mental aging

Domestic scientist V.V. Boltenko singled out a number of stages of psychological aging, which do not depend on passport age.

At the first stage, a connection is maintained with the type of activity that was leading for a person before retirement. As a rule, this type of activity was directly related to the pensioner’s profession. More often these are people of intellectual labor (scientists, artists, teachers, doctors). This connection can be direct in the form of episodic participation in the performance of the previous work, or it can be indirect, through reading special literature, writing special literature, topics. If it breaks off immediately after retirement, then the person, bypassing the first stage, enters the second.

At the second stage, there is a narrowing of the circle of interests due to the fulfillment of professional attachments. In communication with others, conversations on everyday topics already predominate, discussion of television programs, family events, successes or failures of children and grandchildren. In groups of such people it is already difficult to distinguish who was an engineer, who was a doctor, and who was a professor of philosophy.

At the third stage, the concern for personal health becomes dominant. Her favorite topic of conversation is medicines, methods of treatment, herbs … Both in newspapers and in television programs, special attention is paid to these topics. The district doctor, his professional and personal qualities, becomes the most significant person in life.

At the fourth stage, the meaning of life becomes the preservation of life itself. The circle of contacts is narrowed to the limit: the attending physician, social worker, family members who support the personal comfort of the pensioner, neighbors of the closest distance. For decency or out of habit — rare telephone conversations with old acquaintances of the same age, mail correspondence, mainly to find out how many more are left to survive.

And, finally, at the fifth stage, there is a decrease in the needs of a purely vital nature (food, rest, sleep). Emotion and communication are almost absent.

Is all this inevitable? “Fortunately, no. The aging of the body with mental aging is not directly related.

One of the founders of Russian psychology B.G. Ananiev Ananiev B.G. Selected psychological works.: In 2 vols. M., 1980, he explained that the paradox of human life lies in the fact that for many people “dying” occurs much earlier than physical decrepitude. Such a state is observed in those people who, of their own free will, begin to isolate themselves from society, which leads to «a narrowing of the volume of personal properties, to a deformation of the personality structure.» Compared to centenarians who retain their identity, some “beginning” pensioners at the age of 60-65 seem immediately decrepit, suffering from the resulting vacuums and feelings of social inferiority. From this age, a dramatic period of personality dying begins for them. And the conclusion that the scientist makes: “Sudden blocking of all the potentials of a person’s ability to work and talent with the cessation of many years of work cannot but cause deep changes in the structure of a person as a subject of activity, and therefore the personality.”

True, but another, more optimistic conclusion follows from this: you can live by adding your passport age — and remain young at heart, remain alive, positive, cheerful and energetic. It is possible that every year it will be more and more difficult, but, on the other hand, you have more experience and more wisdom. The main thing is for whom it is all. Unless it’s for your own sake, that’s rarely enough motivation. If you know that your children, grandchildren, friends, and maybe your colleagues, our society need you, you have something to say and you can do some things in a way that no one else will do — you will always find in yourself strength to stay alive, vigorous and young.

The main thing is to live in such a way as to be needed!