Part Three of Three
Learning about the theory of gerotranscendence changed everything for me as a caregiver of an aging parent. In his book Gerotranscendence, Lars Tornstam talks about problems the mental set of younger caregivers can create when they are trying to understand the very old. We have been taught to see it as a problem when an old person seems disengaged. We fear that our aging parent might be depressed or sick. He might have dementia. He may have reached a stage where he is in a retreat from life as a preparation for death.
New Perspectives on the Inner Life of the Very Old
Tornstam’s research has uncovered another possible reason for what might look like disengagement from life. In the developmental stage of gerotranscendence, an elder’s self perceptions and perceptions …
Continue reading this post here
