The Developing Person

The Developing Person

The Developing Person Article in the SAR give critical insight to the lives of seniors and what they go through in the golden years of life.

One of the main problems old folks experience these days is the battle with depression. When a person reaches the age of retirement loneliness becomes a major issue. They now have all this free time on their hand and don't know what to do with it. So watching TV and moping around sets in. The loss of loved ones and a purpose in life are some of the factors that contribute to them feeling this way.

Stepping up and taking charge of your life to reduce stress is imperative for a senior to enjoy there golden years. To fight to reduction of stress and depression require initiative and planning. (To Quote: Mony J. de Leon, "But the single the single most fundamental change gerontologists see in the normal aging brain is a 5 to 10 percent loss of tissue in the frontal lobes, which are largely responsible for these skills.") Neurophysiologists call this "executive function." Executive Function is the ability of a person to make plans, maintain focus, and to stay motivated. So when older people loose there ability to have EF it lets them slip into the feeling of worthlessness and isolation usually follows. When the process of losing 5% to 10% of the frontal lobe kicks in a feeling of not wanting to see family and friends might be seen. This also might cause an adjustment in your personality for the worse. The person in question might exhibit a grumpy attitude and everyone else will know about it. The good thing about it is there are medicines out there like Provigil that stimulate the brain. What is so good about this medication is that it stimulates the brain to promote alertness and to raise energy levels. Another good side effect from Provigil is that it counters many other medications that might make the senior feel depressed. But there is more simple solution to this problem than popping pills everyday and that is mental exercise. A person should stay engaged with activities like reading, socializing, and exercise. There is no reason that a person in there 80s and 90s to loose much mental capacity. The person should involve themselves in family, church and other social setting as much as possible. The other mind candy would be physical exercise. There is no better explanation