylation, has been associated with cellular aging and aging of organisms for many years. It is now apparent that both global and gene-specific alterations occur not only in DNA methylation during aging, but also in several histone alterations. Many epigenetic alterations can have an impact on aging processes such as stem cell aging, control of telomerase, modifications of telomeres, and epigenetic drift can impact the aging process as evident in the recent studies of aging monozygotic twins. Numerous age-related diseases are affected by epigenetic mechanisms. For example, recent studies have shown that DNA methylation is altered in Alzheimer’s disease and autoimmunity. Other prevalent diseases that have been associated with age-related epigenetic changes include cancer and diabetes. Paternal age and epigenetic changes appear to have an effect on schizophrenia and epigenetic silencing has been associated with several of the progeroid syndromes of premature aging. Moreover, the impact of dietary or drug intervention into epigenetic processes as they affect normal aging or age-related diseases is becoming increasingly feasible.

Download or read book Happiness Is a Choice You Make written by John Leland and published by Sarah Crichton Books. This book was released on 2018-01-23 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Bestseller! An extraordinary look at what it means to grow old and a heartening guide to well-being, Happiness Is a Choice You Make weaves together the stories and wisdom of six New Yorkers who number among the “oldest old”— those eighty-five and up. In 2015, when the award-winning journalist John Leland set out on behalf of The New York Times to meet members of America’s fastest-growing age group, he anticipated learning of challenges, of loneliness, and of the deterioration of body, mind, and quality of life. But the elders he met took him in an entirely different direction. Despite disparate backgrounds and circumstances, they each lived with a surprising lightness and contentment. The reality Leland encountered upended contemporary notions of aging, revealing the late stages of life as unexpectedly rich and the elderly as incomparably wise. Happiness Is a Choice You Make is an enduring collection of lessons that emphasizes, above all, the extraordinary influence we wield over the quality of our lives. With humility, heart, and wit, Leland has crafted a sophisticated and necessary reflection on how to “live better”—informed by those who have mastered the art.

Download or read book Families Caring for an Aging America written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-11-08 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.

Download or read book Ageism Unmasked written by Tracey Gendron and published by Steerforth. This book was released on 2022-03-01 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do we still tolerate stereotypes and discrimination based on age? This bold account of the history and present-day realities of ageism by a nationally recognized gerontologist and speaker uncovers ageism's roots, impact, and how each of us can create a new reality of elderhood. Ageism Unmasked shifts the lens, enabling us to see that we tolerate, and sometimes actively promote, attitudes and behaviors toward differently aged people that we would reject and condemn if applied to any other group. It peels back the layers to expose how cultural norms and unconscious prejudices have seeped into our lives, silently shaping our treatment of others based on their age and our own misconceptions about aging—and about ourselves. Offering an all-inclusive approach, Dr. Tracey Gendron reveals the biases behind our false understanding of aging, sharing powerful opportunities for personal growth along with strategies to help create an anti-ageist society. Ageism Unmasked will help readers let go of our desperate need to stay young… exposing how we personally, systematically, structurally, and institutionally stigmatize being old. Ageism Unmasked will help readers appreciate both the challenges and opportunities of how we all age… showing how ageism is prejudice towards both younger and older people. Ageism Unmasked will help readers reset our expectations for getting old… providing the tools to anticipate and experience elderhood as a time of renewed meaning and purpose, empowering each of us to create our own definition of successful aging. Ageism Unmasked continues Dr. Gendron's transformative work inspiring people of all ages to embrace aging as our universal and lifelong process of developing over time — biologically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually.

Download or read book Ageism Unmasked written by Tracey Gendron and published by Steerforth. This book was released on 2022-03-01 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do we still tolerate stereotypes and discrimination based on age? This bold account of the history and present-day realities of ageism by a nationally recognized gerontologist and speaker uncovers ageism's roots, impact, and how each of us can create a new reality of elderhood. Ageism Unmasked shifts the lens, enabling us to see that we tolerate, and sometimes actively promote, attitudes and behaviors toward differently aged people that we would reject and condemn if applied to any other group. It peels back the layers to expose how cultural norms and unconscious prejudices have seeped into our lives, silently shaping our treatment of others based on their age and our own misconceptions about aging—and about ourselves. Offering an all-inclusive approach, Dr. Tracey Gendron reveals the biases behind our false understanding of aging, sharing powerful opportunities for personal growth along with strategies to help create an anti-ageist society. Ageism Unmasked will help readers let go of our desperate need to stay young… exposing how we personally, systematically, structurally, and institutionally stigmatize being old. Ageism Unmasked will help readers appreciate both the challenges and opportunities of how we all age… showing how ageism is prejudice towards both younger and older people. Ageism Unmasked will help readers reset our expectations for getting old… providing the tools to anticipate and experience elderhood as a time of renewed meaning and purpose, empowering each of us to create our own definition of successful aging. Ageism Unmasked continues Dr. Gendron's transformative work inspiring people of all ages to embrace aging as our universal and lifelong process of developing over time — biologically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually.

