5 ms·

This article isn't really a good candidate for a list of "things you can learn from older people". First, the study it cites is at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

This article isn't really a good candidate for a list of "things you can learn from older people". First, the study it cites is at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3332527/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3332527/. The study has a few problems insofar as the way the article wants to use it. The study covered several hundred individuals ranging in age from 18 to 94; the median age of the participants was about 55, but the study doesn't specify how many people were aged 80 or older; the study self-selected for people "who reported that their health was 'as good or better than most people their age'"; and, the trend analysis in the study displays a negative slope after age 70 for "positive emotional experience". So, as long as you limit your sample to people aged 50 to 70 who are in better than average health, sure, maybe you can write an article that older people are happier. Also, make sure you use pictures of people much older than 70, and talk about a handful of individuals you used as case studies. Missing from the author's case studies is my grandfather, turning 90 soon, who in his younger years was always very physically active and healthy, who was well-read as an orphan and supported the civil rights movement long before there was even a movement, who raised three daughters and lived long enough to see two of them die and the third fall to a painkiller addiction, who was married to and loved the same woman for almost 60 years before losing her, too. He spends his days and his nights in a recliner. Most of his mind still works but his body has mostly failed him. He can't go for a walk or enjoy the sunshine. He relies on phone calls and visits from his grandkids to break up the miserable monotony of his remaining days. He talks longingly and sincerely of "the Oregon needle", and is disappointed every time he recovers from a bout of pneumonia. One of the things I've learned from him is that dying is okay. Just try to live really well first.

loco5niner 9y ago
Ok, I'm at a loss... "the Oregon needle"? *edit - I'm guessing assisted suicide
- thaumaturgy 9y ago
  Yep. Oregon refers to this as the "Death with Dignity Act".
Aloha 9y ago
If we have a support network, we can recover from grief - it sounds like he's waiting to die, because he out-lived his support network.
- thaumaturgy 9y ago
  Ehh. I'd be reluctant to say that he's ever had much of a support network, and he's always had the sort of personality that would reject such a thing anyway -- a consequence of growing up rough and mostly alone. I think he'd also say there's no recovering from the grief of losing his wife of 60 years. I can't even imagine being with someone that long, and at my age, likely will never have the opportunity to try. I think more fundamentally -- and something that should be a part of more conversations about mortality -- he's outlived his ability to enjoy living. One danger of articles like this one is that they can make old age seem not so bad (not that that was its intention, just a side effect). But, I've always had an affinity for older people, and I really don't think very many of them enjoy being elderly. It's a cruel way to spend our last years, if we're lucky enough to make it that far. In the end, it's the experiences we had while young that we rely on to pass the days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKDXuCE7LeQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKDXuCE7LeQ This is good too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bktozJWbLQg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bktozJWbLQg
srtjstjsj 9y ago
Having a miserable life is miserable indeed. Older people have less power to change their lives. He could do better though -- living with neighbors in an apartment building, and living closer to family. Of course it's hard to make that change later in life if you don't plan ahead. And frankly, the bad old age you describe is a very small portion of his life, preceded by a decent old age.

loco5niner 9y ago

Ok, I'm at a loss... "the Oregon needle"? *edit - I'm guessing assisted suicide

thaumaturgy 9y ago
Yep. Oregon refers to this as the "Death with Dignity Act".

Aloha 9y ago

If we have a support network, we can recover from grief - it sounds like he's waiting to die, because he out-lived his support network.

thaumaturgy 9y ago
Ehh. I'd be reluctant to say that he's ever had much of a support network, and he's always had the sort of personality that would reject such a thing anyway -- a consequence of growing up rough and mostly alone. I think he'd also say there's no recovering from the grief of losing his wife of 60 years. I can't even imagine being with someone that long, and at my age, likely will never have the opportunity to try. I think more fundamentally -- and something that should be a part of more conversations about mortality -- he's outlived his ability to enjoy living. One danger of articles like this one is that they can make old age seem not so bad (not that that was its intention, just a side effect). But, I've always had an affinity for older people, and I really don't think very many of them enjoy being elderly. It's a cruel way to spend our last years, if we're lucky enough to make it that far. In the end, it's the experiences we had while young that we rely on to pass the days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKDXuCE7LeQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKDXuCE7LeQ This is good too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bktozJWbLQg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bktozJWbLQg

srtjstjsj 9y ago

Having a miserable life is miserable indeed. Older people have less power to change their lives. He could do better though -- living with neighbors in an apartment building, and living closer to family. Of course it's hard to make that change later in life if you don't plan ahead. And frankly, the bad old age you describe is a very small portion of his life, preceded by a decent old age.