Many stressors affect the adults, especially the elderly. I go on day to day living with daily stressors such as basic needs like food and water. We wonder how we are going to manage the day like being a parent, working, shelter, family and friends. Individually young adults tend to think that the older you get the less worries or situations you get less of. Such a wrong perceptions that is, it is the most stressful time in your lifespan.
Types of Stressors in the Elderly and Possible Solutions There are things you think of again like you did when you were young but it becomes more important and for different reasons. The elderly spend their time thinking of how they will maintain shelter over their head, financial income, food, medical attention and support from the community. It’s apparent that the older we get our health declines along with our mental capabilities. Because of that fact it is imperative that we try as a whole community try to lesson some of that stress by starting new programs for seniors. Perhaps they can have an adult daycare in the area to assure the families that there are facilities there to keep the seniors living with less stress. I imagine they would have resources like places to apply to live in senior communities and set up some type of food program that brings the seniors food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They would also have the setup of having medical attention brought to your very own door step. The government is getting better about passing medical laws to assure a better plan for the seniors. They are first giving them option to get medical coverage and then they are now devising plans that are reasonable either you can go see a doctor or the health system can come to you. Depending on your disabilities, there are more stressors that affect the seniors and some are very personal topics. The seniors are also letting their physical decline rule on their mental status.

Purposes of the Stressors among the Elderly The seniors are having problems with incontinent stages with bowl and urine elimination. That is a big stressor for the family and senior because they have a fear of going places and having an accident on themselves and they don’t want to burden the family with the clean up embarrassment of their non controlling of their bathroom habits. The elderly also consider the fact that making sure that they have a great doctor that cares about their well being is challenging. They want to make sure that it is affordable and that they are going to get real quality out of the system. They have the stress of making sure that they get all the nessarities for the disabilities. They feel like they have to have a good relationship with the doctor so that doctor matches up the right treatment for them. They have to have the stress in maintaining their health and that is to make sure they keep the appointments or having someone like family overlook their affairs. They have to make sure the meds that are prescribed are just right for them. They know their some side effects it’s a matter if they even want to go through them. With aging comes experience and they know if the med is too strong or makes them sick in the stomach and allergic reactions. They have the big stress of cognitive abilities to remember which med to take, when and with what meals. If they don’t know then a family member must carry that stressor. It is very important to them that their blood pressure pill or heart pill is given they understand that if not their lifespan may be short leading to increase mortality among the elderly. Stressor for the family is big; they come to a stage in their life that they begin to think of how my family will survive my passing.

The Elderly Coping Mechanisms
That possibility weighs heavy on their mind and soul. They want to make sure now a days that they have some savings started and wills so that no one has disagreements or terrible experiences during such a already fragile time, like death or funeral arrangements. The elderly put a lot of stress in wanting a little satisfaction of their life experiences. They want to know there was some purpose they served and that they have fulfillment of their life. It can be a satisfied career or a degree that no one in the family received. It is very important for the elderly to stress their bodies’ a little more than they did when they were young so that it can be effective tool in expanding their lifestyle. They know they have to perform some range of motion, or walk a little more the distance, perform some physical activities to promote more oxygen and blood flow to the heart and body. The elderly now a day are enrolling in senior programs where they walk a distance or they have some light aerobics to help alleviate that stress. It’s has shown positive results helping with the psychosocial aspect and physical. Now a day there is a decline in hospital stays, less hospital cost, and decrease in mortality due to new research on elderly and the new technology that is helping them. Background and Significance of Patient Care for the Elderly Now my experience in the elderly community that I have experienced has led me to believe that some elderly have lived in the times of civil right movement and even though progress we see they still feel strongly as they did when they were young on what ethnic type will be assisting them and thought it seems like nothing to us it really matters to them. Some are still having flashbacks of how it was back in the day and they stress on who is ethnic wise is appropriate for their care and who is not. There have been some episodes in which clients prefer white staff to touch them, or someone nonspeaking Spanish and some that just want to be in care of their own ethnic background because they believe that the caregiver will make sure and understand what it is they need or things they feel are important to get done. Additional Implication to Adapting to Stress as an Elderly
