Question

Close your eyes. Picture yourself as an 85-year-old.Note your appearance, sights, sounds, and surroundings. Open your eyes and describe yourself at 85 to your partner. Then discuss how your mental image of yourself as an older person might have been influenced by your family history, grandparents, and perceptions about aging.

Answer 1

On closing my eyes and picturing myself as an 85 year old gave me a horrible feeling. I felt sorry for myself and my image as an 85 year old. I could visualize that my eye sight has become very weak and I could not hear properly. My skin has become loose and I could also see the wrinkles over my skin. My bones and muscles have become weak and my body weight has been reduced significantly. Most of my hairs has become grey and I have lost majority of my teeth. I feel like helpless and neglected in my surroundings. My family members except my partner have made distance from me. This is how, I will describe my image and feelings as an 85 year old to my partner.

Mental image of myself might have been influenced by my family history, my grandparents, and my perceptions about ageing. Appearance and conditions of older persons in my family has an impact on my mind. I am frightened by seeing the conditions of my grandparents and how they are treated by my other family members. I have a perception in my mind that ageing weakens the physical and mental conditions of the body. I have a perception that older persons are treated as a burden in the society. These are some reasons which influenced the mental image of myself as an 85 year old.

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