Senior Mental Health - The Importance of Control

Copyright Janet Cameron

Seniors who feel they are not effective or in control of their own destiny may struggle to maintain a positive outlook and achieve happiness in later life. In his book, The Needs of Strangers, Michael Ignatieff discusses the plight of poor or powerless people and our responsibility towards them. Although his arguments refer to the needs of strangers in general, they also throw some light on the everyday dilemmas faced by elderly people in our society who may not necessarily be poor, but are, frequently, denied the power and control over their lives that they deserve.

Ignatieff points out the contradiction within the welfare state between the respect we owe persons as individuals and as fellow human beings

• Respect for their specific qualities as individual human beings. 

• Respect because of their common humanity. 

Ignatieff says: “The administrative good conscience of our time seems to consist in respecting individual’s rights while demeaning them as persons.” He talks of the “silent contempt of authority in a glance or a gesture.” The Needs of Strangers was written way back in 1984 – but how much have things improved for the senior members of our society?There are many issues for seniors, and much seems to be centred around being in control of your life and instrumental in getting things done without – too much – obstruction, or even contempt.

Negative Experiences Related to Aging

"You know, it's a strange thing about age. It doesn't come to you gradually, but in surges," says Martin. "The trouble is that you suddenly realise you have no power. You have lost all that." 

Martin is actually a very active 82 year-old, who spent his life in a high-powered position in the beer industry, supporting his stay-at-home wife and family at a time when that was how families operated. The feeling of lack of power has started to get to him. 

"I must be off. I have to go to the bank to have a row," he says. 

No, Martin is not an awkward, aggressive type, prone to inciting confrontation. He just thinks if he doesn't start a row, then no one will take any notice and the problems with his account will not be resolved.

For older people, there is the double-bind of age and alone-ness (I am deliberately not saying “loneliness” as that has a different connotation.) 

Single and Invisible

“I decided to treat myself to lunch out,” says Barbara. “The restaurant was full and there were two couples before me waiting to be seated. I asked for a table and the man of the door said, “Well, you can see there are no tables available.” I quickly realised that this was because I was alone and he didn’t want to waste a table on a single person. I insisted I would wait. Sure enough when the next couple came in, after me, they were told that they would be seated within about fifteen minutes." Barbara remained firm and got her lunch, although her experience left her with a sick feeling. 

“I have never gone back to that restaurant,” she says.

“Last time I went to a new dentist, she started talking to me very loudly and very slowly. I actually thought she had some sort of a speech impediment,” says Linda. “I guess she thought that because I was almost seventy, I was also unable to have a normal conversation. I know she thought she was being very clear, but I felt… well… patronised.”

Linda felt her dentist should have started by talking normally, and then adjusted her manner if it was actually necessary. This may seem trivial, but younger people make many assumptions about seniors and sometimes they miss the mark and leave the person feeling diminished and much older than they should.

Age and Personality

We often hear the phrases “Grumpy old man (or woman), silly old bat,” etc. According to A.T. Welford, although people assume that personality changes with age, tests prove this is not so, except in minor ways. Any changes that occur are due to altered circumstances not taken into account by the test. On the plus side, these might be:

• More leisure 

• More opportunities 

The minus side is not so encouraging:

• A restriction of activity possibly due to ill-health 
• 
  

Dependency

Welford says that people adjust to these changes in different ways. Some welcome the new opportunities and are accepting of the restrictions. Other are not interested in new hobbies and allow the restrictions to make them self-centred. Sometimes, this can be due to bereavement, but often reactions to these changed circumstances are due to personality traits. In other words, these reactions frequently have little to do with material circumstances, health problem or existing social outlets. 

“The changes in personality can, perhaps, be summed up by saying that old age is a revealing time, when the best and worst in us stand out in bold relief,” says Welford.

While Welford may have some valid points, the role of society as suggested by Ignatieff must surely play a part in helping seniors to feel acknowledged and valued and avoid the charge of grumpiness!

Strengthening the Neural Signals in Seniors

"Much, if not all, slowing with age can be explained by the fact that signals from the sense organs to the brain and from one part of the brain to another become weaker, while at the same time, random neural activity in the brain tends to increase. The latter blurs the former and leads to errors," says N. Charness in Aging and Human Performance. The good news is that if the person takes a longer time to complete a task, the blurring can be diminished, if not eradicated. If the data is allowed time to be registered then the signals become stronger and compensate for the random activity.

Maurice Chevalier once said: "Growing old is inevitable for all of us. The clever thing is to accept it and always plan your next move well in advance." But Maurice Chevalier had plenty of street-cred, unlike many ordinary seniors, who just want to be listened to and taken seriously. A sometimes impatient and dismissive experience does not help to achieve that end. Feeling you cannot be effective does not aid self-esteem at any age.

A happy and fulfilled senior population depends not only on the positive attitudes of its members, but also on the attitudes of society as a whole.

Sources:


The Needs of Strangers, Michael Ignatieff, Chatto & Windus, The Hogarth Press, London, (1984.)


The Oxford Companion to the Mind, Ed. Richard L. Gregory, Oxford University Press, 1987.


Ageing and Human Performance, ed. N. Charness, New York, (1985.)


Ageing and Human Skill, A.T. Welford, Oxford, (1958.)


Martin, Barbara and Linda (Case Studies.)