A big stressor is losing all autonomy on decisions that they were capable to make and now need assistance that is a big transition that can lower their self-esteem because they feel they lost that control of their personal affairs to open up to a family, proxy or close family member to handle their affairs such as medical, financial, shelter and food. Another big stressor is how much does the doctor visits cost or the meds that the family doctor put them on. Big question on their mind is it generic or how much is the brand and are their coupons because they are no longer working so any disabilities checks need to be spending wisely and on a budget. So they cut out food coupons to assure that they can still eat nutrients meals and still have pocket money to pay for dues like rent, light or maybe to the facility for the nursing home so that they can remain living their because of the convenient resources they have to sustain a positive lifestyle. I know that when family and the client have the meeting to make the decisions to put their loved ones in a nursing home it is not easy but you feel that they have the adequate resources to better serve but a big stressor comes and that is having someone in the Nursing home tell you what’s on the activities list and the fact that you may not wake up with that same interest, you may want to go out like you use too and can’t and you may not be able to carry no money in your pocket which can make the client feel vulnerable. I believe to lose some autonomy is very big stressor it’s a way of giving someone all your trust to assure that they will take care of your affairs and keep them up to date etc; that is a big stressor if you were brought up in a certain area in life where you take care of yourself. I know throughout this quarter in the nursing home we stressed about safety and for clients this stresses them because they don’t want injury they want to make sure that the staff is constantly thinking about their safety. Health Promotion and Therapeutic Interventions Stress management works on two levels. The first is about maintaining a harmonious lifestyle so that stress does not get out of control. This involves having outlets that allow you to release the stress. The second strategy involves learning how to relax yourself or change your mood if stress is having a negative impact on your life. The first strategy is about prevention. The second is more to do with the cure for stress. This article will look at these two strategies and how they can be applied to stress management for the elderly.
There are no great secrets about preventing stress from being a serious issue in your life. If you want to prevent stress then you have to engage in life.
Stay active. Many older people go to the gym these days and there are a variety of low impact activities like water aerobics or classes aimed at older people. If the gym is not your thing then any kind of sport or physical activity is good. Walking, bowls or golf provide exercise without putting too much physical stress on the body.
Stay involved in the community. As people get older they may feel out of touch with the mainstream. They may not see their friends so often and it is easy to suddenly find yourself isolated.
It is important to have an outlet to express your feelings and thoughts about the world and your life. Many people see their children and grandchildren as a focal point and outlet for their thoughts and feelings but it is also important to have a life outside of the family. Look for community activities that you can become engaged in. Many charitable organizations like walk or run events for seniors. Make friends with people you meet at these events as this will lead to more opportunities to socialize.
Establish a new purpose in life. Retirement should open up a new freedom in your life to try things you never had time to do before because you were working. This doesn't mean a cruise round the world (but it could do) rather taking a hobby or pursuing something that you have always been interested in. This could involve gardening, photography, hang gliding or whatever you can think of. It is important to have something to focus your mind and body on.
The essential part of relieving stress is effectively about changing the state of your body. The body responds in a certain way if it believes that it is experiencing stress. This can lead to ill-health over time and a feeling of anxiety or depression. If you find that you are becoming stressed out or suffering from anxiety or depression it is advisable to see your doctor but other techniques can be combined with your doctor’s advice. These techniques are ways of telling the body to calm down. Three common techniques are meditation, yoga and deep breathing. Meditation and yoga can be learned through classes or by reading books/watching videos. Deep breathing is fairly straightforward and serves to slow the body down and take more oxygen into the body.
Prevention is often better than cure. Stay active and engaged in life and you will find that you have ways to deal with potential stressful events. This does not mean you have to run a marathon every month but having an outlet for your energies, thoughts and feelings.
The elderly rotation has surprised me many seem to handle their stressor calm and some manage it in a negative way either way it’s being addressed and it’s a ongoing challenge that I don’t see a decline but a positive increase and interest among people all over who are affected and will be.