Thoughts and Suggestions from an Aging Psychologist.

8 Truths about Old Age

I taught clinical gerontology for many years until about two years ago when I retired from teaching, and I miss my students dearly. I especially enjoyed teaching students in their first year of the doctoral program. Sometime during that year, I would give a lecture I called “8 Gerontology Truths According to DrR.”

The lecture was a general overview of what we recognize happens to people as they become old, drawn from respected scientific research and clinical reports. I chose eight truths that I identified as occurring frequently and that were supported by my own clinical experience. The students were usually very engaged by this lecture. It prompted good discussions and was a springboard for critical thinking.

I revised the lecture a bit every year in anticipation of a new incoming first-year class, but essentially, over the tenure of my teaching, these eight truths continued to feel true.

Now, years later, while going through old lectures and presentation notes, I asked myself if I were to create a list of eight “truths” today, would these be ones I’d include? Does recent research continue to support them? And now that I am beyond any age we would set for being an “older person,” does my own experience support these putative truths?

Here they are:

DrR’s 8 Truths about People in Older Age

1. Increased Interiority

In older age there is a tendency to become more introspective, more philosophical, and more self-focused. Yes, we do appear to become “more like ourselves” in older age.

In sentient old age our main personality traits remain quite stable. We are also prone to rely on behaviors and the coping mechanisms that we have relied on throughout our life. Repetition conserves energy.

2. More Diverse

A group of older adults is more diverse than a group at other ages on pretty much any measure. A group of second-graders, age seven or eight, for example, are more alike than is a group of older folks in their eighties.

The tendency to group and generalize about people according to age becomes increasingly less reliable with advancing age.

3. Reduced Energy

As we advance through old age there occurs a general slowing, and the perceived reciprocal of this is a lessening of energy. Energy becomes an increasingly precious commodity in advancing old age. There are numerous contributions to this.

Physical contributions include:

• Frequently occurring mobility changes
• Sensory changes
• Nutritional issues
• Medical conditions
• Effects of an increasing number of medications

We also know that sleep architecture changes with old age. The deep sleep we take for granted when we are young, the real restful sleep, gets nibbled away as we become old.

Psychosocial contributions include:

• Loneliness
• Boredom
• Multiple sources of anxiety and fear

4. Memory Changes

Highly endorsed in both the professional and lay literatures are changes in memory that go along with advancing age. If there is any “surprise” at all, it is that we are starting to appreciate that these changes begin earlier than we had previously recognized.

What we do recognize is that working memory gets sluggish. Getting new information “in” and old information “out” take longer. Words, especially names and nouns, have a nasty tendency to go under cover and become increasingly unavailable for recall the more we pursue them.

And “multi-tasking” is distinctly not older-person friendly! Well-crystallized memory, however, remains impressively robust and age-resistant and contributes to what we speak of as the wisdom of old age.

5. Mind/Body Connection

The body becomes increasingly connected to the mind as we advance through old age. Certain illnesses, such as pneumonias and UTIs can induce a delirium, and falls can precipitate mental status changes.

Psychological disorders, such as depression and anxiety, can be reflected through physical signs and symptoms more dramatically than at a younger age.

6. History, Cohort and Culture

At any age, we are living at a given time in history that defines when old age is and how it is considered. Historical moment embraces an expectation of what “successful aging” is.

Successful aging also embraces expectations of the cohort of “people like us,” and is also taken measure by the culture in which we were raised and with which we identify. History. Cohort. Culture.

Society, our holding environment, offers supports for successful aging in many ways. But society also has expectations. For example, currently a successfully aging older adult needs to have at least a minimum measure of comfort with technology.

7. Activity and Disengagement

Each of these theories have had their moment in the history of geropsychology.

Activity Theory: The basic premise is that the older person should remain engaged with the world and not retreat from connections because of the changes that come along with the aging process. It is important to continue to be socially involved in order to maintain meaning and purpose in their life.

Disengagement Theory: At the other end of the spectrum is the theory which posits that retreating into a more thoughtful, private introspective space helps the old person to review and make meaning of their life. It helps them come to a point of self-acceptance and recognition that one’s life has mattered.

Over time research has supported the position that lies somewhere in between, or some fluctuation between, the activity and disengagement positions is best. The essential question is how well the individual is able to cope with the challenges they face.

The frequently occurring challenges that go along with aging mostly reflect the loss of relationships and roles, functional abilities and resources of support. Solitude, disengagement and introspection can offer the individual a piece of time to refocus, review and repair, and then be in better position to reinvest and resume more active participation.

8. Relationship to Change

Each of us reflects a history of our relationship to change that remains quite stable throughout life, for better or worse. I consider that there are three main relationship types.

Type 1: Proactive - These folks are inclined to “look ahead” and plan change accordingly. Continuing care and retirement communities are likely highly inhabited by people who are proactive.

Type 2: Change as Needed - The second group of people are those who do change but on an as-needed basis. For example, these folks might consider moving from a large multi-storied house after a fall or two on the stairs.

Type 3: Resistant to Change - The third group includes those who are resistant to change. This is illustrated by someone who once came into my office in his early 80s and announced at the outset that he was the same person he was when he was 40. That told me a lot, including my wondering what he was doing for the last 40 years. These are people who resist aging as well as change.

Final Thoughts

These eight ‘truths’ that I’ve put forward were not ranked in any way. But had I ranked them, I think that one’s relationship to change would be at the top of the list.

The way I see it, our ability to anticipate change, to plan for change, to implement change, to get back on our feet when change has been implemented, go hand in hand with what we call coping, adaptation, accommodation, flexibility, and resilience.

These, in the aggregate, are essentially important throughout life, and exquisitely so when we become older persons.

Contact me. I’d love to hear from you.

Photo by the author