Ann Morisymorisy@btinternet.com

“Life views are shaped by a regnant gestalt of low-high-low proportions, an iconic illusion that presorts all perceptions of the life course into a tri-phasic

sequence.”

Paul H. Pruyser

THIRD Dependence

Relinquishing

SECONDHouseholding

Generativity

FIRSTSocialisation

Dependence

ASSUMED LIFE STAGES UNTIL SIXTY YEARS AGO

65 YEARS

FOURTHDependence

Relinquishing

SECONDHouseholdingGenerativity

FIRST Socialisation

Dependence

80+YEARS

A NEW MAP OF LIFE

THIRD?

A NEW MAP OF LIFE

THEORY OF ACTIONTHEORY OF ACTIONThe ‘third age’ can easily last as long as 30 years

There is a lack of models or examples for a 30 year long third age

Attitudes forged in previous eras still predominate and impact both ‘within and

without’

Third-agers today have to fight against habitual undervaluing - long-term - and this

understandably undermines wellbeing and provokes defensiveness

Not only does this situation carry a personal cost, it can inhibit the distinctive contribution of older

people

Third-agers need to be reflective and determined to resist the narrowing of horizons if they are to

embrace new vocations that bring meaningfulness and capacity for intentionality.

Promote ‘structures of encouragement’ in relation to conversation

Be confident about the positive contribution of spirituality

Encourage skills and perspectives that can counter loneliness and the chronic undervaluing of self that diminish resilience

Affirm the distinctive contributions that is to be called forth from older people.

All helping us not to be a pain in later life!

‘Thinking’ skills that enhance resilience can be learned. How we feel about events is rooted in the way we think.

Through conversation it is possible to reframe adverse events.

Conversation is vital to the task of reframing which is the key ingredient of resilience.

WHO LIVES THE LONGEST?WHO LIVES THE LONGEST?

SPINSTERS

BATCHELORS

MARRIED WOMEN

MARRIEDMEN

SOME DEMOGRAPHYSOME DEMOGRAPHY

Britain and more and more nations have become 3rd Age societies

Currently 20% of the British population is over 65 and more people than ever are in their 70s, 80s, 90s

Between 2020 and 2030 those who were born during the post-war baby boom will be reaching old ageThe high number of old people in 2020 will be the product of low fertility

Increasingly confused lines of obligation due to ‘serial marriage’ and ‘non-formalised conjugal relationships’

On average women (still) live 5 years longer than men. Grimley-Evans suggests that 3 years of the difference is due to life-style differences and 2 years of the difference is due to women’s biological superiority!

The work of Dan Blazer and Erdman Palmore

"Religion and Aging in a Longitudinal Panel" The Gerontologist, Vol 16 (1) 1976

This work has been regularly repeated by other researchers and on each occasion a

positive experience of growing old is strongly linked with ‘doing business with

God’.

•Loss of dignity

•Loss of remunerative work

•Loss of relationship (Loving and working are the twin pillars of mental health)

•Loss of independence

•Loss of time (in the context of unstructured time)

•Loss of opportunities for ‘reality testing’

•Secure in one’s own status i.e. less afraid of the slurs of eccentricity

•Relaxing of defences (brings stamina)

•Ability to share personal credos – related to the freedom of revealing one’s innermost thoughts because of less fear of mockery

•Greater ability to live in the present•Competence + availability = Disponibilité

•Society values 'formal logic’- analysing a range of factors to arrive at the right answer

•Klaus Riegal suggests that adults have the potential for ‘dialectical logic'•Dialectical logic ends up with a question rather than an answer... the ability to tolerate contradictions and ponder contradictions to discover more profound questions acknowledging that life is too rich and complicated to be captured by thinking, and this energises the thinking process.In contrast, formal logic aims at the elimination contradictions i.e. seeks a right answer

Bob Martin: Only 2 species live beyond menopause - Homo Sapiens and the large sea mammals. Why should these species invest in the longevity of barren females?

Martin speculates that older, barren females aid the nurture of the next but one generation because of the complex social environment into which the youngster has to be socialised.

Studies of the children of the crack-cocaine epidemic in Harlem in New York show that those youngsters with a grandmother closely involved in their lives were the most likely to free themselves from the chaos of addiction[1]

[1] Children of the Crack Cocaine Epidemic - Minkler M. and Roe K. M. (1983) “Grandmothers As Care Givers” Sage, New York

Usually assumed that as we age there is a decline in our cognitive and intellectual ability

However, research suggests decline is not inevitable and if decline occurs it can often be reversed

Researchers propose a PLASTICITY MODEL – should an individual’s cognitive performance begin to decline with appropriate intervention the decline can be reversed

This ‘plasticity model’ emphasises the importance of a stimulating environment

for older people

COGNITIVE ABILITY AND AGEINGCOGNITIVE ABILITY AND AGEING

FOR EXAMPLE: FOR EXAMPLE: 2/3rds of 67 elderly people in a nursing home

needed ‘heavy care’ … but as a result of restorative activity a year later the number

had fallen to only 9 categorised as ‘heavy care’

The restorative activity: A weekly poetry or arts class… leading to:

•Improvements in memory recall•Concentration and control are promoted

•Reduced confusion because of better attention to the world

•Better mobility•Reduction in incontinence

“I cannot tell you anything in a few minutes that will help you to get rich. But I can tell you how to feel rich, which is far better. Be grateful. It’s the only totally reliable, get rich quick scheme.”

Ben Stein

Failure in relation to gratitude is the way we ‘miss out’ on happiness - If we habitually judge our lives against the lives of others we squander the possibility of happiness.

The classical sources of human strength: wisdom, hope, love, spirituality, gratitude and humility

The practice of gratitude is like ‘grammar’ — an underlying structure that helps us construct and make sense out of our lives.

Gratitude is more than a feeling, because it requires an active response. 1.acknowledgement of goodness in one’s life2.recognising the source of this goodness3.directing thanks outward

‘Thanking’ is linked with thinking i.e. I recognise / I appreciate

The Simpson’s grace: “Dear God, we paid for all this stuff ourselves, so thanks for nothing.” Bart Simpson.

A movement to promote the interests of younger and future generations in the political process

As our population ages and numbers of older people increases, factors have combined to make the older generation richer and more

demanding of public services

Therefore the assumption that each working generation will take care of the one that preceded

is challenged …

INTERGENERATIONAL EQUITYINTERGENERATIONAL EQUITY

… Difficulty of the younger generation entering the housing market

… Personal pension benefits diminishing for younger people

… State pensions have fallen in real terms but total cost has risen steeply

… Difficulty for young people to get ‘good’ jobs

… Health care costs for the elderly have escalated

… Environmental degradation

Therefore … pressure towards everyone for themselves from birth to life…