Cohen and Vaillant Promise a New Old Age

Recently I read books by George Vaillant and Gene Cohen.  Both of these writers are psychiatrists who do research on aging and developmental stage theory.  I find them fascinating, partly because I am old.   What do I have to look forward to?  After all, I am already old. 

But get a grip, folks, things are looking up.  Somebody has been keeping a secret about getting old.  Retiring is a whole new world.  Gene Cohen reports new stages in old age that nobody has told us about in his book THE MATURE MIND.  And they are wonderful!

Cohen’s first new stage for old people is called Midlife Re-evaluation.  Midlife Crisis has lost its snap because most people don’t have a crisis.  They re-evaluate where they are and where they want to go somewhere around 55 or 60.  Maybe younger, maybe older, but the realigning of their priorities and goals gives them a push for the last half of their lives.

By the time you are nearing retirement, you get your second wind.  You see as you near that time that there is more to life than winding down.  You have energy and zest you thought belonged to the younger generation.  You may approach life differently—more thought and purpose, more joy and fun—and use it better than you did in the past.  You may remember Grandma Moses who began painting at 77.  I opened a catering business when I retired at 60.  You may do something you never did before because now there is no one to say you can’t; there is no reason not to try.  Success is not the goal—it is a matter of enjoying the experience.  This is called the Liberation Phase.

Cohen calls the third phase Summing Up.  This is the time to see what your life has meant.  Volunteerism is very popular with the older crowd.  Giving back becomes a motto.  Mentoring to pass on skills and information becomes a tradition.  Some people begin the study of genealogy or write their memoirs.  I have always loved to write so I get to blog and it’s free.  I also enjoy genealogy—I call it visiting “with dead relatives.”  I get regular calls from grandchildren who need a class project about their ancestors. 

Cohen labels the last phase the Encore Phase meaning “again” as well as “continuing.”  It may begin in the seventies and continue through the eighties and nineties.  The later phases wax and wane in waves during this time.  Generativity which may start during the forties may come back with renewed urgency.  Generativity is the drive to teach someone younger what you have learned, to pass on knowledge and skill in a profession or sport.  Becoming the Keeper of the Culture allows you to share the family story through genealogy or family myths to a wider audience.  Being mentor to an organization instead of just a family member instills the story for society’s benefit. 

Vaillant’s book AGING WELL points out the impressive importance of the Generativity stage.  He emphasizes that mentoring or passing on your knowledge and skill is the best indicator of successful aging.  Erik Erikson’s Stages of Ego Development lists Generativity vs. Stagnation important in adulthood, and the life skill we develop in this process is care.  It is not difficult to see the connection between Generativity and successful aging; 

·         It requires contact with others. 

·         It is intellectually demanding. 

·         It is goal oriented.

·         It is reinforcing to both parties.

I urge you to look at aging in a new way.  Cohen and Vaillant emphasize that the brain never stops learning.  Let me repeat that:  The brain never stops learning.  There are new things to look forward to and you have not yet scratched the surface.  Enjoy!

Have Fun in Old Age

Quadratflachdrachen fuer Windgenerator mit aeroelastischen Fluegeln (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Getting old is more fun if you think of it as an adventure. I am old by all the criteria commonly accepted. My age, my eyesight, my mental capacity, and, certainly, my children mark me as old. I remember things that happened in a previous century and think of them as still relevant. Now my granchildren are studying them in history class.

Two dual line stunt kites flying in a formation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So I am impressed to learn new stuff to keep my standing as still active and vital. But guess what? Some things that are old are new to the grandchildren. I make kites and show the kids how make them too. The ones I usually teach them to make are small and cheap. They are environmentally safe, and they don't require batteries. They get the kids out in the fresh air and give them an active afternoon. They are examples of high level scientific principles of wind action and air movement. That's pretty good stuff!

A train of little kites at the Bedford International Kite Festival, 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It helps to learn the new stuff like new designs in kite building and new materials.  I use one or two sheets of typing paper or tissue paper for making kites.  If I buy them, they are usually made from rip-stop nylon with plastic spars and spines..  The fabric ones are more durable while the homemade ones will usually last only one season, or maybe one flight.  The thrill when you see the kite rise on the wind is the same whether you made it or bought it.  To see the grace of the tail as the wings catch the wind takes you heart to heights you can't imagine.

What old skill do you have you would like to share with a kid? Get out there and get excited about getting old!

Boredom Is the New Inspiration

I heard a reference to a study that revealed the reason for infidelity--boredom.  Amazing.  And all the time we were blaming unfaithfulness or lack of communication or poor money management or bad cooking.  It was boredom, old fashioned, plain, simple boredom. 

