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OUTING DEATH

• I WAS HAULING MY WHEELIE TOWARD THE BOARDING GATE FOR A NEW YORK-BOUND FLIGHT WHEN AN

ALERT POPPED UP ON MY IPHONE. ITS MESSAGE WAS TERSE: “DON’T FORGET, YOU’RE GOING TO DIE.”

• I WAS RATTLED, WEIRDLY CLAMMY, BUT FINALLY RESIGNED.

• I HAD, AFTER ALL, SIGNED ON FOR THIS SOBERING REMINDER, PARTING WITH 99 CENTS FOR WECROAK, A

JAUNTY LITTLE APP DEVISED TO NOTIFY USERS LIKE ME, FIVE TIMES A DAY AT SEEMINGLY RANDOM

INTERVALS, THAT TRY AS WE MAY TO IGNORE IT, THERE WILL BE NO DODGING THE END.

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• FIND HAPPINESS BY CONTEMPLATING YOUR MORTALITY WITH THE WECROAK APP.

• EACH DAY, WE’LL SEND YOU FIVE INVITATIONS AT RANDOMIZED TIMES TO STOP AND THINK ABOUT DEATH.

IT’S BASED ON A BHUTANESE FOLK SAYING THAT TO BE A HAPPY PERSON ONE MUST CONTEMPLATE DEATH

FIVE TIMES DAILY.

• YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO TAKE ONE MOMENT FOR CONTEMPLATION, CONSCIOUS BREATHING OR

MEDITATION WHEN WECROAK NOTIFICATIONS ARRIVE.

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ERIKSON AT A GLANCE• ERIKSON'S STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, AS ARTICULATED BY ERIK ERIKSON, IN COLLABORATION WITH JOAN

ERIKSON, IS A COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY THAT IDENTIFIES A SERIES OF EIGHT STAGES, IN WHICH A

HEALTHY DEVELOPING INDIVIDUAL SHOULD PASS THROUGH FROM INFANCY TO LATE ADULTHOOD.

• ALL STAGES ARE PRESENT AT BIRTH BUT ONLY BEGIN TO UNFOLD ACCORDING TO BOTH A NATURAL SCHEME AND ONE'S

ECOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL UPBRINGING.

• IN EACH STAGE, THE PERSON CONFRONTS, AND HOPEFULLY MASTERS, NEW CHALLENGES. EACH STAGE BUILDS UPON THE

SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF EARLIER STAGES.

• THE CHALLENGES OF STAGES NOT SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED MAY BE EXPECTED TO REAPPEAR AS PROBLEMS IN THE

FUTURE.

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ERIKSON AT A GLANCE

• HOWEVER, MASTERY OF A STAGE IS NOT REQUIRED TO ADVANCE TO THE NEXT STAGE.

• THE OUTCOME OF ONE STAGE IS NOT PERMANENT AND CAN BE MODIFIED BY LATER EXPERIENCES.

• EACH STAGE IS CHARACTERIZED BY A PSYCHOSOCIAL CRISIS OF TWO CONFLICTING FORCES:

BIOLOGICAL AND SOCIOCULTURAL.

• IF AN INDIVIDUAL DOES INDEED SUCCESSFULLY RECONCILE THESE FORCES HE OR SHE EMERGES FROM

THE STAGE WITH THE CORRESPONDING VIRTUE.

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WISDOM: EGO INTEGRITY VS. DESPAIR (MATURITY, 65 – DEATH]

EXISTENTIAL QUESTION: IS IT OKAY TO HAVE BEEN ME?

• THE FINAL DEVELOPMENTAL TASK IS RETROSPECTION: PEOPLE LOOK BACK ON THEIR LIVES AND

ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THEY DEVELOP FEELINGS OF CONTENTMENT AND INTEGRITY IF THEY BELIEVE THAT

THEY HAVE LED A HAPPY, PRODUCTIVE LIFE. THEY MAY INSTEAD DEVELOP A SENSE OF DESPAIR IF THEY

LOOK BACK ON A LIFE OF DISAPPOINTMENTS AND UNACHIEVED GOALS

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NINTH STAGE:PSYCHOSOCIAL CRISES: ALL FIRST EIGHT STAGES IN REVERSE QUOTIENT ORDER

• JOAN M. ERIKSON, WHO MARRIED AND COLLABORATED WITH ERIK ERIKSON, ADDED A NINTH STAGE

IN ”THE LIFE CYCLE COMPLETED: EXTENDED VERSION”.

