Aging

Donna Caires

SOWK B556

Due: October 5, 2014

One page of statistics from the ACHA fact sheet that struck me was the set of statistics--or, rather, expected statistics--pertaining to drug and alcohol use (on pages 6-7; section E). I was given several such surveys like the ones mentioned, in both college and high school, and without fail, students overestimate on all accounts. With this in mind, I look at Erikson's stage of Identity vs. Role Confusion.

My first reaction to was that I found it interesting that the largest stress was the largest cause of late work, incomplete work, withdrawal from a class, etc. and also that the largest stressor was academics. In many ways, it's a self-feeding system. We can't do work because we're stressed and we're stressed about being able to do work or doing work well. 

Though the ACHA survey results in terms of mental health were unfortunate, they were unsurprising. Significant percentages of college students, had, at least once in the last twelve months, felt that things were hopeless, felt overwhelmed by all they had to do, felt exhausted mentally, felt very lonely, experienced anxiety, and felt overwhelming anger. Almost half of the population surveyed expressed feeling that their lack of sleep was at least a small problem, and the most commonly treated mental health issues were anxiety, depression, and panic attacks.

The survey results overall seem to indicate that students are feeling a fairly high level of stress, and feel overwhelmed at how much they have to do. In terms of mental health, anxiety and depression seem to be the biggest problems. Everyone seems to have a few nights each week that they do not sleep well. In Kroger’s book, there is a description of identity statuses created by Marcia which are interesting because they are directly modeled on university students who he observed. Four statuses are described: identity achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion. It seems to be that the “identity achieved” people are the most put-together types, and the “diffusion” people the least. In terms of feeling overwhelmed and stressed, I think everyone can be affected.

I left class today feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. This wasn't the usual stress of the semester. This was a direct response to the absence of space I felt in today's class. Not necessarily for myself, but more generally.

I want us to return to some of the ground rules we agreed to at the beginning of the semester:

– making space for one another 

– stepping back

– remembering to avoid speaking as though one's truth is the only truth

– allowing some silence in our classroom

OUTLINE:

THEMES

Discovery, accepting that you are both unique and capable of great things but are also going to make mistakes, feel loneliness and all are normal and expected experiences in life. going down your own road, accepting reality, difficulty is normal, success means something different to everyone, learning from your experiences, getting up and trying again, having agency in your own life, satisfying the American Dream, having faith in yourself and your capabilities. The overarching message and task is resiliency.

HOW DOES DR. SEUSS COMMUNICATE THESE MESSAGES

Please begin reading Anna Strosser's memoir Who Cares the week of November 17th.  Please post some thoughts on the memoir and some questions you'd like to pose to Anna in class on 12/2 by November 30th at 5pm. 

Past Posting Prompts...

A posting is due by 5pm on Sunday 11/2/14; how does this article align with prevalent assessment frames for working with older adults (see Silverstone from Week 8)?  You might also comment on the impact of social constructions of old age, race, gender, or class as they relate to the tone of this article.