Take a deep breath and think again.  Any excuse will do if you are inclined to be unfaithful.  I really think this is one of those tip-of-the-iceberg kind of things.  Our society is dedicated to being endlessly entertained.  I recently heard teachers complaining because their lesson plans had to be fun for the kids.  They had to be fresh and new and brightly colored.  No multiplication tables to memorize, no boring stuff to do.  If you are bored, it's O.K. to shake things up even if it means checking in with a stranger or looking up an old friend for a little afternoon delight.  According to the stuff I found on the net, this is still innocent fun.  Hogwash!!!

Teenagers who use drugs and alcohol because they are bored are still stupid, and they will still  suffer the hideous consequences of their actions.  Was the momentary joy of the high reason enough to corrupt an otherwise functioning brain?

I don't object to boredom.  It is the reason for many of our best innovations.  When people get bored, they get creative.   Kids in school who learn to multiply, can become excited about logarhythms if they see it as a new adventure in mathmatics.  Suddenly the multiplication table isn't boring anymore, but it may have required some boredom to get to this point.

People in Sunday school who have heard all the old stories for twenty years find relief in minor characters who teach big lessons.   The Bible contains things I didn't know were there, exciting things, challenging things, but I had to endure some boredom to find them.

It's not the boredom that brought about the infidelity.  Yes, there was boredom, but there was also an underlying lack of faithfulness and inclination to dishonesty.  Don't try to excuse your character flaws by claiming boredom.  Everybody gets bored, but not everybody sleeps around.

Memories Hold Amazing Power

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Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. ~From the television show The Wonder Years

Psychologists are interested in memories for a lot of reasons. Some of the things that have happened to us are woven into the fabric of our beliefs and our personalities. The blessings of childhood are with us throughout our adult lives. Some of them bless us forever.

I will always remember that my mother thought I was the most attractive and charming child at the birthday party. She actually felt sorry for all the other mothers. I remember that I felt awkward and foolish a great deal of the time. I was corrected constantly. The reality of my amazing presence was in her mind, not mine.

She did truly want me to be perfect and viewed me that way. Even though I knew it was not true, I still felt special. I knew that she would shape me to be a more satisfactory individual, more studious, more creative, more stylish, and more graceful.

My mother died when I was ten. Her influence has been a constant in my life. Many times I have reflected on her opinion of me and altered the course I had chosen knowing she would want me to go a different way. I am still blessed by her love and her opinion.

What Do You Know About Diabetes?

Diabetes is a common disease.  There are about 18.8 million Americans diagnosed with diabetes and about 7 million that have the disease that have not been diagnosed.  Having the disease without knowing it puts you at risk to develop severe problems without knowing the cause.  If either or both of your parents had Type II diabetes, you should get tested by your doctor.   Carrying excess weight puts you at risk for diabetes, too.  It is a simple blood test--don't panic. 

Treatment may mean making some changes in how and what you eat, adding exercise to your daily schedule, and medication by mouth or injection, but you can do this.  Most people who are diagnosed as adults do not require insulin, but medication by mouth will controlled the blood sugar sufficiently to prevent high readings. 

You don't even have to swear off candy and desserts forever.  You do have to eat small portions of sweets and be respoonsible for your own eating behavior. 

You may be able to lose weight and add exercise to help your situation.  Losing weight increases the efficiency of the insulin producing cells.  The insulin you make has less territory to cover when you lose weight. 

Exercise helps the efficiency too.  Begin with walking, cycling, or swimming.  You don't have to be a jock, just use your energy to build muscle not fat.  When I was first diagnosed, I began using a stationary bike and eating more vegetables and lost about 20 to 30 pounds.  It was several years before I required any medication to control the blood sugar.  For more information see the entries on diabetes under Health and Illness Stuff on this site.

Belief and Trust

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I never really understood the difference between belief and trust.  I thought if I believed I also trusted–they were two sides of the same coin.  Now I have learned a new way to understand these words and the actions that come from them.

Believing is a cognitive action.  I have to think about what I believe and what I will do about it.  My actions follow my belief.  I am a Christian, so I arrange my logical steps to account for my faith.  It requires the history found in the Bible and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus to be firmly understood in my mind.  My belief is very logical and real, and my attendance at church and my participation in Bible study are evidence of my faith.

Trust is not logical or cognitive at all.  It is found in some other framework.  It is not based on language or understanding.  I can’t give you reasons why I trust God or how I find comfort in the sacrifice of Jesus.  I can’t even define trust in adequate language.  I just know.

I found this new understanding of faith and trust explained in George Vaillant’s book SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION.  Vaillant is a psychiatrist and very savvy about evolution.  He describes the way human development was enhanced by the use of language in the frontal cortex of the brain.  This refinement of our ability to communicate is a recent addition in evolutionary time.  The limbic system is an older method of evaluating the environment.  It is based in odors and sounds and sights that don’t require language.  Babies respond to touch and sound without the need for language.  As adults we become so sophisticated that we lose the familiarity with these ways of communicating.  They still operate in the background or beneath the surface of our consciousness.  There is where I found trust. 

