Aging: Social, Emotional, Cognitive, and Biological Changes

Aging: Social, Emotional, Cognitive, and Biological Changes

Introduction

Aging is a gradual change process characterized by the human body’s declining functionality. The deteriorating biological, social, emotional, and cognitive functionalities make a person depend on others for survival. Although it is a natural process caused by changes in hormones and other cellular activities, it may be facilitated by external factors such as pollution and poor diet. (Belsky 21). The process starts in early adulthood at around twenty-five years, and a person’s body functionality declines gradually, and they become more dependent on other people for their daily activities. It is prudent to note that no specific age is termed old age, but sixty-five is designated as the traditional old age. Sixty-five was used as a default retirement age set by most labor unions, preceded by chancellor Otto Von Bismarck, the first political leader to sign it into law in 1889 (Belsky 77). This paper discusses the changes that people encounter as they approach old age.

Social Changes

Social well-being is an important aspect of human life and revolves around building and creating meaningful relationships. The social connections provide a sense of belonging and get support whenever in need. Teenagers have a different social outfit as they tend to have more people to share life experiences with compared to the elderly. As a person gets older, they must be prepared to deal with devastating changes in the social domain. The number of friends and life partners reduces gradually, and a person is left with a few-cycle of friends (Belsky 109). Social change is brought about by people exploring different opportunities in different parts of the world. At the age of thirty-five, the number of trusted friends reduces considerably as most of them travel, get married, and others die, leaving the remaining with a small cycle of friends. Thinking about the assignment brought memories of old friends who are presently far away whose ties are continuously being broken. Therefore, a person should be prepared to deal with loneliness as they age because aging is an automatic isolator that keeps them away.

Emotional Changes

Emotions play a significant role in people’s lives and determine the quality of life a person lives. Emotions take center stage in the way people live and affect the decisions and the mood of a person. Emotional intelligence is the ability of a person to recognize their emotions and those of others and react to them accordingly. Aging people have experienced different actions in life, and mood stability is likely to improve with age. The elderly are more emotionally stable and get rid of negative emotions faster than people of lower ages. At the age of thirty-five, the experience teaches a person to let go of any emotion that makes a person unhappy.

As a person gets older, the physical incapacity to take care of themselves gives them a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness may plunge them into depression and feelings of being useless. The elderly must be prepared to face the emotions of hopelessness and non-accomplishment. It is, therefore, a lesson for people growing up to grab all chances life brings to end up with a full-filled life (Belsky 201). As a person gets older, they must be prepared to have a stronger emotional will and overcome the challenges that old age brings. Research shows that most elderly are happy and more emotionally stable than younger people. However, those who fail to grab the opportunities early may look back with nostalgia and undergo depression.

Cognitive Changes

Cognitive decline is a common phenomenon associated with aging, and it ranges from mild weakening to dementia. Young people enjoy higher cognitive abilities, such as sharp memory and a higher rate of inductive reasoning. Cognitive abilities are important for organizing daily activities and making the right decisions for better outcomes. However, when there is a cognitive decline, a person experiences difficulty handling life issues. At thirty-five years, the cognitive decline is sometimes experienced due to the inability to remember all the important appointments. The increased responsibilities of age cause the inability to remember appointments.

As a person grows older, cognitive decline is common and affects a person’s quality of life. The ability to organize, take instructions, and act on them effectively also changes with age, and a person must be prepared to handle slow inductive reasoning and the inability to solve problems effectively (Belsky 61). The aged are often overwhelmed by making plans as they easily forget previous events and conversations held in the past. Memory is crucial in decision making, and people getting past sixty-five ye