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One thing I find interesting and yet disturbing is the lack of care for adults who may require a nursing home. Right now, especially so in NH, many of the nursing homes are full and have a shortage of staff. Because of the staff shortage the residents of some nursing homes are not receiving adequate care and are being neglected. The government assists the disabled and those with low income to a degree but appears to have really lacked assisting the elderly in receiving the care and facilities they require. Another interesting study within this topic was that a nursing home did a study on residents allowing some residents to have a sense of control. About half of the residents of this group lived longer than those who were not given any control over their decisions and life.  This goes to show how important taking control of our lives is to our health!  In the future I will certainly keep these studies in mind- for my own health!

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Well watching the Ted Talk by Laura Carstensen Something cough my attention. She said in the year 2015 there will be more 60 year olds and older in the United States then there will be people fifteen and under. She also said it is scientifically proven that old people are happier. Even if I did not know this fact I would have guessed that old people are happier because they have seen so much and they understand that life is just too short to be upset about something. She said that she was part of a study that had a group of older people and a group of younger people and they put pictures of different people’s faces that had scattered emotions in front of the two groups. The outcome was amazing she stated that the older people looked more at the faces with smiles or people laughing, well the younger group tended to look more at the faces that where upset or crying. Now this does not mean automatically that older people are happy, but she goes on throughout her Ted Talk and explains to the audience all the different studied and examinations the she and a team of scientist have done. The second thing that caught my attention in this week’s lesson was When Jane Fonda was speaking for her Ted Talk she quoted Viktor Frankl. Frankl was a German psychiatrist who had spent 5 years in a Nazi concentration camp. He wrote a book saying that he was looking around the camp thinking about if they were every released who would be okay after and who would not. He Wrote  “Everything you have in life can be takin from you, except one thing. Your freedom to chooses how you will respond to the situation. This is what determines the quality of the life we have lived. Not weather we have been rich or poor, famous or unknown, healthy or suffering. What determines our quality of life is how we relate to these reality’s, what  kind of meaning we assignee them what kind of attitude we cling to about them. What state of mind we allow them to trigger?” This quote says it all for me. Life is what you make it essentially and I believe that to the fullest.   

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Well watching the Ted Talk by Laura Carstensen Something cough my attention. She said in the year 2015 there will be more 60 year olds and older in the United States then there will be people fifteen and under. She also said it is scientifically proven that old people are happier. Even if I did not know this fact I would have guessed that old people are happier because they have seen so much and they understand that life is just too short to be upset about something. She said that she was part of a study that had a group of older people and a group of younger people and they put pictures of different people’s faces that had scattered emotions in front of the two groups. The outcome was amazing she stated that the older people looked more at the faces with smiles or people laughing, well the younger group tended to look more at the faces that where upset or crying. Now this does not mean automatically that older people are happy, but she goes on throughout her Ted Talk and explains to the audience all the different studied and examinations the she and a team of scientist have done. The second thing that caught my attention in this week’s lesson was When Jane Fonda was speaking for her Ted Talk she quoted Viktor Frankl. Frankl was a German psychiatrist who had spent 5 years in a Nazi concentration camp. He wrote a book saying that he was looking around the camp thinking about if they were every released who would be okay after and who would not. He Wrote  “Everything you have in life can be takin from you, except one thing. Your freedom to chooses how you will respond to the situation. This is what determines the quality of the life we have lived. Not weather we have been rich or poor, famous or unknown, healthy or suffering. What determines our quality of life is how we relate to these reality’s, what  kind of meaning we assignee them what kind of attitude we cling to about them. What state of mind we allow them to trigger?” This quote says it all for me. Life is what you make it essentially and I believe that to the fullest.   

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- Richard Mahoney

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In the Ted Talk, it talks about how older people are happier. They have much less stress because I feel like over a period of your life, people go through changes and tragedy which is more important than trivial things.  What seemed important in our 20's suddenly seems like a lifetime ago and not important when we are in our 60's.  I can relate as a 42-year-old.  What I used to get easily upset about I no longer carry that burden.  I know what's important and what I should worry about.
It's also comforting to realize that staying healthy psychically can mentally we have the control over whether we live a healthier life as we age.  It's not a given that we will decline in certain years; we have the power to decide that (some parts of it that is!).