I don’t trust God because I understand the words of the preacher’s sermon or because I can read the Bible.  I trust him because he has come before when I was alone or afraid; he has strengthened me when I was tired and cleansed me when I was dirty.  And it was all without words or language.  I can’t even describe how he does that.  The structures in the limbic brain are the places where emotions are found.  Fear, aggression, pity, joy and other things like memory are developed in the limbic system.  Maybe the limbic brain is where the soul resides, and language, words, and explanations are not really able to communicate the realities found there.  Trust is there, and God blesses me there. 

Some Complications of Diabetes

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How does diabetes affect you?

Diabetes causes changes in the way cells work.  The high concentration of sugar in the blood when the sugar levels are high causes the cells to change their shape.  You may note this in your vision.  When my husband's blood sugar was about 500, his vision was very blurry.  I experienced a change in my vision too.  It got better.  When I took my glasses off, I could see better.  I liked it!  The doctor did not.  He explained that the increase in sugar caused the cells and the eye ball to contain more fluid.  My astigmatism was improved because the eye ball became more round.  With high sugar readings, the eye ball, as well as brain, kidney, intestinal and neuronal cells experience increase in volumne of liquid and rupture.  These cells do not repair themselves.  They are lost.

Which systems are affected by diabetes?

All your body systems are affected by diabetes because the blood that brings nourishment and oxygen to the cells circulates throughout the body.  Nothing is safe from diabetes. 

Doctors worry a lot about foot care in patients with diabetes because the blood circulation may be slow to the feet.  Gravity works in blood too.  Proping your feet up when resting or watching TV is a good idea.  Get all the blood flow possible.  You may have lost neurons in your feet and legs and not know it.  One possible indication that you have begun to lose blood flow and neurons is lack of hair growth on the legs.  Your doctor may recommend a nerve test to find out the state of your nerve function in your feet.  My test showed impairment in my nerve functions.  That means that my feet are less sensitive to pain and injury.  That sounds like a good thing, but it means that I would not notice an injury and infection could spread before I was aware of it.

Loss of nerve cells does not mean that your feet won't hurt.  My often tingle, sting, or ache.  These are symptoms of the cells dying.  Take all the precautions you can to prevent this.  My doctor prescribed a drug to help the pain, but it had side effects that I was not willing to endure.  The medicine does not prevent the death of the cells; it just relieves the pain.  You will have to choose whether to endure the pain or the side effects.

Heart, kidney, and intestinal walls suffer damage from diabetes.  If your feet and legs are losing cells, the organs are too.  It pays to keep your sugar levels within the parameters recommended by your doctor.  On doctor expressed the idea that the most sensitive organ to loss from diabetes is the brain.  The brain loses cells daily from the mere act of living.   Any contaminants in air, water, and food cause cell loss.  Alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and even medications cause brain cell loss.  Do all you can to keep these  negative effects at a minimum

Can You Reverse Diabetes?

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Reversing diabetes is a very hot topic.  There are a lot of health regimens and products that claim to reduce the need for medication or insulin.  Weight reduction and exercise are also found to be extremely helpful.  I do not see this as “reversing diabetes.”  If the blood sugar readings are reduced, the need for medication may be reduced, but that does not restore the function of damaged cells.  It does reduce the risk of further damage to heart, brain, eyes, and nerve tissue due to the high blood sugar readings.   Make sure you continue to check blood sugar levels and be sensitive to other symptoms.

Complications of Diabetes

http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/neuropathies/#what

I Love Old Age

I’ve been reading books by George Vaillant and Gene Cohen, and they have encouraged me.  Getting old is better than I thought.  I was pushing the concept of getting old as the last chance to get it right, have a good time, and shock the neighbors, but these two writers have shown me that there’s more to it than that

The brain makes some fundemental changes as it ages.  Some things we do better than we did when we were young.  Businesses that discriminate against older workers are doing themselves a disservice–these older workers are better at some tasks than younger ones.  Experience counts!

The brain of a younger worker has more neurons, but the older worker has more connections in the neuronal network.  When they are compared side by side, they excel on different things.  Don’t think that younger is always better.


When I took brain anatomy, science said that the brain loses neurons from about the age of about nineteen until death.  With the addition of neuro-toxins and other contaminants, we are losing thousands of brain cells a day and we never replace them. 

That is still true, but the fact I found so surprising is that we also may form new neurons.  They don’t do anything for your memory though.  Your new cells do not contain the old memories.  They are for new information.  You can learn new things and record new memories.  In other words, you can teach an old dog new tricks.  


