Term Paper on "Aging Isn't Something That Is Unique"

Term Paper 5 pages (1915 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Aging isn't something that is unique to us in this youth-obsessed society, but it is only in the past hundred years or so that it has become normal (Stuart-Hamilton 2006). In the prehistoric era, old age was rare. Even up to the 17th century, only about 1% of the population was over the age of 65 (2006). In 1900, the life expectancy of a baby born in an industrialized country was 47-55 years of age; today that figure has risen by about 30 years (2006). What all of this means is that, if we are lucky, we all will age and we all will have to deal with the psychology of aging -- that is, how it is effecting us mentally and emotionally. This doesn't just mean that we will have to learn to accept that our bodies are becoming weaker, our skin less firm, and our limbs less agile. but, with aging, we also have to accept that one day, when our bodies have given up, our heart and lungs too tired to go on, we will all die. Accepting one's own mortality is something that people have been contemplating since the beginning of time. With each new year, a new wrinkle, and another pain somewhere in the body -- they are all reminders that time is not on our side.

Aging has other issue besides the physical and the psychological, there are also very realistic issues that must be dealt with -- financial issues, logistical issues (having a will, plans for what we want to happen to our bodies after we die) among other issues. If we do live to a ripe old age, where will we live? Who will take care of us? Will we have enough money to survive? What if we get sick? There are so many questions that plague us it is no wonder why we all want to fight time with pills, surgeries, and needles. It is scary because it is the unknown. It is losing our time and who we believe we are.

Erber (2009) notes that for a long time there weren't reasons for studying aging and older adulthood. For the most part, until very recently, our knowledge about adult development has been based mainly on interviews, observations and tests on young adults. But all of these studies didn't give us any insight into the psychology of aging. Today aging is studied because people want to know what is happening to them as well as to their loved ones. From the perspective of a daughter, which I am, I would like to know what my parents, who are now in their late-sixties and early-seventies are going through. How can I help them? How can I support them? What are normal changes that occur with the aging process? These are things that can help not only the person aging, but the people who love them. Looking at aging from a psychological angle can help us all come to accept the changes and the feelings related to those with more perspective and wisdom and, of course, understanding.

Carl Jung believed that biological and social needs are primary in the first half of life, but cultural and spiritual needs become more important in the second half of life (Erber 2009). Having a spiritual foundation is something that I have seen of growing importance to older people. My father, for example, has become much more "religious" in his old age. During middle age, he didn't think about God, about the afterlife, or about people he had wronged in his life. I saw the changes in him as he grew into his sixties. He became very curious about what was "out there." He read the Shack three times in one year. He was obviously searching for something. Some kind of meaning? Some kind of direction for his life? Or perhaps, some kind of reassurance? As one ages, it seems that it may be easier to cope with more life behind us than life being ahead of us if we are able to look at life from a spiritual perspective. It makes death a bit easier to accept if we look at the world and everything in it as a whole and when a piece of it dies, a new piece is born.

Biological and social needs are needs of young people. Biological and social needs are needs that are important to older people as well, but the cultural and spiritual needs are more important as they give a person wisdom, depth and perspective on life. Also, looking at one's life as if they are part of a bigger picture -- i.e., more spiritual and cultural -- than looking at one's life from an individualistic perspective can give a person some feelings of comfort. To understand that we are all born, but we all must die too, as it is part of a natural process, is something that takes wisdom to understand and to contemplate without feeling depressed by our aging and our imminent deaths.

Erik Erikson proposed that in the final stage of life, the eighth stage, the main challenge for individuals is ego vs. integrity -- that is, older adults who resolve this are better able to find wisdom and look back at their life with happiness. However, for those who don't resolve the challenge, they will feel despair and disappointment with their lives. Ego vs. integrity means that one is able to accept aging and the inconveniences and the wrinkles that come with it and finding purpose and integrity in our lives. One who has not been able to put these two things into perspective will not be able to look back on their lives without regret. Erikson believed that each stage of his life stages had unique challenges and the challenge of the eighth stage of life is precisely putting integrity above ego, which is something that we all struggle with.

Another psychologist, Robert Peck, believed that there were certain adjustments that need to be made in order to adjust to later adulthood. He believed that success in each of these areas will lead to positive growth and toward what Erikson called "ego integrity" (Erber 2009). These three adjustments are big ones and relate to retirement, physical decline, and ego transcendence -- that is, accepting that life does not go on forever and that we all must die.

My father just retired last year from over 40 years teaching junior high math and science and he is already looking for something else to do with his time. I think that for him, and for many people, it is difficult to define one's self outside of their work after having it define you for so long. I think this might be especially more prevalent among men because men tend to define themselves by their work while women tend to define themselves, in general, by their family. If you ask a man to tell you something about himself, he will most likely say, "Well, I am a & #8230;" and say what he does for a job while if you ask a woman the same question, she is more likely to say, "Well, I have two kids and my husband…" So, retirement brings questions such as: "Am I a worthy person if I am no longer working or making money?" Peck believed that a well-adjusted person will know that he or she is worthy no matter what and that their work doesn't define who they are. Someone with a good idea of who they are will know that their worth doesn't completely depend upon work or how much money they are making.

Peck's second adjustment has to do with our bodies and our ability to do the things that we once loved so much. It also has to do with being able to accept ourselves wrinkles and all. Reconciling physical limitations or what we perceive as less physical perfection can be achieved. The enjoyment of life can be achieved with reduced physical capabilities and less physical perfection (Erber 2009) and the well-adjusted older adult will know this. However, I think this area is a difficult one especially for women. Not only do we live in a youth-obsessed culture, but we also live in beauty-obsessed culture. We now have things like Botox, face-lifts, and tummy tucks to help us achieve "perfection," but this perfection will never be achieved no matter how many surgeries because the achievement is in accepting one's self for who they are and they life they have lived. Women are taught via our culture (media, etc.) that younger is better and this can have a detrimental impact on our sense of self and self-worth. It is hard to watch one's self getting older -- finding new gray hairs, having to resort to dying our hair to feel better, to look younger.

Peck's third adjustment has to do with ego transcendence. This means that one has to be able to understand that their life… READ MORE

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