Download or read book Elderhood written by Louise Aronson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2019-06-11 with total page 467 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction A New York Times Bestseller Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Winner of the WSU AOS Bonner Book Award Winner of the 2022 At Home With Growing Older Impact Award As revelatory as Atul Gawande's Being Mortal, physician and award-winning author Louise Aronson's Elderhood is an essential, empathetic look at a vital but often disparaged stage of life. For more than 5,000 years, "old" has been defined as beginning between the ages of 60 and 70. That means most people alive today will spend more years in elderhood than in childhood, and many will be elders for 40 years or more. Yet at the very moment that humans are living longer than ever before, we've made old age into a disease, a condition to be dreaded, denigrated, neglected, and denied. Reminiscent of Oliver Sacks, noted Harvard-trained geriatrician Louise Aronson uses stories from her quarter century of caring for patients, and draws from history, science, literature, popular culture, and her own life to weave a vision of old age that's neither nightmare nor utopian fantasy--a vision full of joy, wonder, frustration, outrage, and hope about aging, medicine, and humanity itself. Elderhood is for anyone who is, in the author's own words, "an aging, i.e., still-breathing human being."

Download or read book Older Adults in Adventure Education written by Drew Brennan and published by VDM Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adventure education in the U.S. has long been understood from within the context of young adults in adventure education programs. Adventure education programs have historically treated young people as the target audience of their programs. Meanwhile, social scienctists continue to alert us of an "agewave," whereby aging baby boomers will populate social corridors that never have been asked to accommodate them. As the baby boom generation in the U.S. and elsewhere begins to enter older adult hood, educators will be faced with this wave. This study of older adult experience in adventure education explores the inner experience of older adults while participating in a remote backpacking trip. Professionals in the social sciences, education, and gerontology will appreciate this study which further defines the world of older adult education and experiential education. The findings of this study are located within 3 themes of older adult reflection (connecting to values, time, and health), as well as researcher observations about how reflection in adventure education supported learning and higher development for older adults.. Five key observations describe how reflection in adventure education supported older adult learning and higher development in this study. These observations included: 1) Participants engaged in a process of reconsidering their values, and 2) Participant reflection process resembled reminiscence and life review.

Download or read book Changepower written by Meg Selig and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-03-17 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Changepower! 37 Secrets to Habit Change Success, author Meg Selig guides readers through a step-by-step process that will help them achieve any habit change goal. Whether the reader wants to break a hurtful habit like smoking or overeating, or build a healthy habit like exercising or speaking up, Changepower! provides a springboard for change. Selig helps habit-changers move beyond willpower and succeed with changepower - the synergy that comes from combining willpower with other resources, useful outside supports, and wise strategies. In Changepower!, she shows habit-changers how to beef up both their willpower and their changepower to achieve habit change success. The key is revving up motivation. Selig reveals the most powerful motivators for change - pain motivators, the Eight Great Motivators, and even not-so-noble motivators. Research has shown that most changes take place in stages rather than overnight. Selig provides a step-by-step plan for each stage, leaving plenty of room for flexibility depending on each person’s needs. First-person stories, pithy quotes, and how-to exercises provide inspiration, humor, and encouragement as readers embark on their habit change journeys.

Download or read book Changing Aging Changing Family Therapy written by Paul R. Peluso and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2012-04-27 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the baby boomers move into retirement and later stages of life, gerontology and geriatrics have begun to receive much more attention. Changing Aging, Changing Family Therapy explores the ways in which family therapists’ expertise in systems theory makes them uniquely qualified to take a leading role in helping families and individuals cope with the challenges and changed circumstances that aging brings. Clinicians will find detailed coverage and practical guidelines on a wealth of vital topics, including coping with the illness of a parent or partner, working past retirement age, outliving one’s savings, preserving physical and mental well-being over time, and more.