Jessica Davis

GRN 250-001

Thought Assignment #3
Part One:
Saeed, the body and mind change in many different ways as we age,
we would like to take a look into Mahajabeens case to see if there is any way
for us to help her age successfully and possibly take some stress off of you
and your family. Growing old does not always mean decline, especially this
drastic of a change, there could be another problem. It is a good thing you
brought her in, we will see what ways we can assist her and your family to
make this an enjoyable time of your lives, dont give up on her solely
because of her old age.

Part Two:
Mahajabeen, and 81 year old Hindu woman, was brought in today by
her family who says she isnt herself. She has no interest in doing anything,
doesnt respond when spoken to, loses things, doesnt make sense when she
talks, repeats herself, and talks about the past. She presents signs of
memory loss and wandering but refuses help.
One possible cause of this is that she is experiencing dementia caused
by severe organic deterioration of the brain. This would explain her problems
with memory impairment, behavioral and personality changes, changes in

intellect and emotions as well as spatial disorientation. One form of dementia

that she could have is Alzheimers. While it can only be diagnosed post
mortem, she shows many of its symptoms. The signs of onset Alzheimers
include, short term memory loss that disrupts daily life, challenges in
planning or solving problems, difficulty completing familiar tasks at home,
confusion with time or place or wandering, trouble understanding visual
images or spatial relationship, new problems with words in speaking or
writing, misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps, decreased
or poor judgment, withdrawal from work or social activities, and changes in
mood and personality or delusions. As Alzheimers progresses, ones family
will notice, dramatic personality changes, daily changes in function,
increasing disorientation with time and space, and progressive debilitation.
Risk factors of this disease include age and gender, chances of having
Alzheimers greatly increases after age 65 and women are more likely to
have it compared to men. For an 81 year old woman, her chances of having
Alzheimers are higher than most. While there is no known cure for
Alzheimers and it is irreversible, it is important to tell the family what we
think is causing this change because it will cause a disruption to them and
the disease is genetic, they may want to know that they have an increased
risk of having it themselves.
Another possible cause for Mahajabeens behavior is that she is
depressed. This could be in addition to Alzheimers disease to explain some
of her other symptoms because depression is often comorbid with another

disease such as Alzheimers. Some symptoms of depression exhibited by

Mahajabeen include a depressed mood, loss of interest in pleasurable
activities, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, difficulties in
concentrating or thinking, as well as suicidal notions. These five symptoms
constitute as clinical depression according to the American Psychiatry
Association 1994 Diagnostic Manual. Once again, depression is more
common in women than in men, so being female already puts her at a higher
risk. Race might also be a factor in this case, while often not recorded or
treated, about 9% of Indians are reported as depressed but 36% reportedly
suffer from a major depressive episode or MDE over the course of their life.
The average age of depression in India is 31.9 years, much older in
comparison to the US and China at 18.8 years (Sinha, 2012).
Hindus closely relate religion with aging, in the last life stage of
Sannyasa, old age, one is suppose to surrender their ego, stop thinking about
themselves and taking in but focus on their family and spirituality rather
than themselves. This could be very different with someone with Alzheimers
who requires a lot of care and attention, as they grow older. Because of this,
we need to be extra cautious and supportive of her family, this may be very
different of what they expect Mahajabeens old age to look like. During this
stage, Hindus also often travel to spiritual sites and prepare for their death
with dignity. Unfortunately, these diseases will take that from Mahajabeen,
having around the clock care, not remembering things, and her overall
deterioration may cause her to become more depressed because of this loss

of dignity especially if she planned to follow in this tradition. Even if one

decides to remain at home during this stage, the focus is to require less, not
to be a burden, something that Mahajabeen is unfortunately already feeling
and will most likely get worse as she deteriorates more.

Sources
Sinha, Kounteya. "Women More Prone to Depression than Men, Indians Worst
Hit." The Times of India. N.p., 10 Oct. 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

Mazumdar, S. & Mazumdar, S. (2005). Home in the context of religion for the
elderly Hindus in India. In G.D. Rowles & H. Chaudhury (eds.) Home
and Identity in Late Life: International Perspectives. (pp 81-107). New
York, NY: Springer Publishing Company