This article is about Miss Tillie and her struggle with aging and mental illness. Psychology theories as they are associated with Miss Tillie, research findings from scholarly literature applied to Miss Tillie, Miss Tillie and cognitive functions, social patterns and Miss Tillie, physical and health changes evident in Miss Tillie, as well as a concluding statement concerning this project will be analyzed in this article. A summary of Miss Tillie will be discussed next.
Summary about Miss Tillie
Mrs. Tillie Ford is an 85-year-old woman who has lived across the street from me in a home that seems to be stuck in the 70s for the past 22 years. Miss Tillie was a hairdresser and she also worked in grocery stores as a cashier. She married Buck Ford and they had one daughter, Miss Gloria, who is 65-years-old. Miss Gloria was recently forced into retirement from her school custodian job by a stroke. Shortly after Miss Gloria's stroke Miss Tillie had a stroke too. The ladies are now living together in Miss Tillie's little pink house.
Miss Tillie and Mr. Buck were active in a social group of folks who loved going to the lake for camping and skiing. The group of friends also enjoyed get togethers at their houses. Miss Tillie's life changed abruptly when her husband was killed in a boating accident. When Miss Tillie told me about demanding to go see her husband's body before he was "fixed up" at the funeral home it shocked me; in retrospect, I believe that this is a sign of mental illness.
Miss Tillie remarried once and moved out of her little pink house until her husband hit her. As she was telling me her story her relief for being back in her and Buck's home was evident; she said, "I came back home to Buck". Miss Tillie still uses Buck's green coffee cup and sits in his spot at the same dining room table that was in her home when Buck was still alive. In fact, nothing much has changed in Miss Tillie's little pink house since Buck was alive.
The dilemma with Miss Tillie is that she has too many cats and the stench of ammonia is so thick in the air that after just 10 minutes my clothes absorb the odor. "Miss Tillie, I will clean the carpets for you", or "Miss Tillie, I will mop the floors for you" have came out of my mouth several times throughout the years. She won't let me help her. When I was given this assignment I decided to try one more time with resources from my college. Luckily, the doctors mentioned the smell in her clothes and told her of the danger associated with cat mess at the same time I was mentioning the sources I had located.
Unfortunately, one carpet cleaning was not enough to take the smell out and the room that the carpet was ripped out of still has a lingering odor from the walls. As I was cleaning Miss Tillie "supervised" as much as she could and both ladies griped about the bleach smell. The next day when I went to finish there were turds scattered on the kitchen floor and paper with a huge dog mess on it. Miss Gloria took some cats over to her home which made me feel so happy until I noticed that 4 cats were left loose in the house 1 cat was caged inside with 2 cats caged outside. Now that I have provided back-ground information it is time to analyze Miss Tillie. Next, psychology theories as they are associated with adult development and aging will be discussed.
Psychology Theories as they are Associated with Miss Tillie
Some psychology theories and approaches are evident with Miss Tillie. Miss Gloria and Miss Tillie meet their gang at the coffee shop daily so that the activity theory of giving the elderly opportunities to remain active in the community is evident in Miss Tillie's life while the disengagement theory is not reflected by Miss Tillie's life (Whitbourne & Whitbourne, 2014). In conjunction to the behavioral approach Miss Tillie's troubles may be a response to the external force of her husband dying while her "internal development processes" are reacting to the environment containing her husband's familiarity of the cognitive or psychological approach to aging (Baumgartner, 2001). The integrated approach of holistic development would be the most beneficial for Miss Tillie as she needs to heal her mind, body, and spirit (Baumgartner, 2001). The social aspect of Miss Tillie will be discussed later in this article. Principles and psychological disorders will be discussed next.
Miss Tillie exhibits some principles and a psychological disorder. Even though Miss Tillie has changed from aging she is still the same hard-headed, good hearted, analytical, set-in-her-ways Virgo that I have known and loved these past 22 years so that she has changed while remaining the same as per the principle from our text (Whitbourne & Whitbourne, 2014). Miss Tillie is also a "tough old bird" who has outlived all of the threats to her life while retaining her individuality (Whitbourne & Whitbourne, 2014). It seems that a portion of her frailty stems from illness that may be related to cat mess instead of the intrinsic aging process (Whitbourne & Whitbourne, 2014). Miss Tillie displays classic symptoms of the psychological disorder of compulsive hoarding accompanied by obsessive-compulsive tendencies that interfere with the cleanliness of her home (Jones, 2016). Jones (2016) states that these behaviors worsen with neurodegenerative disease. It definitely seems that Miss Tillie has a psychological disorder. Next research findings from scholarly literature will be applied to Miss Tillie.
