The psychological canvas of the elderly
The prism of life provides a canvas of multi-colours, with sentiments, thoughts, and diverse reaction tendencies acting as the paintbrush. Nature has its own way of doing this.
Some tracks are pleasant to listen to, others give a deeper, more menacing vibes. Everything in life, whether it’s beauty, contentment, or a feeling of gloom and dreadfulness, is intertwined.
There is a reason for their existence — it is because they are seen by living agents – people.
Humans have the most sophisticated sensory infrastructure, cognitive mechanisms, and contextual interpretations than any other living things. Their capacity to perceive the world around them sets them apart from other beings.
This aspect of interpretation is reliant not just on erudition but also on psychological approval. Emotional responses and intellect work together to help us embrace or reject a scenario.
The modern society depicts the human sequence with several grey strands in the ‘winter of the human being’s life’ due to the growth of medical research.
Indeed, the elderly make up a large percentage of the population. The ageing process is both generic and unique. People, governance, and the economy are all affected by ageing, although the extent of that influence varies widely by nation and policy area. Because ageing impacts all rather than just the elderly, it is a worldwide problem that impacts all zones of the globe.
Because of this, ageing has significant consequences for fairness between generations, both domestically and globally. Individual ageing, population ageing, and substantive alterations in ageing all need to be considered in studying this phenomenon.
Due to technological and medical advances that have resulted in an increased ability to live longer, today’s society has shifted its attention to the second main evolutionary period of life: ageing.
A growing worry in the later half of life concerns how we, the sophisticated globe’s living creatures, behave and affect the external reality. We must analyse and understand this.
It has become clear in gerontology’s specialised jargon that the kind of psychological disorders that jeopardise our ability to adapt have become more essential than they were in the first half of the 20th century.
As compared to other nations all over the world, India’s population is ageing at an unprecedented rate. Nearly 21 percent of India’s population will be 60 and older by 2016 2050.
The elderly are living longer beyond the age of 60, allowing them additional time for intergenerational communication. Elderly people are in a problem because they face physical impairments and psychological insecurities that come with age, as well as isolation, a lack of social assistance, a severe feeling of role loss, and a diminished sense of self-confidence.
In order to age well, according to certain well-known surveys, you need to prevent sickness, be active and retain good levels of intellectual and physiological performance. People who are well maintained have a more realistic view of themselves and their place in the world, which leads to more achievable goals.
As a result of their weakened feeling of emotional controllability, many elder persons find themselves at a point of trade-off in their canvas of life.
Dr. Shafiqa Gul is Post Doctoral Research Fellow, University of Kashmir
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.
