The Notebook Movie and Aging

In essence, The Notebook is an interesting story of love, understanding, and care. It brings to the fore interesting facts relating to family caregiving, aging, and dementia.
With regard to the physical parts of aging and its influence on mental health, it should be noted that the aging process is impacted upon by a wide range of factors including, but not limited to genetics, the life choices one makes, etc. Some of the changes that could be triggered by age are slowdown in metabolism rate, hearing problems, osteoporosis, hair-thinning, etc. Common illnesses and mental disorders associated with aging include, but they are not limited to, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, anxiety and depression, and some chronic diseases such as arthritis and adult onset diabetes. In the movie, both Noah (Duke) and Allie (in the nursing home) exhibit some of the frailties of old age. Noah does the hard job of trying to return Allie’s memory. He manages to maintain composure despite being exposed to stress triggering circumstances. This is more so the case given that when it comes to depression & anxiety in aging, the said mental conditions are not a consequence of aging. Instead, aging only increases the risk of depression, which is a major suicide risk factor. It is also important to note that depression, and other mental disorders such as anxiety do have a negative impact on an older adult’s ability to function, and their health as well. This is clear in the case of Allie, who has dementia. Essentially, in situations of this nature, the need for intervention cannot be overstated. This is more so the case given that as Fernandes and Paul (2017) point out, chronic conditions associated with aging are likely to grow going forward. This is more so the case given the increase in life expectancy. In their own words, “with the increase in average life expectancy, chronic conditions inherent to aging, such as dementias (in particular Alzheimer's Disease), are inevitably growing” (Fernandes and Paul, 2017).
In the movie, Allie is in assisted living where doctors advise Noah that Allie’s condition cannot be reversed. This would call for us to reflect on end of life considerations with regard to palliative care. Essentially palliative care aims at enhancing the wellbeing of patients via either the treatment or prevention of symptoms as well as side effects of a condition. In that regard, therefore, it is of great relevance towards the enhancement of the quality of life. Dementia, as Harris (2007) points out, is “associated with complex needs and people with dementia (and their carers) have been shown to have palliative care needs equal to those of cancer patients.” The approach towards the management of Allie’s condition should have been towards enabling those close to her to understand and handle the condition, as much as it would have been about treatment. As matter of fact, as far as family care-giving is concerned, a significant portion of long-term needs are often provided for by family members and friends, with the other long-term needs being supplemented by professional staff.
In relation to forgetfulness vs. dementia, it should be noted that all the characteristic of dementia are manifested in the case of Allen. Forgetfulness should be distinguished from Dementia. The latter, whose cause could be protracted, often has CNS damage as well as disturbance of memory as its key characteristics. It is occasioned “by widespread impairment of mental function which may include memory loss, language impairment, disorientation, personality change, difficulties with activities of daily living, self-neglect and psychiatric syndromes” (Harris, 2007). It is irreversible, as Allen’s doctors advise Noah. Forgetfulness, on the other hand, is usually temporal and reversible and could be brought about by a wide range of factors, i.e. head injuries, medicine reactions, poor nutrition, and high fever.




References
Fernandes, L. & Paul, C. (2017). Editorial: Aging and Mental Health. Front Aging Neurosci., 9(5), 25.
Harris, D. (2007). Forget Me Not: Palliative Care for People with Dementia. Postgrad Med J., 83(980), 362 – 366.