Male Psychology and Aging

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Aging is not a unique feature of our time, but only in the last 100 years it has become commonplace. It was found that in antiquity and the Middle Ages old age was extremely rare, and until the 17th century, only 1 per cent of people reached the age of 65. By in the early 19th century, this number rose to about 4 percent. There are suggestions that about 70 percent of the population of Western Europe today live more than 65 years, and 30-40 per cent – more than 80 years, and possibly more.

For those looking for a lifestyle that involves longevity, you can recall the ancient Greek rule: “moderation in all things.” The study of very old people often shows that they have a special ability to adapt and moderation in food consumption and physical activity. Not surprisingly, smoking (any amount), and alcohol can reduce life expectancy by a decade or more.

Biological age is a measure of how long a person lives, because age is weakly correlated with physical changes. One can imagine a 75 year old man who looks typical of the elderly (gray hair, wrinkles, etc.)., But you can also recall the “best preserved” people who have these symptoms to not look old (forever young, for example, world famous Paul Bragg, the physical condition of his body consistent with 25 years of age, died at 92 years old, riding a surfboard in the water) and the young people that look prematurely old. The state of the human body depends on the impact of various factors – the state of the environment, socio-economic conditions, genetic code, way of life, nutrition, mental and physical stress, psychological climate in the family, working team, education, the availability of human fortitude in stressful situations, the ability to make a positive experience from different situations.

There are many reasons put forward by the physical changes with age, which can be grouped under the title “theory of wear and tear” (parts of the body gradually “wear out” from use) and “cytological theory” (the cells get old in contact with toxins, including the waste products of metabolism in the body). It should be emphasized that the processes of social, biological and psychological aging does not occur independently of each other. As physical changes due to illness, injury affect the mental state of man, also bursts of emotion, pain and stress, long experienced by the person in the family and in the process of life, cause changes in the physical body! The majority of patients in psychiatric hospitals are not genetically predisposed to mental illness, being sensitive (high threshold), the nervous system at many can’t withstand negative emotions from the outside world, there is a malfunction of the cerebral cortex, the person does not control his actions, it is disrupted the sleep-wake cycle. Over the years, these disorders are becoming more resistant – developing disease of the mind. When this alarming “bell” rings it is unknown . So, be attentive to your family, do not rush to “vent anger” on a loved one, results can be unpredictable.

According to scientific research is well known that men are more likely than women to evaluate themselves according to their social status, so they show a much greater loss of confidence in their usefulness for close people when getting old. This causes them to shrink into themselves, which, in turn, creates a sense of restraint and, consequently, increased introversion.

The overall picture of changes in an aging body is not attractive. For example, at the level of tissue – the skin and muscles become less elastic, at the cellular level – there is dysfunction of mitochondria (which produce energy inside cells) at the molecular level – the most plausible theory, each time a cell divides, the site of DNA, called telomeres is shortened. When the telomeres can no longer be reduced, the cell stops dividing and dies. However, not only telomere is responsible for cell aging. There are several theories of aging:

1) a genetic mutation theory argues that the violations of repair systems lead to the accumulation of damage and lead to a catastrophic accumulation of defective proteins, and this may be exacerbated by environmental pollution and improper diet;

2) The autoimmune theory of aging states that aging can be attributed to errors in the human immune system. First, because it becomes less able to fight off infection, and secondly, because it mistakenly identifies its own cells as the agents of infection and attacks them.

3) the theory of cellular debris suggests that aging is the accumulation of waste matter generated as a byproduct of normal cellular activity. These include lipofuscin and molecular compounds called free radicals.

Whatever the reasons for the changes in the body are, there is no doubt that these changes occur. One of the essential features is the loss of cell number with age. It is important to remember that this process does not begin in old age, but in early maturity, with an annual loss of 0.8-1 percent of the cells, ranging from 30 years of age. This process is very slow and since almost all body systems have redundancy, it is only in the sixth decade of life, that many changes first become apparent to an outsider view.

Changes in physical condition and type of activity indicate that approximately at 65 (late adulthood), people must come to terms with the fact that they are no longer leaders both at work and in family life. Thus, in order to be satisfied with life and get quiet joy of being in retirement, people need to learn how to give leadership and to pass on the “second part” – sage advice for your adult children is always priceless. It is assumed that in the pre-retirement age people are in crisis and unsure of their abilities, so this period is perceived as a period of change and anxiety.

There are five basic types of personality traits:

• Constructive type – men of this type are calm, adapted to aging, love life and establish warm emotional relationships with others.
• The dependent type (“rocking chair”) is also socially acceptable, well integrated, but passive and relies not on himself but on others for help. He considers retiring as a release from work and related responsibilities and stress.
• The security type is essentially a neurotic type. Men who have this type of features, continue to work, or are occupied by a responsible activity, like “proving” that they are healthy and do not need the help of others.
• Aggressive-incriminatory type – people with this set of features accuse others people and circumstances of their own failures. Their response is deleterious indignation on the young. They usually stick to “the injustice of the world” to them.
• Incriminatory type- the hatred and indignation of a man is turning on himself, which also has a damaging effect on the mental state of man.

After analyzing the normative behavior of the elderly, Jerome and Coleman suggest that personality is best described using a model of the “big five” – five basic personality traits – responsibility (as far as the person is reliable), the tendency to agree (as far as the wishes of other people are compliant), openness to knowledge (as far as man strives to become acquainted with the unknown), extroversion and neuroticism. It was found that people with higher levels of openness and emotional stability, mostly lead a healthy lifestyle and have fewer health problems. Conversely, higher levels of emotional instability contribute to the development of chronic diseases in old age.

So, if you want to live to a ripe old age, vigorous, healthy, loved and happy – stick to the “golden mean” in the diet, movements, properly alternate work and rest, do not allow yourself “the luxury of being in a bad mood,” often observe nature , animals, laugh often with family, say kind words to yourself and your family, learn to relax the whole body, take a shower every morning at a pleasant temperature for you, take care of the body and the mood of the most important person in your life – you!

These are simple, long known to all rules. If everyone knew how to introduce them to the rank of habits in their life, psychiatric hospitals would not be so crowded. Take care of yourself and your loved ones.

Aarticle Contribution;
Sigmund Freud, Psycology of Every Day Life.
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