• ERIKSON WAS NINETY-THREE YEARS OLD WHEN SHE WROTE ABOUT THE NINTH STAGE.

• LIVING IN THE NINTH STAGE, SHE WROTE, "OLD AGE IN ONE'S EIGHTIES AND NINETIES BRINGS WITH IT

NEW DEMANDS, REEVALUATIONS, AND DAILY DIFFICULTIES".

• ADDRESSING THESE NEW CHALLENGES REQUIRES "DESIGNATING A NEW NINTH STAGE".

• JOAN ERIKSON SHOWED THAT ALL THE EIGHT STAGES "ARE RELEVANT AND RECURRING IN THE NINTH

STAGE".

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NINTH STAGE:PSYCHOSOCIAL CRISES: ALL FIRST EIGHT STAGES IN REVERSE QUOTIENT ORDER

AN EXAMPLE:

• IN THE NINTH STAGE, THE PSYCHOSOCIAL CRISES OF THE EIGHT STAGES ARE FACED AGAIN, BUT WITH

THE QUOTIENT ORDER REVERSED.

• "SHAME AND DOUBT VS. AUTONOMY: WILL"

NINTH STAGE ELDERS FACE THE "SHAME OF LOST CONTROL" AND DOUBT "THEIR AUTONOMY OVER THEIR

OWN BODIES".

• SO IT IS THAT "SHAME AND DOUBT CHALLENGE CHERISHED AUTONOMY"

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“THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PSYCHOLOGY OF AGING” SCHROOTS, GERONTOLOGIST, 1996.

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SUCCESSFUL AGING AND GEROTRANSCENDENCE

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SUCCESSFUL AGING. VAILLANT GE, MUKAMAL K. AM J PSYCHIATRY. 2001

• UNTIL NOW, PROSPECTIVE STUDIES OF AGING HAVE BEGUN WITH 50-60-YEAR-OLDS, NOT ADOLESCENTS. PREMATURE DEATH, CHILDHOOD VARIABLES,

AND ALCOHOL ABUSE HAVE BEEN OFTEN IGNORED, AS HAS SUCCESSFUL AGING.

• METHOD: THE PRESENT STUDY FOLLOWED TWO COHORTS OF ADOLESCENT BOYS (237 COLLEGE STUDENTS AND 332 CORE-CITY YOUTH) FOR 60 YEARS

OR UNTIL DEATH. COMPLETE PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS WERE OBTAINED EVERY 5 YEARS AND PSYCHOSOCIAL DATA EVERY 2 YEARS.

• RESULTS: MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS SUGGESTED THAT "GOOD" AND "BAD" AGING FROM AGE 70-80 COULD BE PREDICTED BY VARIABLES ASSESSED

BEFORE AGE 50.

• PREDICTOR VARIABLES ASSESSED BEFORE AGE 50 INCLUDED SEVEN VARIABLES REFLECTING AT LEAST SOME

PERSONAL CONTROL: ALCOHOL ABUSE, SMOKING, MARITAL STABILITY, EXERCISE, BODY MASS INDEX, COPING

MECHANISMS, AND EDUCATION.

• CONCLUSIONS:

• ONE MAY HAVE GREATER PERSONAL CONTROL OVER ONE'S BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL HEALTH AFTER RETIREMENT THAN PREVIOUSLY RECOGNIZED.

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GEROTRANSCENDENCE

• LARS TORNSTAM (1943-2016), WROTE: “GEROTRANSCENDENCE: A DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY OF POSITIVE

AGEING” (2005).

• THE THEORY OF GEROTRANSCENDENCE DESCRIBES A … PERSPECTIVE SHIFT FROM A MORE

MATERIALISTIC AND RATIONAL VIEW OF LIFE TO A MORE TRANSCENDENTAL ONE … LEADING TO

SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE WAY OF PERCEIVING SELF, RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER PEOPLE AND LIFE

AS A WHOLE …

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GEROTRANSCENDENCE

• GEROTRANSCENDENCE IS THE FINAL STAGE IN A NATURAL PROCESS MOVING TOWARD MATURATION AND

WISDOM.

• THE GEROTRANSCENDENT INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES A NEW FEELING OF COSMIC COMMUNION WITH THE

SPIRIT OF THE UNIVERSE, A REDEFINITION OF TIME, SPACE, LIFE AND DEATH, AND A REDEFINITION OF SELF.

