Myths and realities of old age
Myths regarding old age have continued to increase with many fearing that old age comes with dementia, poverty, physical frailty among others. The social-economic and physical factors are all affected. One known myth among people involves taking megadoses of vitamins and striving for very low body weight for fear of growing old. Most Americans believe dying and old age is an option and thus there is a need to improve the social structural barriers and create a culture of old age. Furthermore, many people think that all old people are the same although there is more variety among older people than in any other age group. Others think that the basic human needs of old people are different from those of younger people but the truth of the matter is that our needs do not necessarily change as we grow.
More than 50% of the elderly people are senile such that they suffer from memory loss, disorientation, and bizarre behavior (Heerema, 2018). However, in reality, the elderly are healthy enough to carry out their normal activities. From my experience, the elderly are not incompetent and even in their early stages of dementia they still retain their abilities to understand and appreciate the information given and reason to make important life choices. This is possible despite having physical disabilities that are mistakenly linked to intellectual deficits. In addition, the perceived lack of productivity among older people is because the majority of them are not in paid employment. However, they play important roles in the society such as being grandparents , volunteering at civil or social activities among other businesses which they do while at home. The reality is that their work valuation changes in terms of income earned but elderly people still have a great impact in the society.
References
Heerema, E. (2015, June 28). What Does Senile Mean? How Are Senility and Dementia Different? Retrieved from https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-does-senile-really-mean-98594