Emotionally, the older adult has an identity that has been shaped by life events and the attitude of others towards older people is important. If older people are not valued, they might perceive themselves as worthless. Loss can be experienced at any age but is often associated with older adulthood. Losses experienced can include retirement, bereavement, mobility, and ability.
Healthy development at any stage includes adjustment to loss and adapting to change. Older adults can use the opportunities provided by no longer working or having a family to care for, to fulfil some of their ambitions. Some older adults learn a language, take a parachute jump, go on a long holiday or volunteer. Now they have the time and energy, they get a sense of achievement from ‘putting something back into the community’
The video below shows how Age UK support people to gain more confidence using digital technology.
How people feel about older age has changed dramatically in the last 50 years. In the middle of the 20th century, 65 was considered old. The types of jobs people had, the poor diet they had during the war and the upheaval of the World Wars would have had a major negative impact on the physical and mental health of older adults in the 1950’s and 60’s. However, with the advent of free health care in the late 1940’s and other changes, people who are now older adults have had a much less fraught journey. With the development of new medicine and technology, people are able to live healthy lives for much longer than in the past and many people view their 60s as a time when they are finally free of responsibilities – teenagers, jobs and a mortgage – and are now able to follow other interests. Their bodies are physically aging, but often their minds are as alert as they were, plus they have the wisdom of experience.
Here is an example of how people can remain active and find social stimulation playing walking football:
However, negative attitudes about ageing and older people remain common and can have significant consequences for the physical and mental health of older adults. Older people who feel they are a burden perceive their lives to be less valuable, putting them at risk of depression and social isolation. Culturally, having a sense of one’s roots can be very important for some people; it creates a sense of belonging to a nation or community. In some cultures, it is considered one’s duty to look after parents in old age, therefore, some older adults move in with their children. Sometimes they move in because of love and companionship
Ageism has harmful effects on the health of older adults. Ageism has been shown to cause cardiovascular stress, lowered levels of self-efficacy and decreased productivity. Negative attitudes are also widely present even within the health and social-care settings where older adults are at their most vulnerable.
Erik Erikson (1902-1979) was is a renowned psychologist who suggested that we develop and change throughout our life and we have to work out how to respond to these changes in order to achieve psychological balance and health.
Erikson believed that social factors have a lot of influence on the way we behave and develop. For example, we are influenced at home by our parents, in our community by our friends, and at school by our teachers. As we mix with others in our social worlds, we gather information that will affect our behaviour. Erikson believed that we can split our lives into eight stages and eighth stage represents older adulthood, or our final stage of life.
He believed that ‘somebody who can look back on a happy and fulfilling life does not fear death and will feel satisfied with their life. Those who look back with frustration or regret experience despair, knowing that it is too late to start again.
We should always remember this when working with older people. They have many years of life to look back on and how they feel about their past can have a significant impact on their health and wellbeing in the present.