• GEROTRANSCENDENT INDIVIDUALS ARE THOSE WHO DEVELOP NEW UNDERSTANDINGS OF:

• 1) THE SELF

• 2) RELATIONSHIPS TO OTHERS

• 3) THE COSMIC LEVEL OF NATURE, TIME, AND THE UNIVERSE.

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GEROTRANSCENDENCELEVEL OF SELF

• A DECREASED OBSESSION WITH ONE’S BODY

• A DECREASED INTEREST IN MATERIAL THINGS

• A DECREASE IN SELF-CENTEREDNESS

• AN INCREASED DESIRE TO UNDERSTAND ONESELF

• AN INCREASED DESIRE FOR INNER PEACE AND MEDITATION

• AN INCREASED NEED FOR SOLITUDE

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GEROTRANSCENDENCELEVEL OF PERSONAL AND SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS

• A DECREASED DESIRE FOR PRESTIGE

• A DECREASED DESIRE FOR SUPERFLUOUS, SUPERFICIAL SOCIAL INTERACTION

• A DECREASED INTEREST IN CONFORMING TO SOCIAL ROLES

• AN INCREASED CONCERN FOR OTHERS

• AN INCREASED NEED FOR SOLITUDE, OR THE COMPANY OF ONLY A FEW INTIMATES

• AN INCREASED SELECTIVITY IN THE CHOICE OF SOCIAL AND OTHER ACTIVITIES

• AN INCREASED SPONTANEITY THAT MOVES BEYOND SOCIAL NORMS

• AN INCREASE IN TOLERANCE AND BROADMINDNESS

• AN INCREASED SENSE OF LIFE’S AMBIGUITY

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GEROTRANSCENDENCECOSMIC LEVEL

• A DECREASED DISTINCTION BETWEEN PAST AND PRESENT

• A DECREASED FEAR OF DEATH

• AN INCREASED AFFINITY WITH, AND INTEREST IN, PAST AND FUTURE GENERATIONS

• AN INCREASED ACCEPTANCE OF THE MYSTERIES OF HUMAN LIFE

• AN INCREASED JOY OVER SMALL OR INSIGNIFICANT THINGS

• AN INCREASED APPRECIATION OF NATURE

• AN INCREASED FEELING OF COMMUNION WITH THE UNIVERSE AND COSMIC AWARENESS

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GEROTRANSCENDENCE• PEOPLE SHOULD SURRENDER THEIR YOUTHFUL IDENTITY IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE TRUE MATURITY AND WISDOM.

• THIS VIEW OF AGING STANDS IN CONTRAST TO THE VIEW THAT SUCCESSFUL AGING IS A KIND OF PERPETUAL YOUTH WHERE

PEOPLE TRY TO REMAIN ACTIVE, PRODUCTIVE, INDEPENDENT, HEALTHY, WEALTHY AND SOCIABLE.

• BUT AN 80-YEAR-OLD DIFFERS FROM THEIR 50-YEAR-OLD SELF, JUST AS THE LATTER DID FROM THEIR 30-YEAR-OLD SELF.

• YOUR 80-YEAR-OLD MOTHER MAY NOT WANT TO PARTY, PLAY GOLF, MAKE MONEY OR BE VERY MUCH ENGAGED, NOT BECAUSE SHE’S

SICK OR DEPRESSED, BUT BECAUSE SHE NOW PREFERS PAINTING, READING, WRITING, MEDITATING, WALKING, GARDENING OR

LISTENING TO MUSIC.

• WE ARE OFTEN SO ENAMOURED WITH ACTIVITY THAT WE FORGET THAT MOM MAY ENJOY SITTING IN HER ROCKING CHAIR

SOMETIMES.

• NONE OF THIS IMPLIES THAT THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO SUCCESSFULLY AGE, JUST THAT IT IS A REASONABLE WAY.

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GEROTRANSCENDENCE• NOW JUST GROWING OLDER DOESN’T MEAN THAT ONE WILL BECOME

GEROTRANSCENDENT, ALTHOUGH AGING DOES BRING EXISTENTIAL QUESTIONS ABOUT

DEATH AND THE MEANING OF LIFE TO THE FOREFRONT.

• SO HOW DOES ONE BECOME A GEROTRANSCENDENT?