Research Findings from Scholarly Literature Applied to Miss Tillie
Research findings from scholarly literature can be applied to Miss Tillie's life. Toxoplasma gondii parasite that affects human mental health can be found in cat litter boxes but most immune systems are strong enough to resist it (Germ in cat feces may affect human brain, 2012). "Inhalation of ammonia may cause nasopharyngeal and tracheal burns, bronchiolar and alveolar edema, and airway destruction resulting in respiratory distress or failure" (ATSDR, n.d., para.6). Ammonia may even cause asphyxiation in a poorly ventilated area like Miss Tillie's closed up home (ATSDR, n.d.) This literature applies to Miss Tillie due to her "litter box kitchen floor" and numerous encrusted litter boxes in her home. More scholarly evidence is presented later in this article in the appropriate sections. Miss Tillie and cognitive functions will be explored next,
Miss Tillie and Cognitive Functions
Miss Tillie's cognitive functions definitely seem to be declining. Miss Tillie is the epitome of "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" from my perspective while she believes that "older is wiser" and she must "use it or lose it" pertaining to her cognitive functions (Park, et.al., 2001). One study indicates that the volume of gray brain matter decreases while white brain matter deteriorates to decrease brain processing speeds as individuals age (Hong, et.al., 2015). "There are substantial declines in behavioral measures of cognitive function with age, including decreased function of executive processes and long-term memory" (Park, et.al.,2001, para.1). Miss Tillie fits part of the description of a pet owner with failing cognitive functions because she believes gives them exceptional care although the cats don't seem all that healthy despite the fact that she eats weenies and TV dinners while the cats get canned cat food as well as 9-Lives (Hartwell-Walker, 2016). Despite warnings from her doctor and myself Miss Tillie does not realize that her home is a health risk for her as well as her beloved cats and doggie (Hartwell-Walker, 2016). Studies indicate that most folks who create a lifestyle that is overrun by animals are mentally ill which seems related to cognitive functions (Hartwell-Walker, 2016). The trouble with Miss Tillie is that as high-school graduate and beauty operator she thinks she knows-it-all and she will not hear what others have to say if it means she needs to change her way of doing things despite self acknowledgment of her failing cognitive functions. Next social patterns and Miss Tillie will be discussed.
Social Patterns and Miss Tillie
Miss Tillie and Miss Gloria still meet their "gang" at the coffee shop every day and they are well loved with good reason. Social interaction can indicate mental and physical changes in aging adults (Chen et.al., n.d.) Although Miss Tillie still participates in social functions her stinky clothes and fear of bathing indicate that her social functions are, indeed, declining as research indicates. (Khanjani, et.al., 2015). "Clinical studies indicate that an elderly patient with dementia may exhibit agitated behaviors that reflect increased confusion, delusion, and other psychiatric disturbances" (Chen, et.al., n.d., p.2). Miss Tillie definitely displays agitated behavior and stubbornness if I bring up something she doesn't wish to discuss (Aging Care, 2016). The "social interaction" that Miss Tillie seems to enjoy the most is that with her cats and old, sickly Corgi dog that she sees as her children as described by a source (Hartwell-Walker, 2016). Miss Tillie also believes that she communicates directly with her pets; in fact, she spends approximately a quarter of her people visits describing conversations or having conversations with her cats (Hartwell-Walker, 2016). Miss Tillie does crave social interaction yet her mind is so clouded that she doesn't function very well socially. Physical and health changes evident in Miss Tillie will be discussed next.
Physical and Health Changes Evident in Miss Tillie
There has been a definite decline in Miss Tillie's physical health. Although memory loss is associated with Alzheimer's Disease research indicates that most people remain alert even if it takes them longer to remember things which is further indication that Miss Tillie may be experiencing deeper mental disturbance (NIH, 2007). Miss Tillie experiences autoimmune disease in that her weakened body and very poor diet leaves no defense against the toxoplasma gondii parasite that is found in litter boxes (Germ in cat feces may affect human brain, 2012). Miss Tillie's recurring chest infections very well may be caused by the thick ammonia from the cat and old dog urine that saturates her floors (ATSDR, n.d.). Arthritis, cataracts, tooth loss, and urogenital problems are all experienced by Miss Tillie as listed by one source (NIH, 2007). Physical changes may be affecting Miss Tillie's sweet, little hard-head as "reasons for stubbornness might include: frustration due to loss of independence and loss of ability to do the things they used to be able to do; depression over losses; dementia, certain medications, isolation, anger, fear of dying, and (if they are still living at home) fear of being placed in a nursing home" (Aging Care, 2016, para.1). Miss Tillie's actual health concerns seem to be related to lack of exercise, poor diet, and unsanitary living conditions as much as they are to aging. A concluding statement concerning this project will be analyze next.
Psychology theories as they are associated with Miss Tillie, research findings from scholarly literature applied to Miss Tillie, Miss Tillie and cognitive functions, social patterns and Miss Tillie, as well as physical and health changes evident in Miss Tillie have been presented in this article. Interestingly the lady from the state came this morning and Miss Tillie and Miss Gloria were actually angry with her for stating a fact about the awful smell and giving them 3 weeks to get the cabinets ready for an exterminator to come. I am ending my project with a new comprehension of mental illness, and a feeling of regret for not pushing Miss Tillie harder to clean before it got so terrible. The dilemma about what to do with the elderly is a real one. Do we leave the in unhealthy environments so that they can be sick and die in peace or die we force them from their homes to die depressed in a nursing home? There are too many variables to make an easy decision.
The state did great and came in to spray for Miss Tillie and made the daughter clean the house and she is doing amazing now.
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