Social security from Jami Lea

Chapter 6--Peronslity and Mental Health in Old Age

     Apart from physical health, mental health has the biggest threat of change as we age.  But unlike physical change, mental health is much harder to see, diagnose or predict.  Along with mental health, personality also changes as we age.  Promoting mental health is just as important as the promotion of mental health.

       Personality is defined as a unique pattern of innate and learned behaviors, thoughts and emotions that influence how each person responds and interacts with the environment (Hooyman  p. 215).

       I choose this chapter to discuss because it is important to understand how our minds are going to change as we get older, we may be fortunate enough to see simply a change in our personality but many are not that lucky.  Many of us will suffer from a psychological disorder such as Dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or a number of other mental health issues.

Scholarly Article
 

 http://academic.udayton.edu/jackbauer/PGSG/Sheldon%20Kasser%2001%20older%20better%20copy.pdf

“Getting Older, Getting Better? Personal Strivings and Psychological Maturity Across the Life Span”

This article touches on Erikson’s Psychosocial Model that is discussed in chapter 8.  Erikson’s model suggests that everyone goes through 8 states of development of the ego in their lifetime.  This article discusses the theory that older people tend to have more strivings concerning generativity and ego integrity and less strivings concerning identity and intimacy.  This results in elderly being more psychologically mature and happier than younger people.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1744-6163.2001.tb00611.x/pdf

“The Meaning of Mental Health from Elderly Women’s Perspectives: A Basis for Health Promotion”

This is a scholarly article talking about the importance of mental health promotion in old age.  It contains interviews of people between the ages of 71-92.

Photo/visual

            

Video

 

This is a very informational video on clinical depression in the elderly.

2 Internet Sites

            http://www.agingcare.com/elderly-mental-health

This site contains articles, Q&A with experts and News on elderly mental health.  It also provides sources on how to find housing and caregiver support for the elderly.

            http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20020628/personality-disorders-change-over-time

WebMD is a good site for all questions on healthy, mentally or physically.  This particular article deals with personality disorders among the elderly.

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