One of the triggers to forming new neurons has to do with activity.  Both physical exercise and mental stimulation cause this formation of new neurons, but it needs to be strenuous activity.  You need to walk, cycle, or swim regularly and get tired.  Mental activity needs to be strenuous to form neurons too.  Tackle hard math problems, learn a new language, or study minute details of war or business.

There is a basic developmental shift in the brain as we age.  Gene Cohen describes the shift that occurs in the amygdalae, two almond shaped structures  in the limbic system that are important in emotional memory and fear.  In younger subjects brain scans show greater activity in the left side of the amygdala when it is stimulated, but in older subjects brain scans reveal both sides of the amygdalae are stimulated equally.  This indicates that older subjects are more controlled in their emotional response.  I guess I thought that old age had negative effects, but the learning and emotion function of the amydalae are better in old age.  They grow more integrated.  The brain has continued to develop. 

 Cheer up, folks!  Like wine and cheese, you get better with age.

Are Old People Creative?

The reputation of old people is squarely set in the fixed position:  They are viewed as unchangeable and intolerant of innovation. 

But wait a minute!  Let's take another look at that.  First let's see if they are right.  In that case they don't need to be tolerant of the wrong method or the inappropriate approach.  Sometimes old people are determined to do things their way because they have found that their way works best. 

Next, you may find people who are intolerant without foundation for their beliefs.  In that case, you may be successful in testing a theory or approach.  Most people who are able to think with a clear mind will change if they find a better way to accomplish their goal.  If they are just holding on to an outmoded method for the sake of stubbornness, let it be.  You can't fix stupid. 

The last group of old people I want to talk about are the ones who constantly seek new ways to operate, new goals to achieve, and new people to learn from.  Gene Cohen in his book The Mature Mind points out that the human brain never stops learning.  Old people are included in that statement.  Our brain continues to learn as long as we live.  It is also true that we need to stimulate our minds and actively find new material to learn and new ideas to entertain.

If you are old and you want to stay young, I can't help you.  If you are old and you want to continue to be thrilled, you need to learn something new or go somewhere you've never been or read something you have never seen.  Make it something difficult.  The brain responds to difficult problems with creative and intuitive answers.  Give it a shot.  You may surprise yourself. 

Why Do My Muscles Cramp?

PARIS - NOVEMBER 11: Nicolas Almagro of Spain suffers from a cramp attack during his match against Rafael Nadal of Spain during the ATP Masters Series at the Palais Omnisports De Paris-Bercy on November 11, 2009 in Paris, France.

I have asked many doctors this question:  Why do my muscles cramp?  They all have a different answer, and none of them has ever relieved my distress.  Each one gave me a little piece of the puzzle, but it is a far more complex problem than I thought.

Muscle cramps cannot be treated with a single strategy because they have multiple causes.  To reduce the pain and disruption in life activities, I had to address several issues. 

• Dehydration can cause cramping.  The human body is about 75% water, so it is essential to maintain fluid levels.  Sometimes medications and treatment can promote cramping.  Medications that reduce fluid may contribute to the problem.  One side effect of dialysis may also cause cramping.  When the boys in my high school began football practice in late summer, they suffered with leg cramps. Profuse sweating in the heat of August was part of the cause.  The coaches wisely kept a large supply of water for them.
• Lack of necessary substances can cause cramping.  Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, and Sodium are substances that are significant in the proper operation of the muscles.  Insufficient supply may bring on cramps.  A deficiency may be difficult to track down.  There is probably enough salt in ordinary food to supply the sodium.  Supplements of Calcium, Potassium, and Magnesium are available over the counter at any drug store.  Try one at a time to see if there is a single cause.  When I was pregnant, the doctor prescribed Calcium, but it didn’t work.  Now I take Potassium and find it reduces the cramping.
• Strenuous or extended activity may cause cramping.  I sometimes make bread, but not everyday.  Gripping a spoon or whisk during the mixing process causes my hands to have severe cramps and prevents me from finishing the bread quickly.  I think this is because I don’t do it often enough.  I can usually relieve it by soaking my hands in warm water for a few minutes–washing dishes is good.
• Sometimes cramping seems to be spontaneous and without cause.  It may also be a combination of causes, and you may have to find your own routine.  Exercise to stretch and flex muscles helps to keep them strong and active.  Good diet to maintain proper intake of vitamins and minerals is essential.  Be sure to drink plenty of water.  If the cramps in your feet or legs gets too bad in the middle of the night, take a warm bath.  None of my doctors ever suggested this, but it works.  Doctors do advise against rubbing muscles that are cramping for fear of dislodging blood clots and causing a heart attack or stroke.  A massage from a licensed therapist is wonderful to relieve sore muscles!