Aging with Spirituality: A Review of the Literatu Essay

senesceing with uncannyity A Review of the LiteratureSherry A. TattersallSouth University TampaAbstractThe intention of this subject field is to spread aw beness of the blow that organized piety and spiritualism play in the age process, specifically those over the age of eighty-five. It is becoming more(prenominal) and more acceptable to incorporate a persons combine in their care, both at home and in a clinical setting. The impact of spirituality and/or religion in terms of how very a good deal remediate a person will age physically, mentally and emotionally is overpoweringly positive. This wisdom and hunch of God that is not only gained through geezerhood of experiences, good and bad, but also through a deep-rooted faith, is lots overlooked and even sadly ignored. The elderly have so much to offer anyone that will take the time to try, as they have a precious ability to embrace the end of sustenance and a love for the Creator that goes beyond the understanding of most young people. It is only belatedly that spirituality and the neurobiological effects that it has on the aging in coitus to mental and physical health, as well as attitudes about dying and dying, have been taken seriously enough to study and implement into care. credence in God take cares to be the key to doing what our m opposites always told us to doage gracefully.In this day and age, it is acceptable to consider age 85+ years old as elderly, and upon accomplishing the age of 100 years, we win the esteemed title of Centenarian. Due to the baby birth explosion Post WWII, thus the Baby Boomers, born between the years 1946 and 1964 (U.S. Census Bureau), along with fitter lifestyle, eating habits and advances in science and medicine, more people are active longer. Research has shown that the effects of religious faith and personal spirituality in the elderly are extremely beneficial in understanding the substance behind death and illness, as well as coping and healing. It makes thought that as we age, we also engender our spiritual capacities, drifting away from the swan and bustleof work and raising children, making it easier to explore spirituality and move into in religious activities.After all, in that respect is within each one of us, a strong desire to connect with the Holy. Atchley (2008) defines spirituality as, an inner, subjective region of life that revolves around soulfulness experiences of being, transcending the personal self, and connecting with the sacred. With the loss, disability, illness, and general physical breakdown of the tree trunk in the aging process, it becomes increasingly valuable for us to understand our spirituality, last connecting with our Creator as this is truly where all peace and understanding originate. spirituality is a way of making sense out of what is happening in the aging process and gives the elderly a sense of peace composition grappling with serious issues. Even coping with dementia seems to become a more peaceful experience for the older caretaker.The Duke Longitudinal Study of Aging found that, although religious satisfaction and attitudes do not change much with aging, the feelings of being subprogramful and happy, as well as personal adjustment, die hard to increase. Tornstam (1997) coined the term, gerotranscendence, referring to how the older, mature adult experiences conception of time, an awareness of death and mortality, which may ending in an increased desire to explore individual spirituality. Tornstam reports the following comments make by an 86-year old woman in relation to this philosophy You go digest to childhood almost daily. It comes without reflection. I talked to a good adept about this. We both go back to the town where we grew up (in our thoughts). childishness means much more than one thinks I go back to it all the time. Ironically, the older adults childhood may seem nearer at age eighty-five than at age forty-five. end-to-end life, we store away life experiences through language and perception as memory in the brain. Some of these experiences could be spiritual depending on the individuals actual capacity to be enchanted in wonder. For example, face at Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon could be a spiritual experience if the individual has developed the capacity to perceive the despotic beauty of nature. The wonder or enchantment is not inherent in the falls or the canyon, but in each of us as human beings. Throughout life, spirituality is developed spontaneously, subconsciously, and even purposely as we get into our later years and really begin to acceptour mortality.We do this by nurturing our spiritual being with reading spiritual material, attending church, audition to and watching spiritual programs, spending more time in prayer, and desiring to be around spiritual or religious people. The elderly generally develop a let be attitude about lifes journey, and know that developing spiritually cannot be force d. It is enjoyable and educational to listen to the wisdom expressed by the elderly when they speak or introduce out about their spiritual journey. They teach us that wisdom and spirituality is a living process.Aging successfully through spirituality really sparked vex in the 1990s by the McArthur Research Network. Their studies showed that religious participation in the elderly is just as beneficial as diet, exercise, mental input signal and being connected socially. A bump quality of life in spiritually-connected elderly can also be linked to the abated use of tobacco products, abuse of drugs and alcohol, longer marriages and of course their supportive networks that all bring about a sense of peace and tranquility. There are umteen large-scale community studies that assess religion and spirituality as it coincides with the health and well-being of elderly men and women. The Established Populations for Epidemiological Studies of the Elderly (Lavretsky, 2010) did a study on a pproximately 20,000 U. S. adults, revealing that involvement in religion can prolong a life by seven years on the average. In another study, Comstocks and Partridges depth psychology of 91,000 people in Maryland that attended church showed a decrease in the prevalence of cirrhosis, heart disease, and suicide.A great number of studies reveal a direct correlation in commitment to ones spiritual self with lower rates of hypertension, cancer pain and stroke. Studies also rotate that religion or spirituality is also associated with decreased anxiety, stress, strong relationships and better overall mental, physical and emotional health.All of these types of studies have proven convertible results in all parts of the world and in all races, cultures and religions. The benefits of spirituality for the aging adult may be a fairly sore concept in that it has really only been studied in the erstwhile(prenominal) twenty to thirty years, however, it is being taken seriously in geriatric car e by practitioners everywhere. In many clinics, religion and spirituality are now taken seriously as a part of an individuals history when it comes toassisting elderly or seriously ill patients in order to help them cope, and even heal. Of course, the subject of religion may be a touchy one for some therefore practitioners know that they must approach this area cautiously. One way to do this is by postulation open-ended questions, such as, is faith (religion, spirituality) important to you in this illness has faith been important to you at other times in your life do you have someone to talk to about religious progenys and would you like to talk over religious matters with someone? The sense of well-being through spirituality and religion equally runs through White, Mexican, and African-Americans as studies have demonstrated, because inherently, people of faith, no matter what the race or culture, internalize peace and tranquility about aging and illness, leading to better self-e steem, attitudes and lower rates of depression and anxiety. Evidence suggests that meditation, prayer, and other religious and spiritual practices may have significant effects on the aging brain positive effects that may help make better memory and cognition, mood, and overall mental health (Newberg, 2011).Gerascophobia, the fear of aging, is common in people that have a difficult time experiencing birthdays, and that do everything within their power to stop the clock. We see as people age that they experience disengagement and loss like never before, such as losing professional identities, incomes, and seeing friends and/or family die or move away. This is a time for working out a philosophy, and then working that philosophy in to a way of life a time for transcending the senses to find, and abide with, the reality that underlies this natural world (Smith, 1991). As Pope Benedict say to the residents of a nursing home in Rome, Italy in 2012, It is beautiful to be elderlyWe must never let ourselves be imprisoned by sadness We received the gift of long life. On our face there must always be the joy of feeling ourselves loved by God, never sadness.