Psychology of the elderly
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Psychology of the elderly is the basis of old age, which is the final period of the life cycle. Harmonious development of the personality in old age ends with a calm summarizing and satisfaction with the right, with the benefit of lived life. However, many people do not acquire this harmony in old age, both with themselves and with the world around them. The reason for this is that throughout life a person is exposed to various destabilizing, destructive factors, which in old age only deepen the level of dissatisfaction of the individual. The most serious among the individual stressful moments are those that are perceived as uncontrollable, not dependent on the will of the person, fatal and not amenable to correction (for example, separation from children, death of a spouse or retirement). Especially when they happen suddenly, without a person being able to somehow prepare for them, in psychological terms, to conduct "work of sorrow," or "mourning the loss." That is why in the elderly and senile age, when the general tolerance to stress decreases, and the amount of stress factors increases, the specific gravity of depression and suicide sharply increases. Bodily aging, reduction of personal potential contribute to the formation of frustration (the dissatisfaction of vital needs) in the "third age". Avoiding social contacts, weakening interpersonal ties, and reducing the subjective satisfaction with life (the quality of life) further increase the sense of one's own uselessness and abandonment.
The psychology of the elderly has one more problem - loneliness. Many older people, especially widowed, live alone. At the same time, there is a significant breakdown of the previously established stereotypes of life, behavior, and communication.
Old people suffer from a feeling of self-esteem, self-esteem and self-esteem are reduced. The sense of inferiority, insignificance, uselessness is growing, there is a lack of confidence in oneself, in our abilities and possibilities. Prevailing low mood, especially in connection with the disease, loss of loved ones, loneliness, often there is irritability but trivia. They become selfish and self-centered. The result of such a combination is a violation of the most important function of a person - mental activity, which is expressed by the development of neurosis-like conditions, senile dementia, delirium, depression.
Depressive syndrome includes a classic triad of symptoms: melancholy, depressed, gloomy mood combined with mental and motor retardation. Characteristic such somatic (vital) manifestations as "atrial" melancholy, a feeling of emptiness and heaviness in the chest, epigastrium, mediastinum. Of the additional symptoms should be called delusional ideas, suicidal ideals and deeds.
Psychology of the elderly has its features, which are based on a variety of options for depression, among which there are more anxious, dysphoric, stupor and asthenic depression.
From the syndrome of obscuration of consciousness in the old age, delirium is most often observed. Leading symptoms of delirium: disorientation in time, situation, environment, while maintaining orientation in one's own personality, confusion, detachment from the real situation, an abundance of visual intimidating hallucinations in combination with auditory and tactile disorders. Obligatory signs of this condition: emotional stress (anxiety, fear), acute, sensual delusions, hallucinatory-delusional arousal. Partial amnesia is noted, both real events, and hallucinatory and delusional experiences. Often there are vegetative-visceral symptoms.
Total dementia (globar dementia) is characterized by a gross violation of higher and differentiated intellectual functions: comprehension, adequate handling of concepts, ability to make judgments and inferences, generalizations, limitations, etc. Thinking becomes unproductive, extremely poor. The memory for current and past events is dramatically suffering. The psychology of the elderly is characterized by the fact that initiative, activity is reduced, emotions are impoverished, motives of activity are disappearing. The complete disintegration of mental activity begins, the possibility of communication is lost, interests and motivations for activity disappear (mental marasmus).
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