Description
The life phase of old age is characterized by a dynamic interplay of internal and external adaptations including often, a prevailing sense of loss: loss of ones? capabilities and skills, one?s physical abilities and health, the loss of friends, spouse or social world and of course, the increasing sense of the loss of ones? own future. And yet, Erik Erikson has also described old age at its best, as a time for the gathering of wisdom and the deepening of personal integrity which can be passed on to others for all to benefit. What does it mean to age ?successfully?? What are the challenges, the rewards and the stresses of aging and how do they affect one?s psychological experience of oneself and of those around an aging individual? In what ways can old age challenge or fulfill one?s sense of oneself? This course will examine the components of successful aging as well as the psychological stressors older adults may experience as they travel through the last phases of the life-cycle. Topic