5 Phrases One Hate
I e'er loved gerontology. When I was younger, I didn't know what “gerontology” was. Actually, it was non until college that I discovered 1 could obtain a score inwards gerontology—I merely idea that studying aging was a fun pastime, non a career move.
During my sophomore twelvemonth inwards college I took a score called “Psychology of Aging.” I loved that class. Really, it inspired me to commence working on my Master’s inwards Gerontology afterwards graduating alongside my Bachelor’s inwards Psychology.
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Through my years studying aging, spending fourth dimension alongside older adults, in addition to growing inwards this field, I constitute a few words in addition to phrases that I hate.
1. Elderly. In gerontology, nosotros endeavour to purpose the phrase “older adults” to depict the older population. The discussion elderly implies that people who are aging are weak in addition to feeble. It implies that they cannot create for themselves anymore. This label needs to disappear from our vocabulary.
2. Frail. “Frail” is commonly used inwards conjunction alongside “elderly”, for example, “She’s getting to hold upward in addition to thence fragile in addition to elderly.” While it agency that a mortal may hold upward feeling weak or sick, in that place are other, to a greater extent than appropriate words that nosotros could purpose to depict a person’s health. No 1 wants to hold upward frail.
3. Senile. This 1 actually gets me. Saying that someone is “senile” is similar maxim that someone “died from consumption.” It is an old, quondam phrase that does non hateful anything medical anymore. People used to tell “senile” when referring to a mortal alongside dementia. When nosotros did non know much almost dementia, “senile” became the all-encompassing term for aging alongside cognitive loss. We know amend now.
4, Insane. First of all, in that place is no psychological Definition for “insanity.” Insanity is a legal term that was created past times lawyers to define a mortal who was, permanently or temporarily, unable to command their ain actions. It is a legal defense. No 1 should hold upward labeled equally “insane” inwards a medical sense. Sometimes you lot volition listen people speak almost adults alongside dementia inwards this way, such as, “She was acting actually insane.” “Insane” does non tell us anything almost a person’s condition.
5. Demented. Okay so, technically, this discussion is nevertheless accurate. You tin post away depict a mortal equally existence “demented” when they accept dementia. To me, though, it merely feels similar using the discussion “retarded.”
“Demented” is a label, in addition to a vicious label at that. I listen it used a lot past times medical professionals, but I retrieve it is of import to purpose person-first linguistic communication when talking almost disease. Person-first linguistic communication agency that the mortal has the disease, non that the illness has the person. For example, maxim that someone “has dementia” is a lot nicer than maxim that a mortal “is demented.” Dementia is non that person’s whole life. Dementia is a illness that the mortal has.
Maybe you lot retrieve that, inwards the grand system of things, these phrases create non matter. That perchance I am picking them apart in addition to dissecting them for no reason. Think almost the way that the Western basis perceives getting older: it is non positive.
By changing the way that nosotros speak almost gerontology, maybe nosotros could alter the way that nosotros perceive it. There are over a 1000000 words inwards the English linguistic communication language—and nosotros couldn't alternative a few dissimilar ones to depict aging?
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Rachael Wonderlin has a Master’s of Science inwards Gerontology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She plant equally a Memory Care Program Coordinator in addition to Manager at Clare Bridge of Burlington inwards Burlington, NC.
Rachael also writes on her ain weblog at Dementia By Day.
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