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Health & Fitness

The Biopsychosocialogical Components of Natural Aging and Disease Related Aging

The normative process of aging is not a disease in itself,however, the abnormal process of premature aging may be treated as a disease and perhaps both preventable and reversed.

 

Aging is a naturally occurring process that is multidimensional with biological, psychological, and sociological components that act upon an organism. This paper addresses the aging process within human beings. Specifically, it covers the normal process of aging as well as disease related aging to examine the implications of both types of aging within a person from a biopsychosocial perspective. Death in those either age 65 or older has three leading causes in the United States: heart disease, cancer, and stroke ( as cited in Kung et al., 2008; Paulozzi, Crosby, &Ryan, 2007).

As a modern society we presently relegate the dying and the dead to the expert care of professionals in either hospital settings or nursing homes. In so doing, we perpetuate the attitudes of denial and avoidance treating death like medical failure (as cited in McCue, 1995). Even in the absence of a diagnosable illness or finding the human life span is seldom over 100 years long and biopsychosocial declines a normal part of natural death (as cited in Johansson et al., 2004; McCue, 1995; Rabbitt et al., 2002; Singer, Verhaeghen, Ghisletta, Lindenberger, &Baltes, 2003; B.J. Small, Fratiglioni, von Strauss, & Backman, 2003). The reality of death is best met, according to Kubler-Ross, by leading a meaningful life (as cited Kubler-Ross, 1975).

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Biology of Aging

When conception occurs a chain of events is put into motion. A fertilized egg undergoes biological changes that will cause the formation of a baby to be formed and eventually born. Cells are created and genetic combinations are arranged in order for the zygote to arrange itself into a viable human offspring capable of repeating this miraculous process before eventually dying. The moment of conception begins a chromosomal shuffling process that programs cellular activity and assigns the possibility of a long and healthy life or a diseased and shorter life to the forming fetus as it ages along its rightful place on the lifespan continuum. The design for human life includes a start date and expiration date and the processes that occur within those two points include the process of aging. Nutrition, social stratification, access to resources and environment are some of the numerous factors that contribute to the human organism’s metabolic rate and aging and eventual death. There are undertakings to be had in order to extend the life of a human but death is inevitable and a byproduct of the aging process. Presently, there is no technological advance so great as to prevent an eventual age-related death but there are available remedies to stave it off as long as possible. That said, poor health is not a necessary part of the aging process (as cited in Moore, Moir, & Patrick, 2004). Many age related declines on the body that affect strength, endurance, and reaction time appear partly reversible (as cited in Ades, Ballor, Ashikaga, Utton, & Nair, 1996; Fiatarone, O’Neil, & Ryan, 1994; Foldvari et al., 1990, 1994; Fiatarone, O’Neil, & Ryan, Foldvari et al., 2000; McCartney, Hicks, Martin, & Webber, 1996).

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Psychology of Aging

Some people have a hard time watching their bodies’ age over the years. Aging can make one feel less attractive if he or she invests heavily in physical beauty. Perhaps as youth dissipates and fine lines appear and turn to deep wrinkles the vapid nature of youthful beauty takes a heavy toll on the psyche. Psychological factors relating to aging include cognition, emotion, and motivation. A person may exhibit behavior that is either conducive or non-conducive to the unavoidable reality of getting older and leaving the past behind. Questionable behavior, for example, is when a woman becomes distraught emotionally over her aging appearance and the effects reverberate into her social life. If she becomes distressed enough that she withdraws from activities she previously enjoyed and her self-esteem plummets she may be negatively affected by the normal aging process. She may become motivated enough to reverse the physical signs of age-damage by undergoing common cosmetic procedures for this very purpose. A woman such as this may undergo expensive facial peels, teeth whitening, Botox injections, color her hair, bronze her skin, get permanent cosmetic tattoos, seek facial fillers and fat injections. The result may be pleasing enough to her that she once again enjoys activities that she was previously to self-conscious to attend. The point is that if enough value is tied into ones negative perception of the normal aging process it may lead to psychological distress. Relief for such distress seems to come from having the ability and motivation to seek out varying degrees of plastic surgery.  Advancing years eventually take a physical toll on a person which can be psychologically troubling in their own right. The physical and cognitive deficits that come with age can leave someone unable to meet the challenges of growing old. Married folks may experience declines in optimal health as stressors that strain the marriage. If a man, for example, is no longer able to continue the physical activities that he and his wife formerly enjoyed together he may become depressed and withdrawn. Aging makes it more difficult to participate in some forms of recreational exercise which in turn initiates a cognitive decline and the increased likelihood of negative emotions. Science tells us that exercise likely contributes to emotional health positively. In other words, the release of endorphins through regular and vigorous exercise may be able to lift depressed mood and heighted pleasurable feelings which reduce stress and benefit health. If someone is no longer able to sustain former exercise routines or endure previous levels of aerobic activity due to aging the result may negatively impact him or her biopsychosocially. Men and women who are married have the potential to remain the most highly sexually active. Generally, a man in his seventies or eighties can continue some form of sexual expression and retain the ability to ejaculate (as cited in Lindau et al, 2007).  Physicians should consider the sexual needs of the elderly and exercise caution when prescribing drugs lest they interfere with sexual functioning and the ability of a man to become aroused and sustain an erection (as cited in Lindau et al, 2007).

Social Component of Aging

Healthful choices are easier made when we have ties to organizations, our communities, and enjoy common interests with those we know and keep the continuity of our social ties that bind us to one another. We may begin our introduction to organized recreational activities and other social networks in childhood. These links and pairings help us more fully develop our personalities and interests. As we move along the lifespan continuum and age our ability to stay interconnected and socially intact may become jeopardized. It is possible we may lose track of our commitments to others or become entirely unable to continue in the roles we have grown accustomed to as a result of physical or cognitive deficits. When we lose touch with our peers and friendships that have been cultivated over the spans of a lifetime we may become isolated and withdrawn and a portion of our identity and core values may become compromised. The processes encompassed by the biopsychosocial framework are far reaching, pervasive, and all encompassing. The very framework of the model is circular and each part interacts with the whole. Indeed, the biopsychosocial model is a body system theoretical model. Aging couples who can no longer experience the social pleasures of getting together in couple-groups can add an unwelcome aspect to growing old. It Is for this reason that some aging, married couples decide to jointly enter residential community living where they can more easily and readily access the pleasures of senior living. For example, for those lucky enough to afford round the clock care in a retirement home, access to structured social activities and assistance with daily living proves most welcome more often than not. Some aging members of society view this managed health care as degrading and are entirely opposed to it because they desperately cling to their independence. However, it can negatively impact their adult children who can feel torn between their duties to their aging parents as well as their need to launch their own children. Independence is not entirely possible and adult children may experience marital turpitude as a result of ongoing and increasing commitments to aging parents.

Conclusion

Aging is a guaranteed part of the normal lifecycle for every human. The biological clockwork is loaded with developmental, cognitive and biopsychosocial milestones that will occur under normal circumstances beginning at the moment of conception. Death will occur and if all systems and extraneous circumstances occur under a best case scenario the person will live long enough to mature reproduce and age well before dying. Heredity is important and contributes in amount equal to or greater than environmental, psychological, and social aspects. A person who at conception is dealt a chromosomal shuffle of life shortening DNA may not live long enough to reach old age or may enter old age with many negative values and deficits. Someone else may begin the moment of conception with genes that promise longevity, abundant health and a stoic mindset. These figurative cohorts will experience the minutia of the biopsychosocial framework with vast differences and juxtaposition. That said, whether all things are equal or not, aging is natural and part of the programming from the moment of conception.

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