Verry easy assignment, I just have no time with work today.

Complete all of the activities below.

1. Watch two or three of the videos with Alzheimer’s patients. Explain how this might give you a greater understanding of the disease. Were there any particular aspects that stood out to you?
   1. Here is a video on Alzheimer’s to get you started: Portrait of an Alzheimer’s Patient (Links to an external site.)
   2. Read the definition of integrity vs. despair at: http://faculty.webster.edu/woolflm/lrerikson.html (Links to an external site.)

      1. Erikson (1982) represents one of the few personality theorist to examine aging as a stage of development. According to Erikson’s theory, personality development goes through a series of eight, hierarchically ordered stages. Associated with each stage is a psychosocial crisis that the individual either successfully resolves or fails to resolve. Failure results in incomplete development of the personality, and inhibits further development of the personality. The final stage of Erikson’s (1982) theory is later adulthood (age 60 years and older). The crisis represented by this last life stage is integrity versus despair. Erikson (1982) proposes that this stage begins when the individual experiences a sense of mortality. This may be in response to retirement, the death of a spouse or close friends, or may simply result from changing social roles. No matter what the cause, this sense of mortality precipitates the final life crisis. The final life crisis manifests itself as a review of the individual1s life-career. Similar to Butler’s (1963) life review, individuals review their life-career to determine if it was a success or failure. According to Erikson (1982), this reminiscence or introspection is most productive when experienced with significant others. The outcome of this life-career reminiscence can be either positive or negative. Ego integrity is the result of the positive resolution of the final life crisis. Ego integrity is viewed as the key to harmonious personality development; the individual views their whole of life with satisfaction and contentment. The ego quality that emerges from a positive resolution is wisdom. Erikson (1982) defines wisdom as a kind of “informed and detached concern with life itself in the face of death itself” (p. 61). Conversely, despair is the result of the negative resolution or lack of resolution of the final life crisis. This negative resolution manifests itself as a fear of death, a sense that life is too short, and depression. Despair is the last dystonic element in Erikson’s (1959, 1982) theory.

      Think of two people that you know that are relatively the same age, but one is in integrity and the other is in despair. Compare and contrast their lives, personality, and coping mechanisms.

2. Listen to the following audio spots about Elizabeth Kubler Ross who contributed so much to our understanding of death and dying. How do you think the end of her own life was a tribute to her work and her own understanding?
   1. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3871535 (Links to an external site.)

   Click on above play button to listen

   NPR’s Karen Grigsby Bates reports on the death of psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, author of On Death and Dying and a pioneer of the modern hospice movement. She revolutionized the “language” of death and named the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Kubler-Ross died Tuesday at the age of 78.

   1. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3871190 (Links to an external site.)

   Click on above play button to listen

   Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, who revolutionized the way the world looks at terminally ill patients, has died at age 78. Her book On Death and Dying launched her career as a pioneer for hospice care. John Biewen of American Radioworks reports.

   1. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3154013 (Links to an external site.)

   Click on above play button to listen

   When Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s book On Death and Dying was first published more than three decades ago, it spoke about the experience of dying in a new way and made its author a celebrity. The book is still read around the world, but its author has faded from the public spotlight. John Biewen of American RadioWorks reports.

3. Use the link below to read a report from the U.S. Census regarding the elderly demographic in the United States. After you have read through the report answer the questions below in sentence form. Each question should be at least a paragraph in length.
4. http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-09.pdf (Links to an external site.) In 2010, what percentage of the total population 65 years and over lived in a skilled nursing facility? In your opinion what does that indicate about the general health of the elderly in the United States? From Table 6 (Ten Places with the Highest and Lowest Percentage of their Population 85 years or older-2010) select one town from the highest percentage and one town from the lowest category. Then research the two communities you selected by reviewing their respective tourism, chamber of commerce, and community living websites. Synthesize your collected information into a discussion of the top five contrasting elements in your two selected communities and why the elderly tend to congregate in certain communities.
5. How long will you live? Go to the following web address (You might have to type this in by hand): https://www.livingto100.com/ (Links to an external site.) Click on “Take the Calculator” and complete the longevity test. When you have completed the quiz please answer the following questions (In paragraph form): A) What is your life expectancy? B) What factors concerning life expectancy surprised you? C) Which factors had a negative impact on your life expectancy? D) What life style changes will you make as a result of this exercise? E) What factors were not considered by the calculator that may have a significant influence on your life expectancy? *** Please note before making any changes please consult with health care professionals and do your own research on benefits.