Running Head: THE EXPERIENCE OF AGING 1

The Experience of Healthy Aging

Laura Brooks

0620632

NURS 1002

March 16th , 2018

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R.B is a thriving 87 year old, who uses her life experiences to flourish as a healthy aging

adult. I am going to touch on the specific aspects of her life, the good and the bad which I believe

influenced her healthy aging process.

R.B lived in a retirement home, in Peterborough Ontario with her cat named Charlie. She

was overall very healthy with no chronic diseases except for scoliosis of her spine, which made it

exhausting for her to walk any distances. Healthy aging is very specific to each individual, but

generally defined as “not necessarily the absence of disease or disability, but as a reflection of the

lived experience of daily life, as a capacity to engage in meaningfully with and respond to the

contingencies of daily life regardless of afflictions and disabilities” (Erikson, 1986). R.B was a

perfect candidate for this definition. She also contributed the word autonomy; and as long as she

was able to do most activities of daily living by herself, and make her own care plan decisions, she

was very content. Living by herself (divorced at a young age, and hadn’t been with anyone serious

since) most of her life, she thrived on how independent she was, and the fact she was only living in

the retirement how just in case an emergency arouse.

Her life at the home is very engaging with multiple activities happening daily, which she

participates with her best friend Susan as stated in Appendix B. She makes sure she takes part in at

least one exercise a day such as yoga, weights in the pool or playing the piano and euchre with her

friends. I believe that this active participation in social events is a key component on her healthy

aging. She uses her musculoskeletal system receiving at least 150 minutes a week, as well as testing

her cognitive ability. Studies have shown for decades the positive effects of social activities such as

a cohort study in 2016 stated “more engagement in both social support measures was associated

with higher global cognition.” (Kats, Patel, & Palta, 2016). I would have predicted these results, the

more these individuals were socially interacting with other residents and friends and family the

more it would stimulate their brain’s and delay any cognitive decline.
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Unfortunately, as mentioned in Appendix A, R.B lost her youngest granddaughter to cancer

in 2016, placing a massive strain on the family. Her son fell into a deep depression, which

eventually lead to their estrangement. It’s terribly sad how it tore their family up, but as you can see

from Appendix B she places a lot of time into her faith which helped her with the death of her

granddaughter, and dealing with her son’s depression. R.B uses her spiritual inner wisdom to help

guide her through life. She relies on inner peace, and having hope in the lord. The faith she has

found has had an incredible impact on her quality of life, giving her something bigger than herself

to inspire her. As discussed during the lecture on Psychosocial & Spiritual Changes with Aging, we

learned that with a spiritual well-being, it enhances connectedness with one’s self, art, music and

literature a power greater than oneself (Cable-Williams, 2018). R.B spends a significant amount of

time using her faith toward the activities she participates in with the other residents, promoting

good relationships with others, in the end promoting well-being. The passing of her grandchild was

a very low point in her life, but she continues to look for the positives things, and appreciate the

short time she had with her. She prays daily to bring her family closer together, and hopefully is

successful, because not only will that overall health but joyfulness in life.

R.B has taught me that aging is a process that everyone must go through, but how you age is

up to the individual. If you are willing to put in some work at a young age, making a balanced life

style such as eating properly, exercising daily, stimulating your cognitive brain, having social time

with friends and family, and lastly to find something or someone to believe in, it will enhance your

aging process immensely. Through the ups and downs, R.B has a high degree of life satisfaction.

Which in the end is her goal. She has the ability to self-select social activities, her living

arrangements, food choices, and lastly self-care. Her positive energy is contagious and endearing

and she is a perfect representation of healthy aging.

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References

E.H Erickson, J.M Erickson, H.Q Kivnick (1986) Vital involvement in old age: The experience of old age
in our time, W.W. Norton & Company, New York.

Cable-Williams, B. (2018). Psychosocial & Spiritual Changes with Aging [PowerPoint Slides].

Kats. D., Patel, M., Palta. P. (2016). Social support and cognition in a community based-cohort: the

Atherosclerosis Risk for Communities (ARIC) study. Age Ageing; 45: 475-80
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Appendix A

R.B’s Genogram

Figure A1: The genogram for the resident R.B., names have been changed for patient
confidentiality.
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Appendix B

R.B’s Ecomap

Figure B1: The Ecomap for the resident R.B., names have been changed for patient confidentiality.
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