122 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 25 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
Life Arts   

On Growing Old: Some Personal and Professional Perspectives

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   1 comment

Gary Brumback
Message Gary Brumback

I have written this article out of personal curiosity about aging because of my advanced age and also about the psychology of aging because I am an Honorary Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA). About that honorarium, I am an organizational, not a clinical psychologist. I treat sick corporations and public agencies so to speak, and believe me, I have not met one that wasn't! [1]

The Personal Perspective. A few days away from being 89 I have been wondering about the notion and experience of the so-called "twilight zone." Does it explain me? Have I entered my own personal twilight zone? My own tactic for handling advanced age is to find ways to laugh ever day, and I must say I am regarded by family and friends as a master of the art of homemade jokes and riddles. Here's an example I truly made up just now: "What's wrong with clinical psychologists? They can't mind their own business." Trust me, some of my riddles are better, some worse. Nevertheless, I want to go beyond psychology's early days of introspection, query my profession today, and thus press onward and write this article.

The Psychological Perspective

What, I wondered, are the insights about aging emanating from my profession of psychology? I did some web browsing. I found a site of the APA that listed 10 "sample articles" dating from 2013 to 2016. [2] Is that the best the APA can do, I facetiously wondered, too unsure, too hesitant to make a choice, leaving it up to the reader? I arbitrarily picked and read one of the articles.

The researchers concluded that "older adults are more likely to underestimate their life satisfaction in the future and that such underestimation was associated with positive health outcomes." [3] Frankly, I do not know what to make of that conclusion. The "positive health outcomes" were not identified, and their conclusion begs for more elucidation and explanation.

In Closing

It is probably not surprising that I am sticking to the personal perspective.

Notes

1. Brumback, G.B. The Iconoclast's Blueprint for Peak Corporate Performance. KDP Publishing, Columbia, S.C., August 15, 2020.

2. American Psychological Association. Sample Articles on Psychology and Aging. 2009.

3. Lang, F.R., Weiss, D, Gerstorf, D. & Wagner, G.G. Forecasting Life Satisfaction Across Adulthood: Benefits of Seeing a Dark Future? (PDF), March, 2013.

Rate It | View Ratings

Gary Brumback Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Dr. Gary Brumback is a long-ago retired organizational psychologist turned "arm-chair peace and social justice activist.
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Surrogate Murderers' Day

Grand Central Station

Dissecting Politicians

Hell's Endless Trails from the USA

On Growing Old: Some Personal and Professional Perspectives

The Fate of Humanity is in the Hands of U.S. Politicians and their Voters

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend