Stating that each period of life should be evaluated as a whole, experts point out that the individual grows older by taking scars from each period. According to experts, what we experience during childhood, youth and adulthood determines how we will grow old, who we will be when we grow old and how we will feel.
The United Nations declared October 1 as the World Day of Older Persons with the decision it took in 1990 in order to raise awareness of people about "elderly health" and to draw attention to raising the living standards of the elderly in terms of health and social aspects.
Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital Specialist Clinical Psychologist İnci Birincioğlu explained the psychological changes in old age, one of the most important periods of life.
Old age begins after 65
Specialist Clinical Psychologist İnci Birincioğlu said, "When we look at the history of psychology; we see that many theories have been created on the development or transformation of human identity and personality concepts. These theories assume that human beings go through a number of psychological and sociological change processes in parallel with their physical maturation from birth. With the prolongation of the average life expectancy in the last 100 years, the concept of old age refers to the period of 65 years and over, even if the age limit is a controversial issue, and in the psycho-social development theory, it refers to the last period in human life."
8 psychological periods in our lives
Stating that according to American psychoanalyst Erik Erikson, humans go through eight periods of psychological development throughout their lives, Specialist Clinical Psychologist İnci Birincioğlu said, "The first age 'feeling of insecurity against basic trust'; 1-3 years 'feeling of doubt and shame against autonomy; 3-6 years 'feeling of guilt against entrepreneurship'; 7-11 years 'feeling of inadequacy against being successful'; 11-17 years 'identity confusion against gaining identity'; 17-30 years 'isolation against closeness'; 30-60 years 'stagnation against productivity' and over 60 years 'hopelessness against self-integrity' are the names given to these periods."
We get wounded from every period as we age
Stating that the name of each period expresses a bipolar existential plane, Birincioğlu said, "In other words, the part of our psychology and identity that develops in the first year we are born is named as 'basic trust' versus 'basic insecurity' to describe the stage of formation of 'the sense of trust we feel in another person and the outside world'. Because the only thing that matters to the baby in this period is the presence and care of the mother. If the mother is present, nurturing and psychologically 'one' with her baby, the baby develops a sense of 'trust'. In this period, every condition of the mother's death, abandonment, illness, depression or inability to care for her baby due to other factors will create a developmental problem in the child's sense of 'basic trust' and even if the baby comes of age and transitions to the next psychological developmental process, it will complete the previous period wounded or incomplete. Each period builds up one on top of the other to form the simplicity. In other words, as a person grows older, he or she grows up with scars from each period or grows up in a way that serves the sense of wholeness. What shapes how we will grow old, who we will be when we grow old and how we will feel is how the person goes through these periods. The period of old age called 'despair against self-integrity' varies depending on what kind of life the person has been distilled from in previous periods."
Aging is maturing
Stating that our body ages, wears out and eventually dies as the years pass, Specialist Clinical Psychologist İnci Birincioğlu said that what is meant by aging psychologically is maturing. "As we gain experience, the mind tries to make sense of itself, the other and the world by integrating all memories into a whole," said İnci Birincioğlu:
"Thus, we shape our lives by creating some psychological schemas. It is important what kind of a habit our mind will adopt while making sense of our experiences because the human mind records and associates the experiences it pays attention to in its memory. For example, a person with a 'pessimism' schema may see any obstacle in life as a punishment, and any surprise as a harbinger of a bad thing to come in the next stage. After a while, the expectation of pessimism actually darkens the person's life. When we are exposed to this darkness, we develop psychological defenses, we blame ourselves or others, we dread each new day, we become depressed, or our anxiety can cause our cardiovascular system to collapse and accelerate physical aging. Negative schemas that make it unpleasant or impossible for us to survive are formed from a very early age. In this process, both genetic temperament and the life circumstances into which a person is born play a role. Some people may lose their leg to cancer at a young age but choose to give hope to others through various associations, presentations and organizations, while others may become so depressed that they cannot get out of bed even though there is no apparent difficulty in their lives. All of these are related to the person's mental schemas."
Stating that psychological maturation is a process of acceptance in which the knowledge gained psychologically is transformed into 'wisdom' despite the physical setbacks brought about by our aging body, Specialist Clinical Psychologist İnci Birincioğlu said: "While some of us become wiser, love and produce as we get older; some of us remain immature (childish) and become unhappy, complain and despair in a way that exhausts both themselves and their environment. This process is related to how the person goes through the processes in Erikson's developmental theory and which mental schemas he/she prefers to 'form' by feeding them."
Not everyone has the same inner child
Specialist Clinical Psychologist İnci Birincioğlu also explained what needs to be done in order to spend the old age period in a mentally healthy way:
"After the age of six, no matter how old we are, three main characters are formed in all of us, whose ages never change; these are the child, adult and parent structures within us. Life has its own gifts and challenges not only in old age but in every stage of development. The most important variable for psychological health is to treat these inner child, adult and parent structures fairly and to keep them in balance while accepting the gifts and facing the challenges. We need to get to know these structures in order to meet their needs, to do justice between them, to love, create and accept ourselves and the other. Who is the child in you, what does the child in you want, what ways does the adult choose to meet these desires, or what does the parent in you say to these ways chosen by the adult?
Effort is essential for holistic health
To know oneself, one needs to read, think, receive and give ideas. To achieve inner integrity and balance, it is necessary both to learn to be alone and to socialize by spending meaningful time with others. It is also important to remember that 'spirit - mind - body' is a whole. While taking care of our spiritual integrity, we need to make an effort to take care of both our mental and physical health. Only those who make this spiritual, mental and physical effort will have an old age that they can make sense of to the extent of their efforts."