What is successful aging?

First of all, I would like to clarify what “successful aging” means. At first glance, this may be confusing. Successful – how is it? Faster and faster towards old age? Of course not. The basic idea is to think of old age as a process in which we gain and grow as individuals. This is what will protect us from the myths associated with old age, and from the fears that we experience.

Who can be called old? It depends on the historical era, cultural traditions, social situation. We know that the image of old age in different historical eras was different. For example, in the Renaissance, a person of 28–30 years old was already perceived as a fully accomplished mature person. Attitudes towards old age have also changed over the course of history. We have seen periods when respect and reverence for old age grew into denial and contempt. In psychology, there is a concept that very accurately reflects this socio-cultural nature of old age. This is the concept of social clock. What is a social clock? This is the expected chronology of the onset of some events. The onset of old age is not associated with a specific moment in time, but with those traditions and attitudes that have developed in society. For the period up to 70 years, we today increasingly use the delicate name: “presenile period”. A certain number of years will pass, the general social situation will improve, life expectancy will increase, and, probably, our understanding of old age in terms of chronology will also change.

The fear of old age in clinical psychology is called “gerontophobia”. Hand in hand with this fear is also thanatophobia – the fear of death. Any fear actually performs not only a disorganizing, but also a mobilizing function. The fear of old age can also be treated differently. On the one hand, it can disorient us. On the other hand, it can make us take a more responsible approach to our health and lifestyle. Of course, fear is only good in small doses. The components of gerotnophobia are the fear of loss of social status, loneliness, poverty, an empty life. That is, the feeling that life is already ending, and what was planned was not implemented. Fear of disease and, finally, fear of death. How justified are these fears and what can we do to counter them?

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• What if old age gives us a chance?

In psychology today, there are three models that explain the state of old age. The first is the model of the irreversibility of loss. Old age is explained as a state of irreversible regression. There is no way back. For a long time this approach dominated. Then, as the sciences advance and the general economic situation improves, another model emerges – decline with compensation. When vision deteriorates, we put on glasses. When hearing fails, we put on a hearing aid. There are some kind of social crutches that help us compensate for the lost functions. But it’s still a model of decline. And in the last quarter of the XNUMXth century, more and more supporters receive a new understanding of old age. This is a model that includes both losses and gains.

Psychologist Robert Hewighurst introduced a concept that sustains us throughout our lives. This is the concept of “development tasks”. What it is? At each age stage, a person faces tasks that reflect the changes that occur in his life – with his social status, with his career, with relationships. Even in old age, these tasks allow him to reach the level of progress. That is not downward movement, but upward movement. Successful old age depends on how we solve these problems.

One of the tasks of aging is the adoption of a new image of corporality. Because one of the patterns of aging is associated with a change in our somatic appearance. Our body is undergoing changes. We may or may not recognize them. The second task is adaptation to a decrease in physical strength and capabilities. This does not mean that we lose them completely. But there are limitations. One way to solve this problem is to think in advance about how to increase these physical capabilities. Retirement, termination of social and professional activities is another serious task. Social death often comes much earlier than physical death. But social death, unlike physical death, depends solely on us. In one form or another, we can always continue our professional activities – as a consultant, an expert, just talking to young colleagues.

Another task is adaptation to the loss, the departure of a loved one. How to survive it? This fear takes on special significance in old age. It is connected with another very important task – the task of summing up the results of life. Summing up allows us to gain wisdom. As Eric Erikson wrote, during this period the main thing is to achieve meaningfulness of life, interest in life in spite of death itself. There is a wonderful story on this subject. The old man is planting a tree. They ask him: “Why are you doing this, are you already old and infirm?” He replies: “I want a shadow so that the traveler can rest in it.” They say to him: “But you won’t see when it grows up.” He replies: “But others will see.” And so the acquisition of wisdom is the very strategy, tactics and the best tool that can help us overcome many problems. We see wisdom as a neoplasm of old age. I draw your attention to the fact that old age as a loss of cognitive capabilities and abilities is nothing more than a myth. Modern research shows that with age, we not only lose the usual opportunities, but also gain new ones. For example, we can no longer quickly memorize a large amount of information, but we acquire expert thinking and the ability to act in a situation of uncertainty.

Therefore, perhaps, one should not be afraid of old age. Old age gives us many things that we do not have in our younger years. Each stage of life’s journey matters, and how we meet it depends on our understanding of life’s tasks and the ability to adapt to new conditions of life.

Olga Karabanova – psychologist, head of the Department of Developmental Psychology of Moscow State University, author of books and lecture courses. The lecture was delivered at the III National Conference “Society for All Ages” on October 9, 2015.