Transitions and Aging

Running head: TRANSITIONS AND AGING 1
Transitions and Aging
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TRANSITIONS AND AGING 2
Transitions and Aging
Introduction
The change is part of life, and there are various life transitions that the elderly go through
before their death. These life transitions need nursing interventions, and if not cared for, they can
affect their mental and physical state. Different types of transition that older adults go through
may include retirement, chronic disease or mental impairment, death of spouse or important
friend, relocation as a result of illness, war among other factors and death. All these life
transitions have an extreme impact on the elderly’s daily life. Besides, such life changes may
affect the close family and friends (Wright & Leahey, 2012).
During this period of transition, the elderly who do not have the much-needed support from
family care providers, he or she can develop significant mental and physical complications.
Therefore, the family or friend care providers have significant roles and responsibility to provide
the much-needed support and care to their aging elders. There are different types of transitions
that are experienced by older people. These transitions include retirement, chronic illness or
physical impairment, death of the spouse, relocation, and death (Nolen, Larson & Larson, 2013).
Retirement is something that many people look forward to. But for aged adults may retire as
a result of illness which can make them have regret. Retirement can be hard for individuals who
like to work hard for their support. After retirement, the aged may miss the good time they had
with their coworkers besides income they used to earn from their salary. If the elderly fail to find
out new activities and interests, they can end up suffering from depression, anxiety, sadness, and
isolation. In this case, family care providers should support and help their elderly attend event
that can make them happy and meet up with their friends (Watkins, Hall, & Kring, 2012).

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Another type of transition is health issues like chronic illness or physical impairment. The
health challenges that aged adult may face can negatively affect their daily life. Chronic diseases
such as stroke, arthritis, or heart attack are very common to older people, and thus, they should
adjust to their lifestyles. Family and friends care providers should provide a long time supports
by providing expenses of the medication and helping them with daily activities such as watching
their clothes etc. The death of the spouse or someone who is important may be another type of
transition of older people. It is extremely hard for somebody to lose a spouse or a friend. Older
people may be faced with insomnia, depression, and poor mental health when such kind of loss
occurs. This is because, after a loss, they are faced with a difficult time to move alone. They may
end up battling for guilt, anxiety, and depression; thus, it’s crucial for caregivers to help and
support them with emotions by counseling (Mitnitski et al., 2011).
Elder people may be faced with health issues that can make their daily activities difficult to
carry on. In this case, they may relocate to their family members or move to health care facilities
for the support. When relocating, they may end up selling their homes and other properties to get
finances for the support of their condition as they adjust to the new environment. Besides,
permanent changes to health and ability may mean it is time for the aged to arrange and relocate
for home care services and geriatric health care services. Relocation may also be as a result of
fear of war, natural disaster, or after the death of a spouse. The other life transition of elder
people is death, which may happen as a result of extreme health issues such as arthritis, heart
attack, or stroke. The older people’s immune systems may become weak to cope with these
health conditions, thereby leading to death (Manderson et al., 2012).
A good example is the case study of Mrs. Sukhdev Dhaliwal. She is a married woman aged
63 years old. Her husband travels in different countries, and in most cases, he is often away from

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home due to his commitment to his travel business. Mrs. Sukhdey recently got retired from being
a school teacher due to her deteriorating health condition. She was diagnosed with diabetic
retinopathy and peripheral neuropathy, which makes her experience extreme pain. She has two
children, aged 30 and 33 years old, and her daughter has a new baby boy who is three weeks old.
In this case, transitions that are being experienced by Mrs. Dhaliwal include retirement,
where she retires from being a school teacher and chronic illness where she has diabetic
retinopathy and peripheral neuropathy. The future transition that she may face includes the death
of her spouse, relocating to live with her daughter and dying or death. Some of the factors that
make transitions so difficult for Mrs. Sukhdev Dhaliwal include the magnitude of her life
transition like she was forced to retire as a result of her diabetic conditions. Besides, she has no
family caregiver as her spouse is often away from home for business commitments, and her
daughter recently gave birth to a baby boy.
These transitions are associated with psychological and mental problems to older adults and
their family members. Such psychological and mental problems may include grief, fear, and
anger depression and sometimes despair. Many older adults respond to these transitions in the
form of apathy, isolation, additions, and sometimes, suicide (McNamara & Gonzales, 2011).
Older individuals go up against the mental issues that accompany the changes throughout
their life. Besides, the youths transit into adulthood to take new jobs and duties, which is the
contrary with regards to older people. The final stage of life that is the old age is faced with a lot
of challenges that may lead one to have psychological problems. Some older people are able to
overcome these challenges, but many are unable to overcome them successfully. For instance,