Anti-Aging Information

Back in 1959, Erik Erikson, sometimes considered the father of the humanist school of psychology, stated that humanity's task "is to validate existence by seeing the past as meaningful." He argued that "the central dilemma for the aged is achieving integrity, a task that involves reconciliation to the personal past."

It is important to accept what life is all about, Erikson said, as well as to understand the people who are significant to us, without unrealistic wishes or regrets. For example, "It thus means a new and different love for one's parents, free of the wish that they should have been different and an acceptance of the fact that one's life is one's own responsibility."

As it turns out, guys in their forties do plenty of introspection compared with those in their sixties or beyond, who have often done all the life review they need. In a sense, then, older individuals may well already have achieved peace on their journey. Another interesting finding is that the elderly create myths to dramatize their past. Lieberman and Tobin propose that "those who have resolved such a life review are more likely to experience equanimity, a sense of peace, and optimism about their future." Allowing you to create a comforting context to your lifeeven if it may be a "mythology"may permit you to ultimately feel better about yourself.

A life review provides a uniqueness to your life by allowing you to define and defend your present self through a mythic review of your past. Have you ever noticed how seldom you reflect back on the bad times in your youth but instead remember all the great blasts you had in college?

(What about flunking introductory chemistry notwithstanding a planned career in medicine?)

Our cultural history is filled with special songs of past accomplishments. Is this bragging? Or is this a way of recognizing the important things men have done in their lives to become the people they are? The dialogue was often shared as something we gave each otherone man singing as friends listened. Now most of us live apart with walls between, physically and emotionally. Now friends aren't necessarily interested in such songs of our lives. That's not to say that we can't listen to our own diaries and gain from the experience, both from the compilation and the immersion in the process.

The hope is that once we accept our past as meaningful, we can feel less anxious about the future. Once we've honestly faced events that may have troubled us, these thorns can lose much of their deleterious power over us. Hopefully, content with what we may have done, we may perceive less pressure to do better or differently.

On occasion, however, some of these recollections can become too painful to bear. Yet often they are the ones that are most beneficial to resolve. This is called "facing your demons." Helping you do this is what analysts and counselors are for. In fact, processing your psychic confusion and pain is what they do for a living.