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One take away that stood out with me from this module was the Video Older People are Happier. it was nice to learn that older people have less stress and are able to enjoy what they have left to their lives. I have always pictured older people well men as the grumpy old man. Even thinking of my grandma she is always looking at the best in life. She is never upset with what she has and never worried about much at all she just goes one with a smile. this section really reminded me of her.

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One of the things I really enjoyed reading this week was about Never Too Late learning and education continuing into late adulthood. "More than 100,000 people enroll annually in thousands of classes organized by the Road Scholar program, the largest educational program for people in late adulthood" (Feldman, p. 569). I think this is a great statistic! Having the ability to be a stay at home mother with my daughter for a couple years and then deciding to go back to college wasn't easy. Then going through a divorce I just wanted to give up on taking classes all together. But I realized that I was a role model to my amazing daughter and to have the ability to never give up on your goals and dreams. You are never too old to learn something new and set goals and dreams for yourself.

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My one big take away from this weeks readings is from Feldman's 8th edition "Development Across the Life Span".  It is the "Continuity Theory, suggesting that people need to maintain their desired level of involvement in society in order to maximize their sense of well-being and self-esteem" (Pg. 581).  I completely agree with this theory and will forever remain mindful of the fact that, post retirement, it is crucial to remain active - both mind & body - in order to have a feeling of fulfillment & happiness.  An active happy mind is a healthy mind!

Works Cited:

Feldman, R. S. (2017). Development Across the Lifespan (Eighth ed.). Pearson.

Lewis,  C.S. (2017). Realizations. Retrieved November 11, 2017, from https://kennysantika.com/realizations/

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Laura Carstensen's TEDx Talk was absolutely fascinating and particularly resonated with me as I have always enjoyed observing how happy my grandparents are, and have been. What struck me most from her talk, however, was the fact that the human life expectancy has doubled in the last century.

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It makes me smile to see that older people are happier.  In the studies they had shown the information for in this weeks Ted talk- it said that anger, worry and stress decrease this age.  I believe that aging, reveals many secrets of life..one of my very favorites being "let it go".
Another thing that resonated with me what the first sentence on one of our handouts...Our life span is actually 120-125 years, but our life EXPECTANCY (which has recently gone UP) is only 78.7.  That is the average for an American.  That blows my mind that we are only living half of our life span ultimately...if we are fortunate to even make it that far!

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With age people tend to develop slowing reaction times when it comes to certain things such as being able to get themselves out of harm’s way.  This can lead to an increase in accidents among the elderly.  I found this interesting when compared the way that perception of time increases with age.  Days and weeks appear to go by faster the older one gets which may be due to the way the internal clock is coordinated.   I found the second part particularly interesting because it is something that I have already noticed myself even in early adulthood and it is something that you always hear growing up from adults.  As a child, two years seemed to be extremely long time, now that I am an adult I can hardly differentiate between what happened last year and four years ago.

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I really enjoyed the Older People Are Happier video.  It was very interesting to see her charts showing how older people feel less anger and are happier.  It makes sense that with the work of establishing a career and raising a family behind you, you would feel less stressed.  Another bonus to being older that would support a happier outlook would be the wisdom gained and the priority of staying present.  So much stress is a result from living in the past and in the future, I truly hope as time marches on I find myself being mindful about how precious time is.  I feel it would be a valuable shift for our society to begin honoring and respecting our communities' elders, and to see all the good they may contribute.

