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God hasn’t finished with me yet!

Ann Morisy morisy@btinternet.com. God hasn’t finished with me yet!. “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

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God hasn’t finished with me yet!

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  1. Ann Morisy morisy@btinternet.com God hasn’t finished with me yet!

  2. “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

  3. THIRD Dependence Relinquishing SECOND Householding Generativity FIRST Socialisation Dependence ASSUMED LIFE STAGES UNTIL SIXTY YEARS AGO 65 YEARS

  4. FOURTH Dependence Relinquishing THIRD ? SECOND Householding Generativity 80+ YEARS • FIRST Socialisation Dependence A NEW MAP OF LIFE A NEW MAP OF LIFE

  5. THEORY OF ACTION The ‘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.

  6. 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! Therefore...

  7. ‘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. Promoting resilience

  8. WHO LIVES THE LONGEST? MARRIED MEN BATCHELORS MARRIED WOMEN SPINSTERS

  9. SOME 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 age • The high number of old people in 2020 will be the product of low fertility

  10. 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 thedifference is due to life-style differences and 2 years of the difference is due to women’s biological superiority! SOME MORE DEMOGRAPHY…

  11. FAITH MAKES A DIFFERENCE! 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’.

  12. LOSSES ASSOCIATED WITH AGE • 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’

  13. SOME OF THE GAINS WITH AGE • 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

  14. 'DIALECTICAL LOGIC' • 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

  15. GRANDPARENTS: BIOLOGICAL VALUE 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

  16. COGNITIVE ABILITY AND AGEING 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

  17. 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

  18. The Grammar of Gratitude “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.

  19. The steps of gratitude Gratitude is more than a feeling, because it requires an active response. acknowledgement of goodness in one’s life recognising the source of this goodness 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.

  20. INTERGENERATIONAL EQUITY 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 …

  21. INTERGENERATIONAL 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…

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