The human being is born, lives and dies. People usually go through certain life cycles throughout their existence that generate a series of questions, such as, for example, “how old will I live?”, “how will I function in the future when I am an older person?” “How will my parents be in a few years?” Likewise, the fear of physical and mental illnesses are also included in the thoughts and concerns of many young people who consider old age as a complex period to endure.
However, there is an approach that places special emphasis on the treatment of important problems of older people. In this Psychology-Online article, we will provide you with information about the psychology of aging: what it is, importance and what are its functions.
The psychology of aging or psychogerontology is the branch of psychology that is responsible for study and approach to psychiatric pathologies in the period of old age. As a general rule, its objective is to prevent alterations and/or during this period.
To achieve this, the psychology of aging is based mainly on various theoretical frameworks that have considerable validity in the face of possible problems that may arise in old age.
As we have mentioned before, the psychology of aging offers the possibility of prevent mental pathologies that can be triggered at certain times in adult life. One of the most important aspects to highlight is the fact that the psychology of aging is not only applied to older adults, but can also be aimed at people who intend to avoid future mental alterations caused by organic issues or the passage of time. time.
In this sense, the life experiences of each person should not be left aside, since the symptoms of some mental disorders can be directly linked to these experiences. If you want to know more about the period of old age, you can consult the article.
Below you will find the main functions and/or utilities of the psychology of aging:
Prevention of mental pathologies
Mental disorders can arise at any time in life. However, older adults may develop symptoms that are more intense and cause a deterioration in quality of life. For this reason, one of the objectives of the psychology of aging is to provide tools that avoid unpleasant consequences in this period of time.
To achieve this, they usually teach talks, workshops and/or courses in which the focus is on the diversity of tools that have considerable usefulness for the development of daily life.
Addressing mental pathologies
The psychology of aging also intervenes in problems related to the mental health of elderly people. For it, psychotherapeutic sessions are carried out in which the difficulties that the person manifests are worked on punctually, taking into account their circumstances and personal qualities. This may include psychiatric diagnoses or illnesses that develop over time, depending on each person’s life cycle.
Likewise, a monitoring the status of a patient through consultations with a psychiatrist in cases that require medication to combat some symptoms. However, the psychology of aging takes into account biological aspects of the person, since there may be other problems at this stage in addition to psychological factors.
Family support
In many cases, the family of the elderly person has concerns about their physical and mental health. In this sense, the psychology of aging includes the patient’s family members in its treatment to provide them with an adequate environment in which they can function.
This way, an emotional support network will be formed with beneficial effects for the patient.
Development of intellectual functions
Over the years, people gradually lose the ability to mentally solve certain situations, such as those in which mathematics or logic are applied, among others. When diseases that affect memory arise, such as , one of the symptoms is the loss of information from the past.
For this reason, the psychology of aging attempts to avoid and/or postpone memory deterioration based on therapeutic tools, such as reasoning exercises, solving practical activities, etc.
Here we leave you a book that will be of great help to enhance the memory of older people: