O answers the question of what stages of late life a person goes through, in different time and was considered by various authors differently. So, in the ancient Chinese classification, the following stages are distinguished: from 50 to 60 years - the last period of creative life; from 60 to 70 years - the desired age; from 70

years - old age. It should be especially noted the "optimism" of the ancient Chinese regarding the period from 50 to 70 years. They believed that by the age of 50, a person has time to give everything that is expected of him, and now he can turn to desires that could not be satisfied before: to creativity, opening new paths to self-realization. Confucius wrote: "At 70 years old, I followed the desires of my heart and did not go beyond measure." The stability of the socio-political structure of society was associated in ancient China with the strength and stability of the organism and its acquisition of wisdom in old age.

B.G. Ananiev considered the late period of a person's life, dividing it into old and senile age, without defining their clear boundaries. The age of 60-65 years is designated by him as “beginning retirees”. E.F. Zeer connects the transition to the elderly and senile periods with the extinction of a person's professional development and his experience of the following crises: the crisis of loss professional activity(55 - 60 years old) and the crisis of social and psychological adequacy (65 - 70 years old). V.M. Morgun and N.Yu. Tkacheva distinguish the following periods: elderly age(55-75 years old), senile (75-90 years old) and longevity (over

There are several types of old age: chronological,

physiological, psychological and social.

Chronological (calendar) old age. The dominant factor in determining chronological old age is the number of years lived. The accepted international classification includes 8 periods, where the: average age – 45-64 of the year; early period old age - 65-74 of the year; old age - from 75 years.

Physiological (physical) old age. It is determined by the state of health, the totality of somatic abnormalities. This type is more difficult than the previous one, amenable to classification and setting age barriers. This is due to the fact that the process

physical aging is largely individual, due to the processes heterochronism, heterotopicity and heterokineticity.

Heterochronism Is the difference in the timing of aging various bodies and fabrics.

So, for example, atrophy of the thymus gland begins in a person in adolescence, gonads - in the climacteric period, and some functions of the pituitary gland remain on high level to a ripe old age.

Heterotopic - the severity of the aging process. It is not the same for different organs and for different structures the same organ.

Age-related changes, first of all, begin to manifest themselves on the nervous and cardiovascular systems, on the functions of respiration, metabolism and the work of the musculoskeletal system. Changes in the central nervous system: memory impairment, weakening of the activity of analyzers (hearing, vision), absent-mindedness, increased irritability.

Heterokineticity - different rates of development of age-related changes in the body.

For example, changes in the musculoskeletal system slowly increase with age, and shifts in some brain structures occur later, but rapidly progress, leading to a decrease in intelligence. Although many people remain in a clear mind and bright memory until the end of their days.

The severity, time and rate of age-related changes depend on congenital anomalies organism, past diseases, lifestyle, quantity and quality of stress, presence or absence of bad habits, heredity. Psychological old age... It is determined by a person's self-awareness, a vision of their place in the age structure. Recognizing yourself as old is the strongest psychological factor aging. However, the lack of self-awareness of aging is detrimental to mental and physical condition person. Such old people tend to overestimate their capabilities and their charm, but they are never oppressed by thoughts of death.

Social old age. This type of old age is a synthesis of different types of old age. The idea of ​​social old age is associated, first of all, with the age of the whole society as a whole. The social age of a person is related to the average life expectancy in a certain country and a certain time period. The higher the level of aging of the population as a whole, the further the individual border of old age is pushed back.

At the age at which the old woman Arina Rodionovna dozed by the window to the hum of her spindle, in the 20th century M. Thatcher and G. Meir were prime ministers, and M. Plisetskaya danced on stage.

Social life begins from the time a person becomes a person, that is, a responsible and conscientious subject of social life, and ends with the loss of these qualities. The end of social life may not coincide with physiological death.

Psychological theories of aging. Psychology as a science almost did not fully deal with the problems of old age. The problems of psychological aging have become a subject of study theoretical psychologists recently, when the "press" of global demographic changes loomed over modern society.

Experimental psychology. The first contribution to the study of the problems of psychological aging was the work of F. Galton (1822-1911), who was interested in the issues of human intellectual activity and its transformation in old age. At the time of writing the work, a conclusion had not yet been made about the dependence of the psychological characteristics of people on social factors, the psychological differences associated with age characteristics adults, especially the elderly. The decrease in some psychological functions in the elderly was explained mainly by the processes of biological degradation. There was a model psychological development and aging, the essence of which was that during the period of growth of the body, a rapid process of building up intellectual abilities followed by a period of relative stability, followed by a long period of decline in intelligence. Domination

in psychological science, this model predetermined the unpopularity of studies related to old age.

Developmental psychology. The Anglo-American School of Psychology investigated the mental activity of a person, both at a young and old age, as if in comparison with an ideal standard, an ideal model of the functioning of the psyche. Wherein early age a person was viewed as a period that did not reach an ideal state, and an elderly person was viewed as a deviation from the norm, ideal or as a manifestation of deviance, while on the European continent psychologists were interested in the problems of human development at all stages of his life.

The idea of ​​relativity human development, qualitatively progressing in the form of leaps from one stage to another, is presented in the works of J. Piaget (1896-1980), in which he investigated the main stages of the development of intelligence in childhood... Following the traditions of J. Piaget, many scientists defend the point of view according to which the defining feature of an elderly person is the ability to perceive life contradictions as a conscious fact. The mental maturity of a person is determined not only by the recognition of contradictions as a necessary condition of life, but also by the effective use of these contradictions in mental activity.

K. Jung (1875-1961) attached great importance to the study of the problems of the "second half of human life". For him, the middle of life was a critical turning point when new opportunities for self-development opened up for the individual. V mature age man is consumed inner work self-knowledge (self-realization), which Jung called "individualization." In the second half of life, a person can acquire a new full-fledged development of his personality. Great importance the scientist gave symbolic and religious experience in finding a state of harmony between the individual and the world around him.

A. Adler's (1870-1937) approaches to solving the problems of an elderly person are constructive. In old age, the feeling of inferiority is especially acutely experienced, since a person begins to experience physical ailment, the usual social status, former physical attraction. Especially

painfully old man experiencing the need to limit the circle social connections and opportunities for intimate relationships... Adler proposes to remove the feeling of inferiority and accompanying neuroses, helping the individual to find the meaning of life in helping other people, to achieve a state where the feeling of belonging to a social community would not leave the old person.

One of the interesting foreign concepts presented in gerontology is E. Erickson's theory. The task of an elderly person, according to Erickson, is to achieve the integrity of the development of his I (Ego), confidence in the meaning of life, as well as harmony, understood as the essential quality of life, both of an individual and of the entire Universe. To understand an elderly person, it is necessary to see him in the context of his whole life, which includes all problems that have been successfully or unsuccessfully solved for more early stages his life path. The old age of each person is individual and unique, therefore, the approaches to social work with the elderly should be strictly individual. According to E. Erickson, there is a very close relationship and interdependence of generations, mental activity of a person and his social environment. Older people are needed by the young just as much as they themselves need the young.

2.8.2. Personal development

v later periods of life

V Retirement, which in most cases marks the line between the end of maturity and the beginning of old age, is dramatic and can lead to personality deformations.

According to B.G. Ananyeva (1968), "the sudden blocking of all the potentials of a person's ability to work and giftedness with the cessation of many years of work cannot but cause profound changes in the structure of a person as a subject of activity, and therefore a personality." This is the last crisis period in personality development.

American researcher Pekk believes that in the case of successful resolution the last crisis, the person develops a sense of usefulness. To make the feeling

usefulness could fully develop, a person needs to overcome three sub-crises:

♦ first subcrisis consists in revising and re-evaluating one's own “I” outside the professional role (professional context), which for many people remains the main one until they retire;

♦ second subcrisis associated with the awareness of the fact of deterioration in health and aging of the body, which makes it possible for a person to develop the necessary indifference in this regard;

♦ third subcrisis associated with the disappearance of self-concern, as a result of which a person can accept the thought of death without horror.

Overcoming each of the sub-crises depends on how much a person is able to accept reality as it is, as well as on the adequacy of the “I” image in relation to the adequacy of the perception of the world model.

The period of old age, according to E. Erickson, is characterized by the formation of an integral final idea of ​​oneself, one's life path, as opposed to possible disappointment in life and growing despair. The equilibrium achieved at this stage marks the acquisition of a new, completed form of ego identity, namely ego integration. Erickson notes several components of ego integration: it is an ever-increasing personal confidence in one's commitment to order and meaning. This is the post-narcissistic love of the human person as an experience of the world order and the spiritual meaning of a lived life, regardless of what cost they are achieved. This is the acceptance of your life path as the only one that is due and does not need to be replaced. This is a new, different from the old, love for their parents. It is a fondness for the principles of the past and various activities in the form as they manifested themselves in human culture. The owner of such a personality understands that the life of an individual is only an accidental coincidence of the only life cycle with a single piece of history, and in the face of this fact, death loses its power.

At this stage, wisdom arises, defined by E. Erickson as a detached interest in life in the face of death. “The wisdom of old age is aware of the relativity of all the knowledge acquired by a person on

throughout life in one historical period. Wisdom is the realization of the unconditional significance of life itself in the face of death itself ”(1968).

On the contrary, the lack of this personal integration leads to the fear of death. One gets the impression that there is too little time left to start life anew and in a new way, to try to achieve personal integrity in a different way.

According to O.N. Molchanova, in the development of the personality of older people, there are adaptation processes of psychological vitaukt (vita - life; auctun - to increase), functioning at the level of I - the concept. Thus, an experimental study of the dynamics of self-esteem in maturity and old age indicates that along with a general decrease in the level characteristics of self-esteem, compensation factors that support the stability of the self-concept increase with age:

a) with age, high positions of real self-esteem are more and more often noted on the scales "character", "attitude to people", "participation in labor";

b) fixation on positive traits of one's character, i.e. more often ascribe positive qualities to themselves, less often - shortcomings;

c) a decrease in ideal self-esteem, which indicates a tendency to be content with what is;

d) orientation towards the life of grandchildren and children, which preserves perspective personal development, and, therefore, contributes to the awareness of the value of his "I";

e) the retrospective nature of self-assessment. The future for older people is often threatening, therefore characteristic feature their “I” - the concept is an appeal to the past, which for them acquires a greater value than the future and even than the present.

V there is currently no general theory of personality development in later periods of life. By the nature of constructing one's life and overcoming life difficulties in psychology, varioustypes of personality positions, one of which is presented by V.D. Alperovich (1998).

Representatives of the first type of people who retired, courageously, without special emotional disturbances are going through retirement. People of this type who try

cope with the shock of resignation, turn to strategies that mitigate the pathogenic nature crisis situation... The technique of "anticipatory coping" is widely used. It involves the search for new ways to join social life, planning free time, anticipating negative conditions and events during the period of retirement. People planning their life in retirement often perceive resignation as a release from social restrictions, prescriptions and stereotypes of the working period. Under the influence of the experience of freedom, the transition to a poorly structured area of ​​one's life world the personality has new abilities that are realized in exciting activities.

Creative powers can also be developed in old age. About twenty years ago, Grandma Moses, a woman who began painting at almost 80 years old, was a great success with the public with her exhibitions and illustrations in magazines. There are many artists who have created their best works over the age of seventy. According to legend, the Japanese artist Hokusai said that everything he created before the age of 73 was worthless, his artistic career began only after that. Titian painted his most breathtaking paintings at almost a hundred years old. Verdi, Richard Strauss, Schütz, Sibelius and other composers worked up to eighty years (B. Livehud, p. 91).

Have for many, retirement is associated with the desire to transfer professional experience to their students. They are tempted to educate a new generation, mentoring. Engaging in other interesting things, establishing new ones friendships, maintaining the ability to control one's surroundings generates life satisfaction and increases its duration.

In the second type of retired people, in the post-retirement period, a passive attitude towards life develops, they are alienated from the environment, their range of interests is narrowed and the indicators of intelligence tests decrease. They lose self-respect and experience a painful sense of uselessness. This situation is an example of the loss of personal identity and the inability of a person to build a new

identification system. People of this type are very upset about their late age, do not fight for themselves, plunge into the past and, being physically healthy, quickly grow decrepit. Habitual life strategies did not include active coping techniques. The inability to control the surrounding events led to the perception of the life world only as a source of insurmountable difficulties and troubles. Another reason for a dysfunctional old age is social factor- widespread in modern society the stereotype of old age, "old people wandering along the" roadside "of life." The rapid involutionary processes that are found in people in the early post-retirement period are the result of their inability to resist powerful influence social stereotypes. Their internalization leads to negative changes in the more recently healthy and active people.

Memories of former prisoners of Nazi concentration camps testify to the significance of beliefs that are forcibly imposed on people. Here is the testimony of one of the prisoners. He says that day after day the guards instilled in the prisoners that they had no hope of release, and only death could open the camp door. Eventually, some people began to experience feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, which led to their quick death.

The stereotypes of old age widespread today are applicable only to the final stages of the post-retirement period. In the early stages, which can last for decades, people retain their capacity for work and the desire to benefit society.

D. Bromley highlighted five types of adaptation to old age.

The first type - constructive installation - a person is internally balanced, calm, satisfied emotional contacts with others, is critical of himself, tolerant in dealing with others. He accepts old age as a fact, ending his professional career, considers death as natural phenomenon without expressing despair or regret.

When considering various typologies, it is important to keep in mind that these classifications are always relative, since in real life"v pure form» psychological types are rare. Typology serves as an orientation, a basis for a specific work.

A. Tolstykh notes that in old age there is a change in personality, and the picture of measurements is overly saturated with a diverse set of qualities that are rarely found in one person. Therefore, there is a need to consider different typologies of old age. In old age, not only the changes occurring with a person are important, but also the person's attitude to these changes.

According to typology F. Giese there are three types of old people:

1) old man-negativist, denying in himself any signs of old age and decrepitude;

2) old man-extroverted(definition by K. Jung's typology), recognizing the onset of old age, but coming to this recognition through external influences and by observation surrounding reality, especially in connection with retirement (observation of young people who have grown up, disagreement with her in views and interests, death of relatives and friends, innovations in the field of technology and social life, change in the situation in the family);

3) introverted type, acutely experiencing the aging process; these experiences are accompanied by memories of the past, interest in metaphysical issues, lack of mobility, weakening of emotions, sexual contacts.

No less interesting is the classification of socio-psychological types of old age I.S. Kona , based on the dependence of the type on the nature of the activity with which old age is filled:

1) active, creative old age, when a person goes on a well-deserved rest, but continues to participate in public life, education of youth, etc .;

2) old age with good social and psychological ability, when the energy of an aging person is directed towards the organization of his own life: material well-being, rest, entertainment and self-education - for everything that was previously lacking in time;

3) "Female" type of aging - in this case, the application of the old man's forces is in the family: in homework, family chores, raising grandchildren, working in the country; Since home work is inexhaustible, such old people have no time to be depressed or bored, but their satisfaction with life is usually lower. than the two previous groups;

4) old age in health care ("male" type of aging)- in this case, moral satisfaction and filling life gives health care that stimulates Various types activity; but in this case, a person may attach undue importance to his real and imaginary ailments and illnesses, and his consciousness is distinguished by increased anxiety.

These four types of I.S. Cohn considers psychologically good-received. But there are also negative types of aging ("grumblers", dissatisfied with the state of the world around them, criticizing everyone except themselves, teaching and terrorizing everyone around them with endless claims; disappointed in themselves and their own life, lonely and sad losers who blame themselves for their real and imaginary missed opportunities, are not able to drive away the dark memories of life mistakes, which makes them deeply unhappy, etc.).

Psychiatrist E.S. Averbukh distinguishes two extreme types in their own relation to their old age. Some do not feel and do not even realize their age for a long time, therefore they are “young” in their behavior, sometimes losing their sense of proportion; others, as it were, overestimate their old age, begin to overly take care of themselves, ahead of time and more than is required, protect themselves from life's anxieties.

Some domestic psychiatrists conditionally distinguish three types of old age:

- happy- characterized by serenity, wise enlightenment of the world perception and worldview, contemplation, restraint and self-control;

- unhappy - due to an increase in the level and personal anxiety, anxious imagination about their physical health; a tendency to frequent doubts and fears about an insignificant reason, lack of self-confidence, in the future, the loss of the former and the absence of any other meaning in life, reflections on impending death;

- psychopathological manifested by age-related organic disorders of the psyche, personality and behavior; there is a decrease in the adaptive capabilities of the psychopathic personality with the frequent development of various maladjustments
tational reactions.

A.I. Antsiferova distinguishes two types, differing from each other in the level of activity, strategies for coping with difficulties, attitude to the world and to oneself, satisfaction with life.

Representatives first type courageously, without any special emotional disturbances go through retirement. They show high activity, which is associated with a positive attitude towards the future. Often these people perceive the installation as liberation from social restrictions, prescriptions and stereotypes of the working period. Engaging in a new business, establishing friendly contacts, maintaining the ability to control one's surroundings generate satisfaction with life and increase its duration.

Representatives second type a passive attitude towards life develops, they are alienated from the environment, the circle of their interests is narrowed, the indicators of the intelligence test decrease. They lose self-respect and experience a sense of uselessness. Such people take their age hard, do not fight for themselves, plunge into the past and, being physically healthy, quickly become decrepit.

Finally, the English scientist D.B. Bromley proposes five strategies for adapting in old age. These five types were identified as a result of the study of forty well-adapted and thirty poorly adapted subjects.

1. Constructive strategy. Characterizes a mature personality, well integrated, who enjoys life, fine-tuned close and intimate relationships with other people. Such people are patient, flexible, aware of themselves, their achievements, opportunities and prospects. They embrace the realities of old age, including retirement and, ultimately, death. Representatives of this type retain the ability to enjoy food, work, play and can still be sexually active.

2, Dependent type. This strategy is also socially acceptable, but tends to be passive and dependent. The individual is well integrated, but relies on other people to provide him financially and expects emotional support from others. He is satisfied with retirement, freedom from work, he understands his personal qualities well, combines a feeling of general satisfaction with life with a tendency to over-optimal.

3. Defensive type. Less constructive model of adaptation to old age. Such people are exaggerated emotionally restrained, somewhat straightforward in their actions and habits. They prefer to be self-reliant, reluctant to accept help from other people. They avoid expressing their own opinions, have difficulty sharing their life or family problems, refuse to help, proving to themselves that they are independent. Their attitude towards old age is pessimistic. They see no advantage in old age and are jealous of young people. With great reluctance and only under pressure from others, they leave their professional work. At times they take a defensive position towards the whole family, which is expressed in avoiding the manifestation of their claims and complaints against the family. The protective mechanism used by them against the fear of death and deprivation is activity "through force" - a constant replenishment of external actions.

4. Hostile type. People of this type are aggressive, explode quickly, suspicious, have a tendency to shift their own problems onto others and blame them for all their failures. They are unrealistic in assessing the validity. Mistrust makes them withdrawn and avoided contact with other people. They drive away from themselves the thought of going to retirement, because, like people of the defensive type, they use the mechanisms of stress relief through activity with burdening. They do not perceive their old age, with despair they think about the progressive loss of strength. This is adjacent to the hostile attitude towards young people, sometimes with the transfer of this attitude to the whole world.

5. Self-hating type. This type differs from the previous one in that aggression is directed at oneself. Such people criticize and despise their own lives. They are passive, often in a state of depression, lack of initiative, pessimistic, do not believe that they can influence their lives, feel like a victim of circumstances. People of this type are well aware of the fact of aging, but do not envy the young. They do not rebel against their own old age, but only meekly accept everything that fate sends them. Death does not bother them, they perceive it as a deliverance from suffering.

That we are all getting old is an obvious fact. But the fact that everyone has this process differently, with different speed and deformation method - not everyone knows.

If you look at photographs of several aging public figures, especially women, you can hardly distinguish the characteristic patterns of aging of the face. Is that only the very fact of age-related changes. At the same time, you will notice clear differences in the aging of the skin of full and slim women... Further, looking at the latter, again notice the differences and divide them into subgroups. In total, you should get 4 of them.

Information about what type of skin aging will occur is embedded in every cell of our body at the genetic level. But we can influence this process.
We can speed it up or slow it down. It can smooth or correct its flow.
The main thing is to know how to properly care for your skin so as not to harm it, and what anti-aging products you need to use so that they effectively affect your skin and your type of aging.

Tired face type

Skin type: normal or combined

Body type and facial contours: slender or thin, oval or diamond-shaped face

Specifications : This type of aging is considered the most "gentle", because it is characterized for a long time by the appearance of only signs of fatigue on the face: slight swelling of the face, the severity of the nasolacrimal and nasolabial regions, the appearance of dark circles around the eyes and drooping of the corners of the mouth. In addition, normal or combination skin gradually begins to dry out and often begins to peel off.

After 8 hours of sleep, most of these symptoms usually disappear and the face looks refreshed and youthful. But in the evening, the above listed signs again loom on the face.

With age with this type of aging in problem areas wrinkles begin to appear, the face becomes gray or earthy, the corners of the mouth stretch downward, forming wrinkles.

Problems: violation of lymph outflow, blood circulation, decrease in muscle tone, decrease in the thickness of the layer of subcutaneous fat.

How to fight: "Tired" type of skin aging reacts perfectly to any care, therefore initial stages aging can be handled perfectly on your own without resorting to plastic surgery.

1. Sleep for at least 8 hours, preferably on an orthopedic pillow, lying on your back. Unlearn sleeping on your side, because in this position there is a high probability of earning premature wrinkles in the nasolabial area.
2. competent face, neck and hand care according to your skin type. Do toning, modeling and nourishing masks, regular superficial and less often chemical peeling of the face, wipe the face cosmetic ice, use cleansing and toning lotions.
3. cosmetic procedures, aimed at improving lymph outflow and stimulating blood circulation: myostimulation, ultrasound therapy, darsonvalization, microcurrents.
4. injections vitamin cocktails, contour plastic hyaluronic acid gels.

Deformation type

Skin type: oily, porous, with a dense layer of subcutaneous fat

Physique and facial contours : full, round faces, large features faces, full lips and cheeks

Specifications: In the deformation type of aging, due to the loss of elasticity of the skin and collagen framework, a dense layer of subcutaneous fat floats down. As a result, the contours of the face are deformed due to the sagging of the cheeks, deep folds appear in the nasolabial region, the upper eyelids sag heavily, bags form under the eyes, a double chin and shaves appear. The skin becomes flabby, rosacea appears

Problems: facial muscle weakness, gravitational ptosis

How to fight:

1. prefer small orthopedic pillows to large pillows, sleep only on your back.
2. Massage your face regularly to tone your facial muscles.
3. eat right and try to avoid sharp jumps weight, because it is after radical diets that allow you to lose 10-15 kg per year, instead of an impressive effect, you can get saggy and flabby skin not only on the body, but also on the face.
4. from cosmetic procedures you are shown:

• face building,
• modeling procedures,
• facial massage
• Later botulinum toxin injections, fillers, plastic surgery methods

Fine wrinkled type

Skin type : thin, dry, finely porous, with a poorly developed layer of subcutaneous fatty tissue

Physique and facial contours : slim or normal, sharp face

Specifications: This type of aging is manifested by the appearance of well-defined crow's feet, vertical wrinkles above the upper lip, the appearance fine mesh wrinkles on the cheeks and deep furrows on the forehead and between the eyebrows. The nasolabial fold becomes more pronounced, and pigmentation appears on the face, wrinkles are also drawn on the neck and arms.

Problems: decreased production of collagen fibers, skin dehydration, decreased facial muscle tone

How to fight:

1. eat as many foods as possible containing vitamin A: fish oil, carrots, citrus fruits, butter, eggs, cheese, liver. Your diet should contain as many juicy fruits and vegetables as possible: tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, zucchini, bell peppers.
2. drink at least 2-2.5 liters of water per day.
3. make nourishing and moisturizing masks, but be sure to make sure that they do not contain dubious chemical elements. Better to do homemade masks. You will not have to doubt the naturalness of their components if you select them yourself.
4. always protect your skin from sun damage with protective equipment. With your type of aging, ultraviolet radiation acts destructively on the skin, accelerating the aging process.
5. cosmetic procedures:

• superficial and chemical peels;
• procedures aimed at stimulating the production of collagen and elastin fibers, to increase the tone of facial muscles, injections of vitamin cocktails
• plastic surgery methods

"Muscular" type of facial aging

Skin type: normal with poorly expressed fatty tissue

Face: Asian type of face, with well-developed facial muscles

Specifications: With this type of aging, the skin becomes covered with pigmentation, pronounced "crow's feet" appear, folds are drawn in the nasolabial region, the corners of the mouth descend.

Problems: dehydration of the skin and a critical decrease in subcutaneous fatty tissue, overstrain of the facial muscles

How to fight:

• to increase the tone of the vessels of the face, contrast the washing process, alternating cold water with warm
• eat foods containing magnesium, as it helps to relax the facial muscles
• face building and facial massage
• injections of vitamin cocktails and blepharoplasty.

10.4. Old age typology

OV Krasnova (2005) writes: “There is an opinion that only negative personality changes are associated with older age. From article to article "generalized portraits" of elderly people and "typologies of old age" wander, which often, upon closer examination, turn out to be untenable and do not give anything for the development of science, nor for the elderly, nor for psychological and social services designed to provide them professional help nor for students preparing to become psychologists or social workers <…>German gerontologist H. Tome explains that psychology inherited preconceived notions from psychiatry. It is clear that psychiatrists were faced precisely with pathological changes in personality, therefore, in medicine, these phenomena were understood as degradation, decrease in productivity and adaptability at a later age. Psychologists, on the other hand, readily perceived "slowness, decreased vitality, inability to integrate certain modes of behavior, grotesque manifestation of certain oddities, stinginess, distrust, talkativeness, melancholy, introversion, rigidity, etc." as distinctive features of an elderly person, so to speak, the inevitable result of his mental development<…>Foreign studies of older people have also shown the inconsistency of theses about both a general reduction in spiritual productivity and personality degradation, i.e. disintegration and a decrease in the ability to adapt. These findings do not mean that there are no mental changes at all in old age. It's just that these changes are not directly dependent on age and in themselves are not so significant. "

This optimism is difficult to share unconditionally. After all, it can also lead to the same result as a negative opinion about the elderly: why take care of them, if everything is fine with them. But the truth in the words of V. Krasnova is that it is really impossible to describe a typical portrait of an elderly person, because senile changes manifest themselves in different ways in different people.

There are many approaches to identifying the types of aging and old age. So, MP Belsky (1910) identified four types of adaptation to old age: developing, resting, demanding, unrealized. F. Giese suggested distinguishing three types of old people: the negative type, which denies any signs of old age; extroverted type, recognizing the onset of old age, but coming to this recognition through external influence and by observing the surrounding reality, especially in connection with retirement (observing young people who have grown up, diverging views and interests with them, changes in the situation in the family); an introverted type, acutely experiencing the aging process. Dullness appears in relation to new interests, revival of memories of the past, weakening of emotions, a desire for peace.

D. Bromley(Bromley, 1966, 1988) identified five types of elderly on the basis of adaptation strategies in old age.

1. Constructive type. Characterizes a mature personality, well integrated, who enjoys life created by close and intimate relationships with others. People with this attitude have been calm, contented and cheerful all their lives. They retain these traits in old age, they are happy about life, are active, and strive to help each other. They don't make tragedies because of their age and ailments, they look for entertainment and contacts with other people. They accept the facts of old age, including retirement and ultimately death. Such people are patient, flexible, aware of themselves, their achievements, opportunities and prospects. Representatives of this type retain the ability to enjoy food, work, play and can still be sexually active.

2. Dependent type. The second strategy is also socially acceptable, but tends to be passive and dependent. It is inherent in people who did not really trust themselves all their lives, were weak-willed, compliant, passive. As they grow old, they seek help and recognition with even greater zeal, and without receiving them, they feel unhappy and offended. They rely on other people for their material support and expect emotional support from others. They are satisfied with retirement, freedom from work, they understand their personal qualities well, they combine a feeling of general satisfaction with life with a tendency to over-optimism and impracticality.

3. Defensive type. Less constructive model of adaptation to old age. It is formed in people who are, as it were, covered with armor. They do not strive for rapprochement with people, they keep closed, fenced off from people. Such people are exaggerated emotionally restrained, hide their feelings, are somewhat straightforward in their actions and habits. They prefer to be self-reliant, reluctant to accept help from other people. They avoid expressing their own opinion, hardly share their life or family problems, refuse to help, proving to themselves that they are independent. They hate old age, as it forces them to be addicted, to give up work and activity. They envy the young. These people are very reluctant and only under pressure from others leave their professional work. They sometimes take a defensive position in relation to the whole family, which is expressed in avoiding the manifestation of their claims and complaints against the family. The defense mechanism they use against the fear of death and deprivation is activity "through force", constant replenishment of external actions.

4. Hostile type. People of this type are aggressive, explosive, suspicious, have a tendency to shift their own claims to others and blame them for all their failures. They are not very realistic in assessing reality. Mistrust makes them withdrawn and avoid contact with other people. They drive away the thought of retirement, because, like people with a defensive attitude, they use mechanisms to release tension through activity, with burden. These people do not perceive their old age, with despair they think about the progressive loss of strength. This is combined with hostility towards young people, sometimes with the transfer of this attitude to the whole world.

5. Self-hating type. This type differs from the previous one in that aggression is directed at oneself. People of this type are prone to depression and fatalism, they lack interests and initiatives. They feel lonely and unnecessary, they consider their life a failure, they treat death without fear as getting rid of an unhappy existence. Such people criticize and despise their own lives. They are passive, sometimes depressed, lacking in initiative. They are pessimistic, do not believe that they can affect their lives, feel like a victim of circumstances. People of this type are well aware of the facts of aging, but they do not envy the young. They do not rebel against their own old age, but only meekly accept everything that fate sends. Death does not bother them, they perceive it as a deliverance from suffering.

Description of the types of old people according to Erickson. The first type is called " Prometheus ", and it includes individuals for whom life is a continuous battle. In later years, such people continue to struggle with new difficulties - age-related diseases. At the same time, they strive not only to preserve, but to expand the subjective space of their life world. Feeling, in the end, the need to rely on others, they accept only the help that they have won. These are people who have remained active thanks to their vitality and perseverance of spirit. They are subjects of their lives. Noticing unwanted changes in themselves, they creatively compensate for them without lowering self-esteem.

Another type, whose representatives are also distinguished by an active attitude to life, is called “ productive-autonomous "... Both in the early and later years of life, individuals of this type are focused on high achievements, success, which is ensured by a variety of strategies. They are independent, they are critical of different social stereotypes and generally accepted opinions. People, life path which is distinguished by daring, creativity, success, and have a constructive attitude towards the companions of old age - deterioration of physical condition, the appearance of various diseases. The aging process proceeds in a peculiar way in outstanding creative personalities who have the opportunity to continue their creative life... In many cases, the life path of such people is a fusion of happiness and suffering, an alternation of moments of loss and finding a new meaning in their lives. Among the reasons that cause them an acute sense of dissatisfaction with themselves, in particular, the exhaustion of the life program, the discrepancy between the scale of the creative gift and its very incomplete implementation in the results of activity.

I. S. Kon gives a classification of the types of old age, depending on the nature of the activity with which it is filled:

1. The first type is active, creative old age. People, having parted with professional work, continue to participate in public life, live a full-blooded life, not feeling any inferiority.

2. The second type of old age is also distinguished by good social and psychological adaptation, but the energy of these people is directed mainly towards organizing their own lives - material well-being, rest, entertainment and self-education, for which there was no time before.

3. The third type, in which women predominate, finds the main application of power in the family. They have no time to be depressed or bored, but their life satisfaction is usually lower than that of the first two types.

4. The fourth type - people whose meaning of life has become health care, which stimulates a fairly diverse form of activity and gives a certain moral satisfaction. However, they tend to exaggerate the importance of their actual and perceived illnesses.

I.S.Kon considers all these types of old age psychologically safe and notes that there are also negative types. These may include aggressive old grumpers who criticize everyone but themselves. Another variant of the negative manifestation of old age is disappointment in oneself and in one's own life, lonely and sad losers. They blame themselves for real and perceived missed opportunities.

Psychiatrist E. S. Averbukh distinguishes two extreme types in own attitude to your old age. Some do not feel and do not even realize their age for a long time, therefore they become “young” in their behavior, sometimes losing their sense of proportion; others, as it were, overestimate their old age, begin to overly take care of themselves ahead of time and, more than is required, protect themselves from life's anxieties.

Other domestic psychiatrists conditionally distinguish three types of old age: happy, unhappy and psychopathological. Happy old age is characterized by serenity, wise enlightenment of the worldview and worldview, contemplation, restraint and self-control. The so-called unhappy old age is caused by an increase in the level of personal anxiety, anxious imagination about one's physical health. Also characteristic are a tendency to frequent doubts and fears about an insignificant reason, lack of confidence in oneself, in the future, the loss of the former and the absence of any other meaning in life, reflections on the approaching death. Psychopathological old age is manifested by age-related organic disorders of the psyche, personality and behavior. There is a decrease in the adaptive capabilities of the psychopathic personality with the frequent development of various maladaptive reactions.

According to A.U. Tibilova (1991), there are three types of age-related personality changes. The first type - adequate self-perception with an understanding of negative changes, manifests itself in an increase in anxiety, dissatisfaction with one's capabilities and understanding of the irreversibility of intensifying ailments and the desire to “protect oneself”, conservatism of views and rigidity of judgments and interests. The second type is a hypertrophied perception of changes occurring with age in the mental, physical and social spheres, which manifests itself in a low mood, an understanding of irreversibility life losses, the closure of interests on health, social and material well-being, the development of hypochondria, anxiety. The third type is polar to the second, characterized by a subjective underestimation of age-related changes, a somewhat exaggerated idea of ​​one's abilities, along with an underestimation of reduced capabilities. The last two types, with an increasing sharpening of personal qualities, seem to border on the accentuation of the personality, respectively, by the type of depression and hypomania.

Samara surgeon prof. G. L. Ratner, discussing the psychology of an elderly patient, identified several psychological types of elderly patients who go to the doctor. To the first group, he included people who have lost their life orientations, who are living out their days as necessary.

The second group includes old people who have a haven, but are not respected by others. They are often unscrupulous, talkative, grumpy. Lonely, they try to find sympathy from others, but because of their character, limited interests, they do not find a response, or even are ridiculed. For such a person, getting to the doctor is a holiday.

The third group of elderly patients are people who have retained their dignity and independence. Among them there are also dictators who keep the whole family in check.

The fourth group includes the so-called minions of fate. More often it is men. In the family, they are surrounded by honor and attention, they have no responsibilities, their health is closely monitored. Some of them take this for granted and begin to bully all family members, others gratefully accept this attitude, try to be useful.

Finally, there are people who do not want to grow old and recognize themselves as old people. They try to lag behind their generation, to stay in more young age and sometimes they succeed. Stories about a quiet, wise old age do not seduce them.

T.P.Denisova,

A.I. Antsiferova (200) distinguishes two types, differing from each other in the level of activity, strategies for coping with difficulties, attitude to the world and to oneself, life satisfaction.

Representatives of the first type courageously, without any special emotional disturbances, experience retirement, which they perceive as liberation from social restrictions, prescriptions and stereotypes of the working period. They show high activity, which is associated with a positive attitude towards the future. For many old people, retirement is associated with the desire to pass on professional experience to their students. They are tempted to educate a new generation, mentoring. Doing a new job, establishing friendly contacts, and maintaining the ability to control your surroundings generate life satisfaction and increase its duration.

Representatives of the second type develop a passive attitude to life, they alienate from the environment, narrow the range of their interests. They lose self-respect and experience a heavy sense of uselessness. What a person aspired to, devoted his life (work, raising children), turned out to be a mirage, a phantom. As a result, there is a reassessment of values, past achievements and successes are included in the category of failures and mistakes. Old people understand that their dreams and hopes will never come true, and their old age turns into a feast of life's hopes and dreams. Such people are going through their late age hard, do not fight for themselves, plunge into the past and, being physically healthy, quickly become decrepit.

IV Shapovalenko (2008) showed (albeit on a relatively small sample) that the elderly, actively involved in social life, more often note gains in their old age and less often - losses (Table 10.1).

Aging of the personality can manifest itself in the syndrome of rejection of aging, highlighted by foreign authors, which is based on an internal conflict between the needs of the individual and the possibilities of satisfying them, limited due to physical and mental aging. This contradiction leads to the phenomenon of frustration and various forms of socio-psychological maladjustment of the individual.

Sociologist A. Kachkin (1995), depending on which interests, aspects of life are dominant for older people, distinguishes the following types: family - is aimed only at the family, its well-being; lonely - the fullness of life is achieved mainly through communication with oneself, one's own memories (a variant of loneliness is possible together); creative - not necessarily associated with artistic creativity, can realize himself in the garden; social - a retired social activist engaged in socially useful (in his opinion) affairs and activities; political - a person who fills his life with participation (active or passive) in political life (the elderly are not only in our country the majority of the electorate, while occupying conservative positions and sharing conservative views on a number of socio-political issues; however, conservatism is not the same as passivity in political life - on the contrary, a comparison of the results of participation in elections in the United States and in Russia and other countries shows the highest percentage of participation of older voters in comparison with others age categories); religious] fading away - a person who could not or did not want to compensate for the former fullness of life with some new occupation, did not find an application for his forces; sick - people of this orientation are not so much busy maintaining own health how much by monitoring the course of the disease.

Table 10.1. Gains and losses in old age in actively social and actively passive elderly people, percentage of cases

When considering various typologies, it should be borne in mind that they are always relative, since in real life "in their pure form" psychological types are rare.

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Introduction

Aging is an inevitable stage in a person's life. In this paper, we will study the types of aging.

Among the most important problems facing the world community is the problem of aging of the population. Throughout the 20th century, the proportion of older people in the total population of the Earth has been constantly increasing. This trend is expected to continue into the 21st century. According to the WHO Expert Committee, in 1975 - 350 million people, in 2000 - 590 million, by 2010, according to forecasts, there will be 1 billion 100 million people, which will be more than 15% of the population. And in 2050, according to UN forecasts, their share will reach 21%. There is a rapidly progressing aging of the population, and specific gravity people over 75 years old.

Two decades ago, it seemed that demographic aging of the population, i.e. an increase in the proportion of the elderly in the total population, which is characteristic exclusively of developed countries. However, today it has become obvious that this process has engulfed almost the entire world. In Russia, the total population has increased by about a quarter, and the number of elderly people has increased more than two and a half times. M .: ISC "Statistics of Russia", 2004.

Report on the state and trends of the demographic development of the Russian Federation ..

Types of aging

The number of elderly citizens in the world is growing very rapidly. Aging and old age are becoming a global problem. Aging and old age should be distinguished. Aging means a process, old age is understood as its result. The aging process affects both the individual and the society as a whole. Old age is the last final stage in the development of each subject. Aging, if we consider it as a process, includes several stages.

According to the World Health Organization, there are three chronological periods:

· Elderly - this is the age from 60 to 74 years;

Senile - from 75 to 89 years old;

· Long-livers - 90 years and older.

We believe that aging is of a specific historical nature and should not be brought under the global standard. Each country should have its own periodization of aging, because average duration the life of society differs from country to country. For example, in Russia the average life expectancy is lower than in Europe, which means that the values ​​of the aging periods should be reduced. According to the Population Division and the UN Statistical Office and national statistical offices, the average life expectancy in Europe (2002) for men was 71 years, for women - 79 years, in the world, respectively, 64 and 68, in Russia - 58 and 72. UN, Council of Europe, Goskomstat of Russia and according to UN forecasts until 2030. See: Demographic Yearbook of Russia: Stat. Sat. M .: Goskomstat of Russia, 1995, ... 2002; Keyfitz N., Flieger W. World Population Growth and Aging. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1990; Recent Demographic Developments in Europe. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing, 1999, ... 2003; World Population Aging 1950-2050. New York: UN, 2002; World Population Prospects. The 2000 Revision / United Nations. New York, 2001 .. In our country, the following periodization is needed:

· Elderly people - from 60 to 69 years old;

· Old people - from 70 to 84 years old;

· Long-livers - 85 years and older.

And there is absolutely no reason for gender division. Only according to legal documents, our women, having reached the age of 55, become elderly (the basis is the receipt of a pension). Due to the flourishing of socio-economic, scientific, practical and cultural values, the lower age limit for old age is constantly rising.

In modern gerontology, there are such types of old age as:

· Chronological;

· Physiological;

· Psychological;

· Social.

Now, in order, we will consider these types of old age, by what signs to distinguish them.

Chronological old age is determined mainly by the number of years lived.

Physiological old age is determined by the state of health, the number of chronic diseases.

Psychological old age is determined by the person himself, his sense of his biological age.

Social old age contains the signs of the above types of old age. Although it represents much more than the totality of all types of old age: the number of years lived, chronic diseases and psychological state... Each type of old age influences the next one. They condition each other.

Chronological periodization of life was proposed by Pythagoras, Avicenna and the ancient Chinese, in our time they were developed by S.G. Strumilin, B.Ts. Urlanis and E. Rosset N. Anisimova Phenomenon "Russian grandmother" // St. Petersburg vedomosti. 2003. No. 129 (July 11) .. The only thing is that there is no consensus about the time of the onset of old age, neither among modern classifiers, nor among the ancients. Just more than others was called 60 years of age. Society should accept the view that old age is a long period of life. To understand all those changes that a person undergoes after the age of 60, a more detailed division of the stages with detailed explanations of each is needed.

Social old age is more understood with the age of the whole society. The group of older people occupies more and more place in the age structure with the passage of time. It is precisely the social age that is corrected by the average life expectancy in each country. For example, in Zambia or Mali, where the average life expectancy is 43-44 years, the elderly are much "younger" than in Japan or the United States, countries with high life expectancy. Demographic Yearbook of Russia: Stat. Sat. M .: Goskomstat of Russia, 1995, ... 2002; Keyfitz N., Flieger W. World Population Growth and Aging. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1990; Recent Demographic Developments in Europe. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing, 1999, ... 2003; World Population Aging 1950-2050. New York: UN, 2002; World Population Prospects. The 2000 Revision / United Nations. New York, 2001 .. I would like to say that aging is more a social than a biological process. It is different depending on the era and culture, for many peoples, social strata, groups and ethnic groups.

The individual boundary of old age directly depends on the level of aging of the population as a whole. The further this border is, the higher the level. The level of health care and social security, working and resting conditions, sanitary and hygienic conditions, the level of development of culture and education, environmental safety and development of social production, satisfaction of material and spiritual needs, the level of comfort and a favorable climate - all this determines the onset of social old age. Also, do not forget about the lifestyle of the individual. Smoking, alcoholism, etc. bad habits, playing sports, healthy eating and etc. good habits, chronic diseases, the presence of injuries, what kind of heredity - all these are factors on which life expectancy and the aging process directly depend.

V physiological life two distinct dates stand out: birth and death. There is no definable beginning and end in social life. Social old age is certain period social life. Social life begins from the time a person becomes a person, that is, a responsible and conscientious subject of social life, and its end is associated with the loss of these qualities. And the end of social life does not have to coincide with physiological death.

After all, social old age does not coincide with physiological old age. For example, there are people who, despite physical weakness, lead an active social life, others - even before the loss of physical strength, lose their personal characteristics and practically lead the lifestyle of a plant.

There is a direct relationship between the time of the beginning of life and the onset of calendar old age, which characterizes and superior view life - social life. When production is at a high level, it assumes that the cultural and educational levels will also be high. Hence it follows that independent life postponed to a later period, delayed by the time of obtaining the necessary education. But the time of the onset of social old age is also postponed. For example, in comparison with the last century, the Turgenev and Gogol old men were usually fifty years old. Safarova GL Aging of the urban and rural population of Russia // Modern problems of population aging in the world: trends, prospects, intergenerational relationships. M .: MAKS Press, 2004.S. 121-130.