Adulthood and Old Age

1
Adulthood and Old Age

• Chapter 12

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Adults

• Human adults are at their prime between the ages
  of 18 and 30. This is when they are strongest,
  healthiest and quickest
• Between the ages of 45 and 50 women go through a
  stage of their life called climacteric/menopause.
  This consists of biological and psychological
  changes.

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Menopause

• During this time a womans production of sex
  hormones drops significantly
• During menopause a woman stops ovulating and
  menstruating causing her to be unable to have
  children anymore.

4
Women continued

• Sometimes a mothers last child to leave home
  will cause a woman to experience empty nest
  syndrome.
• This is basically depression caused by no longer
  having her children dependent on her.
• Depression affects people of all ages but most
  commonly it affects middle aged woman

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Elderly

• A small percentage of elderly develop senile
  dementia.
• This is a condition characterized by memory loss,
  forgetfulness, disorientation of time and place
  and altered personality
• Anybody want to share any stories of people they
  know that went through this?

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Alzheimers Disease

• Most common form of senile dementia is
  Alzheimers Disease
• This is an affliction more commonly seen in the
  elderly. Its the fourth leading cause of death
  in U.S. adults
• 35 million people worldwide are known at have the
  disease today

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Death and dying

• Thanatology is the study of death and dying
• Elizabeth Kubler- Ross studied patients who knew
  they were dying and came up with five stages they
  go through.

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Kubler-Rosss Five Stages

• Denial- thinking that the doctor must be wrong,
  not acknowledging the truth
• Anger- People think why me?
• Bargaining- people think they can bargain in
  order to just by a little extra time with the
  powers to be
• Depression people fill with despair and wonder
  whats the use of living another day
• Acceptance- person reasons they have had a good
  life and are ready to die.