• THE PROCESS IS MOSTLY STIMULATED BY EXPERIENCING HARDSHIPS,

CHALLENGES, TRANSITIONS AND THE LOSSES OF LIVING, COMBINED WITH

CONTINUAL REFLECTION ABOUT ONE’S LIFE, THE LIFE OF OTHERS, AND UNIVERSAL

LIFE.

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GEROTRANSCENDENCE• STILL THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OBSTACLES TO BECOMING A GEROTRANSCENDENT INCLUDING:

• JOB PREOCCUPATION (OR EGO DIFFERENTIATION): THE INABILITY TO LET GO OF YOUR EARLIER

CAREERS. GEROTRANSCENDERS ARE ABLE TO TRANSCEND THE WAY THAT THEIR IDENTITY WAS TIED

TO THEIR PREVIOUS WORK.

• BODY PREOCCUPATION (OR BODY TRANSCENDENCE): THE INABILITY TO LET GO OF OBSESSING

ABOUT BODILY AILMENTS. GEROTRANSCENDERS CARE ABOUT THEIR BODIES, BUT TRANSCEND

IDENTIFYING WITH IT.

• EGO PREOCCUPATION (OR EGO TRANSCENDENCE): INABILITY TO LET GO OF OBSESSING

ABOUT THE EGO. GEROTRANSCENDERS TRANSCEND THE EGO BY ACCEPTING THE

INEVITABILITY OF DEATH, AND BY LIVING MORE UNSELFISHLY.

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GEROTRANSCENDENCE• SOME OF THE WEAKNESSES OF THE THEORY INCLUDE THE FACT THAT

GEROTRANSCENDENCE:

• 1) ISN’T PRECISELY DEFINED

• 2) IS LIMITED TO OLD AGE WHEN THERE ARE SOME YOUNGER PERSONS WHO

POSSESS THE ABOVE QUALITIES

• 3) CONSIDERS GEROTRANSCENDENCE FROM AN INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE

WITHOUT MUCH CONSIDERATION OF THE SOCIAL AND BIOLOGICAL FACTORS THAT

INFLUENCE SUCCESSFUL AGING.

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GEROTRANSCENDENCE• STILL THERE IS SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE THAT GEROTRANSCENDENCE CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF AGING

SUCCESSFULLY.

• MUCH OF THIS RESEARCH IS DESCRIBED IN “THEORY OF GEROTRANSCENDENCE: AN ANALYSIS,” BY RAJANI AND

NAWAID.

• SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS RESEARCH SHOW THAT THOSE WHO HAVE FACED LIFE CRISIS HAVE HIGHER

LEVELS OF GEROTRANSCENDENCE, AND THAT THERE IS “A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

GEROTRANSCENDENCE AND LIFE SATISFACTION.” FURTHERMORE, RESEARCH HAS SHOWN “A SIGNIFICANT

CORRELATION BETWEEN THE COSMIC TRANSCENDENCE AND FEELING OF COHERENCE AND MEANING OF LIFE.

TRANSCENDENCE IN LIFE PROMOTES HEALTH, HARMONY, HEALING AND MEANINGFULNESS IN LIFE OF OLDER

ADULTS.

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BERTRAND RUSSELL IN HIS ESSAY ”HOW TO GROW OLD.”

• THE BEST WAY TO OVERCOME THE FEAR OF DEATH—SO AT LEAST IT SEEMS TO ME—IS TO MAKE YOUR

INTERESTS GRADUALLY WIDER AND MORE IMPERSONAL, UNTIL BIT BY BIT THE WALLS OF THE EGO RECEDE, AND

YOUR LIFE BECOMES INCREASINGLY MERGED IN THE UNIVERSAL LIFE.

• AN INDIVIDUAL HUMAN EXISTENCE SHOULD BE LIKE A RIVER: SMALL AT FIRST, NARROWLY CONTAINED WITHIN

ITS BANKS, AND RUSHING PASSIONATELY PAST ROCKS AND OVER WATERFALLS. GRADUALLY THE RIVER

GROWS WIDER, THE BANKS RECEDE, THE WATERS FLOW MORE QUIETLY, AND IN THE END, WITHOUT ANY

VISIBLE BREAK, THEY BECOME MERGED IN THE SEA, AND PAINLESSLY LOSE THEIR INDIVIDUAL BEING.

• THE MAN WHO, IN OLD AGE, CAN SEE HIS LIFE IN THIS WAY, WILL NOT SUFFER FROM THE FEAR OF DEATH, SINCE

THE THINGS HE CARES FOR WILL CONTINUE.

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION…

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