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As I was reading Santrock's book, "Essentials of Life-Span Development" I came across a slide that talked about nursing homes. Only about 3% of adults will ever be in an actual nursing home. I for one dislike nursing homes because my Nannie spent some time at one where she was left un-attended. She had dimentia and eventually would start to free roam where she would leave and walk outside. One time they had no idea and she was trying to walk "home" because she was scared and forgot where she was. The nursing home also smelt like urine and other un welcoming odors. I know some places are nice but I believe home care is much better. This way they have a common understanding incase they do have an episode.
Santrock, J. W., (2015). Essentials of life-span development. 4e, (15-26).
McGraw-Hill Education
Picture Cited

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Kayla McWalter
Takeaways:
I found the article on raising divorce rates in midlife to be both surprising and interesting. I had assumed that divorce rates had been an increasing through the years, especially being in a career field working with teenage children I see more often that not that parents are divorced. However I never considered at what point in peoples lives are they divorcing.  The article discusses how "approximately 1 in 4 divorces in 2010 occurred among the 50 and older; in 1990 the ratio was 1 out of every 10" (Krauss, 2013).  She suggests that it maybe due to a mid life crisis, but I wondered how many people are unhappy for years and wait to divorce for a child's sake and the weight that may take on the child as well?

Beyond our term:
The article listed above along with the TED talk I will take with me. As surprised as I was by the facts in the article, there are ways to maintain a healthy and happy marriage and. The other side of the coin with the TED talk expresses how people are happier older in life, maybe this is due to facts in the article? But I  can see how the idea of stress decreasing with age to be true, I already am looking forward to my retirement with my toes in the sand, hopefully with a husband by my side haha!

Reference
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201311/what-rising-divorce-rates-in-midlife-mean-you

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I found it very interesting to learn about Alzheimer's because my grandfather was diagnosed with the disease last year. Alzheimer's  disease resonates with me because he does not recognize me and never will again. I think it is interesting how "the recent memories are affected first and then the older memories fade." (Feldman, 2017). It shocks me that "unless a cure is found, some 14 million will be victims of Alzheimer's by 2050- more than three times the current number." (Park et al., 2014).
I also learned that memory loss is not necessarily an evitable part of aging. "For instance, cross cultural research reveals that in societies where older people are held in relatively high esteem, such as in China, people are less likely to show memory losses then in societies where they are held in less regard." (Feldman,2017). "In such cultures, the more positive expectations regarding aging may lead people to think more positively about their own capabilities." (Levy & Langer, 1994; Hess, Auman, & Colcombe, 2003).

Feldman, r. (2017). Development Across the Life Span. Pearson: 8th edition. P 555 & 567
Picture from: https://www.google.com/search?q=alzheimers&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiaw4SqlrnXAhVn7YMKHeHwBG8Q_AUICygC&biw=1920&bih=904#imgrc=Tw05SdVIHXe_eM:

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In the Odder people are happier video, she talks about "Longer lives can improve quality of life at all ages."
Aging can bring remarkable improvements like,
increased knowledge, expertise and emotional aspects of life improvement.
Older people are happier and more positive because all the stress, worry and anger decreases with age.

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I enjoyed learning about late adulthood. My job pertains mostly to this age group and end of life care. I hadn't realized nearly half individuals 85 or older have Alzheimer's disease. I have read a study for a Neurochemistry course on a theory that if an individual could live forever they would eventually develop Alzheimer's. The study spoke on how it may be a natural step in the life process. However, I do not believe this study is readily accepted. I also find it amazing that older people are happier. I enjoyed listening to the different ways this was tested during the TedTalk.

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The Video: Older People are Happier was interesting to me.
I specifically liked to hear that older people feel less stress, less worry and less anger. We help to care for my 89-year-old mother in law. I have known this woman for over 25 years. She is still living on her own. As I enter the middle years, it’s comforting to know that happiness is still an option through the golden years.

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* I have always thought dementia was a diagnoses of a specific mental disorder. I never realized it was actually a broader term used to categorize memory loss and decline in mental functioning in the elderly.
* I have also learned that nearly half of the elderly population over the age of 85 have Alzheimer's disease. This is a frighteningly large percentage.

