I work in admissions for a drug and alcohol treatment center, so I meet individuals and families during very vulnerable seasons of life. I consider working with vulnerable people a privilege and a responsibility that should be handled with great care. The women’s treatment facility where I work currently has three clients who are age 70 or older. Working directly with older adults is therefore something I have recently been introduced to, but I do not yet feel overly familiar with the specific needs of this population. My work has already shown me that older adults may enter treatment with concerns that extend beyond substance use, including grief, physical health problems, medication needs, retirement, isolation, and changes in family relationships. Personally, I have been very close with all of my grandparents. My grandmother was a psychotherapist and has been a major inspiration for me to enter the social work field. Through this class, I hope to better understand the emotional, social, and physical experiences of older adults. I would also like to become more aware of my own assumptions about aging and learn how to distinguish common changes associated with aging from stereotypes. Ultimately, I hope the class will better prepare me to support older adults and their families in both my current role and my future social work practice.
I imagine “older adulthood” as a time of significant transitions, some difficult and some freeing. It may involve having fewer professional or parenting responsibilities and more freedom to decide how to spend one’s time. However, it can also involve changes in health, relationships, identity, and independence. The possibility of losing independence is one of the more difficult aspects of aging for me to imagine. When I hear the terms “older adulthood” or “later life,” I picture retirement, grandchildren, gardening, traveling, and spending more time at home. I also think about wisdom, confidence, and having a clearer understanding of what is important in life.
The chronological age I associate with “older adulthood” is 65 because that is around the age when many people traditionally retire. However, I imagine that reaching 65 may not automatically make me feel old. My understanding of being an older adult may ultimately depend more on my health, abilities, responsibilities, and stage of life than on a particular number. I imagine spending much of my time at home with my future spouse and dog, gardening, cooking, reading, and staying connected with friends and family. I hope I will have built a meaningful career and be able to remain involved in my work in some capacity without allowing it to consume my life. I would like to travel, spend time with family, and remain involved in my community.
I could also see it being difficult to maintain a routine after retirement because I may have less structure in my life. I would likely need to be intentional about creating a schedule and remaining socially and physically active. I imagine that my physical condition will have declined somewhat and that I may feel more tired or achy than I do now. I will likely need to move my body more intentionally and take additional steps to protect my health. Because my posture is already not great, I sometimes imagine that another 40 years of poor posture could take a toll and cause chronic back pain. I hope that caring for my health throughout adulthood will allow me to remain active and independent for as long as possible.
One of my greatest fears about growing older is becoming lonely. Many older adults experience the deaths of spouses, close friends, siblings. As human beings, we all want to feel connected, supported, and seen. The possibility of losing my spouse and no longer having that companionship during such a vulnerable stage of life scares me. My fear is not simply about being physically alone. It is more about feeling forgotten, disconnected, or as though I no longer have an important role in other people’s lives. Reflecting on this fear has helped me recognize that preparing for older adulthood involves more than protecting my physical health. It also involves building and maintaining the relationships, interests, and support systems that can sustain me throughout every stage of life.
Hi Francis! I really liked your perspective on how aging can involve so many different transitions at the same time. I thought it was interesting that you mentioned working in admissions at a treatment center and how your experiences with older adults are still fairly new. I can definitely see how working with clients who are 70 and older would give you a different perspective on aging, especially because you are meeting people during such vulnerable moments in their lives. I also really connected with what you said about the fear of losing independence and becoming lonely. I think those are things that a lot of people probably think about when they imagine getting older, but we don’t always talk about the emotional side of it. Feeling forgotten or like you no longer have an important role in people’s lives would really be difficult at any age.
I also loved that you talked about your grandmother being a psychotherapist and how she inspired you to go into social work. I think having someone in your own family who influenced your career path makes that connection to social work even more meaningful. It sounds like your personal and professional experiences are both giving you a really good foundation for this class. I’m looking forward to seeing how your perspective on aging develops throughout the semester!
Frances,
This is well said. You have some wonderful experiences with older adults, both personal and professional. Pulling apart the myths and biases from the realities of aging is exactly the goal of this class. Between what you will read in Cruikshank and Aronson (both of whom, I believe, do exactly what you are describing), and the podcasts with professionals who work with older adults, I think you will get a good framework for aging practice.
For all of us, the personal and the professional intersect. When it comes to aging, that seems significant to me because all of us will experience it. And most of us are trying hard to avoid it. We have so many stereotypes and biases about growing older that it is difficult to even have meaningful conversations about it at times.
I think the idea of the loss of independence – which Cruikshank and Aronson talk about in the first two chapters you will read next week – is core to the issue of aging. But I suspect that issue and the concerns about loneliness are integrally related. If one is dependent on others to do much of anything, it is often the case that you are alone a lot. And the result is exactly what you would expect.
We have several ways to talk about these issues as we move through the semester. I look forward to the conversations, and I hope you expand your thinking about aging through these materials.
Love the image, BTW.
Dr P