Aging & Mental Healh

With aging there may be many adaptations that need to be met. The environment may need to be changed to enhance life. Mental health is greatly effected by the environment that an elder has to live in. “…Adults are likely to live in environments and contingency patterns similar to those of the middle adulthood.” Elders may not

be able to adapt physically to things that the young can. Having a change in the environment may either help or harm the older person. They may not be able to compensate for the change, or may adapt quite well. Older adults may modify their behavior without realizing it in order to adapt to changes. Smyer and Qualls bring up the point that nursing homes challenge the adaptability and well being of elders. This happens because activities are so structured that they don’t leave room for change.

Little research has been done to find out the effects that stress has on the elderly. There is not enough information about the stresses that the older population has to deal with. It is necessary to find out how each person is at coping with stress, if they are vulnerable, and measure current stress levels. An older person may use factors that help them relieve stress, or absorb the impact.

Strain on an individual can effect their mental health. “The links between stress and the immune system functioning have received a great deal of research and clinical attention.” Stressful events are related to how the immune system functions. The event will also effect the type of response that the immune needs to give. If a person is stressed about factors in their life, it is likely that an illness will follow in response. Lazarus says, “Some have argued that everyday stress or hassles have a larger impact on health and well-being than life events that occur relatively infrequently.” Daily life struggles are prominent in a person’s life and can lead to deterioration.

In the assessment of the individual, it is important to know how the person perceives the stress, and if there are any indicators of stress. It is necessary to find out how that person assesses the stress they are experiencing. This will show how the elder is dealing with the event. Coyne and Downey suggest the use on interviews to figure out the amount of stress the person is experiencing. It is good to have questions designed to make the elder think. This will help determine the level of functioning that the person is at. There is a test that is widely used called the Ways of Coping Scale.

Some topics in this essay:
Depression Scale, Coping Scale, Smyer Qualls, Coyne Downey, Mental Health, mental health, behavioral model, stress coping, stress coping model, determine level, effects stress, person coping, modify behavior, behaviors behavior, coping model, immune system,