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I loved the visual of the pyramid having a bottom base with the younger ages and going up to a point for the older generation to today it is making sort of a rectangle shape. People are living longer! The majority of the babies born are having the opportunity to grow old. I loved looking at the chart that showed that all worrying and stress decreases when you get older.

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I found it interesting that it is predicted that in 2050 over 25% of the population will be over 60 years old. Sad news is I will be one of those.. I feel that our society with have a shift of some sort in our societal norms.
As I read about the stigma that is associated with the older generation, I reflected on the WCAX news station that spot lights a super senior every week on the news. This is a great way for society to see that because people get old, it doesn't mean that they have become worthless. We need to appreciate what they have brought to our lives and how can we instill this in todays generation? Kudos to WCAX for a job well done advocating for all those SUPER seniors out there.

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Evidence suggest that older people are still having sex well into their 80's and even their 90s. Studies also so some benefits to having sex later in life like lower risk of death.

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Ageism- prejudice and discrimination against older people.

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With time I realized how several activities that felt important to me five years ago seem to carry little or no importance in the present. I want to enjoy things I do even if I can’t do it for long periods of time. I agree that the specific nature and quality of the activities in which people engage are likely to be more critical than the mere quantity or frequency of their activities (Adams, 2004) (Fledman,2017) When I find I am unhappy doing certain activities I will make time even if it’s only a small amount, so I will have quality activities to enjoy.

During late adulthood having friends is great and it can benefit you in a number of ways. Late adulthood is usually a more common time when many lose their spouses and having someone like a good friend to provide support and comfort is good during that grieving period. Learning this will help me remember how important having friends can be and that your never to old to have friends.

https://nhcvsblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/older-people-dancing.jpg

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One major thing that I didn't know about before reading this week's reading is that there is a special job/name for those who study aging. People who study aging are called gerontologists. It's pretty interesting to me that there are people who study aging. I just never really thought of how important of a job it really is, but after the readings I see the importance in it. People used to believe that late adulthood was a time of decline, but after people have done research it's now viewed as a time of development. A time where people grow in somethings, but also decline in others. I think it's an interesting job and I find it so fascinating that it took me this long to learn about it.

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If I were to only pick two major things that stuck with me the most that I would takeaway would have to be the "TedTalk: Life's Third Act" video by one of my favorite actress, Jane Fonda. In this video she talks about the staircase. This "staircase" is a staircase of life. When walking up these stairs or as stated "the upward ascension to the human spirit." In this video she also talks about changing the outcome to some relationship. At this stage in life you are not only reevaluating yourself but some of the choice you've made along the line. When this happens you tend to grow into the best you.

The other takeaway would have to be the "Older People are Happier" video. This video not only conformed my theory about older people being happier because they has lived their lives. But also made me want to get older sooner. I think that old people have it made. Not only do they get to say what's on their mind but also they get yelled at for trying to help with something. "Hey what are you doing? You are yo old to be pitting that up. Put it down and I'll carry it" I can't wait to hear those words. If being old is being HAPPY then who doesn't want to get old and happy?

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I was unaware of the term Centenarian, a person living beyond 100 years of age, and Super Centenarian a person living beyond 110 years of age

I was surprised by the 5.4 million people that are affected with Alzheimer Disease in the United States in addition to the fact that the majority of them are woman, I guess that is the trade off for living longer than men.

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I didn't know that there were 3 different types of memory, sensory, short-term, and long- term memory. I am familiar with short and long term memory but not sensory memory. Sensory memory is momentary storage of information that lasts only an instant. The temperature outside would be an example of sensory memory. Deciding if you should wear a coat or not if its cold outside. Short, meaningless memories that your brain doesn't store. I found it fascinating that your body could filter out memories like that.

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I think that middle adulthood was very interesting to learn about. I thought it was amazing that while young adults tend to solve problems with only one hemisphere of their brain, people in middle adulthood use both hemispheres. I also thought that it was so cool that verbal abilities, spatial reasoning, abstract math and abstract reasoning all improve during middle adulthood. Too often you hear people in middle adulthood saying "my mind isn't what it used to be" when in fact, its better!