Life Review and Ordinary Remembering of the Older Adult Paper Example

Introduction of the Older Adult

B.T is a 77-year old Hispanic woman who was born and grew up in South America. She enjoyed her childhood feeling lucky to be the eldest of her siblings with lovely parents despite their low-income level. However, she appreciates her teenage times that seemed challenging but shaped her into the woman she is. B.T recalls her moments in high school to be the toughest and though remained to be the most significant years of her lifetime. Her adolescence was full of challenges which included peer pressure that comes with the teenage level without any good memories that can be cherished. She also appreciates the kind of family she had counting herself lucky to have had such a beautiful family with her father being the person she was closed to the most. B. T experienced a happy life in her adulthood cherishing some of the moments like when she freshly graduated from college in her 20s and her happy marriage like. B.T got married at the age of 25 years old and never got involved in any other union. She enjoyed a happy marriage with two children and conceded to the fact that parenting is a virtue and it is very demanding alongside the fact that it can be very challenging at times. Just like most people, her life in the 30s was not very easy; she hustled for income until the age of around 40s when she got a reliable source of income working as banking officer although that did not pose a challenge like parenting did raise problems to her in her adulthood.

Benefits of Life Review

Life review and ordinary remembering tend to confuse people mostly in their context of usage but generally, life review is a form of therapy that helps to overcome depression in older adults that may be used by a doctor to accompany other medical treatments to reduce anxiety whereas ordinary remembering is all about recollecting experience and events (Mahoney, 2017). One of the benefits of life review over ordinary remembering is that life review helps individuals clamp the prism of their lives from an angle of reflection. The process of a life review helps individuals look at their past lives from a different fresh perspective. This helps the individuals to process the mysteries of their lives with the reminder that no one perfectly makes it in life without making mistakes (Mahoney, 2017).

Another benefit of life reviews is that they are a less expensive form of therapy and can be provided by psychiatric nurses who have undergone progressive training. Generally, life review can be regarded to be a naturally occurring common mental process which is characterized by a broad-minded return to the perception of past involvements and events which mainly include the rebirth of unresolved conflicts, which can then be measured and reintegrated. The performance of life review is therefore considered as to reimbursable because it can be provided at the homes of the patients (Mahoney, 2017).

Additionally, life review therapy can be considered to be the only adequately developed technique that can be regarded to be developmentally suitable for older adults. This works to its advantage because there are no protocols of treatment that are agreed upon and even the agreement upon the specific aims of conducting a life review hence the reason as to why it is one of the effective therapy techniques for older adults. However, the emphasis of life review on evaluation and resolution of more former conflicts as well as dealing with sensitively indicted material have recorded more significant concerns of how it helps older adults to deal with depression in their old age because it takes them through the process of acceptance of the past for what it is (Mahoney, 2017).

Finally, life review is better as compared to ordinary remembering because it helps individuals lift their lifetime of burdens by identifying and appreciating some of the reasons to why they have lived by sharing life experiences and relationships. This is an important aspect because it helps older adults cope up with their life difficulties and tend to overcome them by talking about them unlike ordinary remembering, where one may be able to recall the past experiences without making peace with the unresolved conflicts (Mahoney, 2017).

The similarity of Life Review and Ordinary Remembering

Both processes involve helping individuals to reframe and resolve their past experiences and relationships which may be able to contribute to their present conditions of depression and despair(Mahoney, 2017). Research by various scholars has proved that both life review and ordinary remembering can decrease the level of depression in older adults and increase their self-esteem hence improving the quality of life and giving them a sense of well-being. An example from the interview with the 77-year old Hispanic woman is the case in which she is trying to remember some of the impressive things in her early adulthood which gives her comfort in her present old age.

Life review process and ordinary remembering are also similar in the sense that they can be both either formal or informal procedures, either unstructured or planned actions or even identical in the extent to which they explore the unresolved conflicts and relationships. Both of these processes involve looking back on the past lives of individuals hence both help one to make distinctions (Mahoney, 2017). For example, the interview presents a spontaneous situation which entails looking back at the life of the older adult of discussing some of the satisfying factors in her past life. This shows a situation of exploring some of the unsettled conflicts and relationships in early life and some of the best moments that can help to reduce depression in the older adult.

Differences between Life Review and Ordinary Remembering

Even though life review and ordinary remembering are somewhat similar, they have some differences which are worth noting like. One of the differences is that everyday remembering implies a more spontaneous and informal process that can take place anytime, at any site with anyone (Mahoney, 2017). Unlike life review, ordinary remembering often stays with an emphasis on the happy life moments without much consideration or examination of past unsettled conflicts and regrets. For instance, in the interview when the 77-year old Hispanic woman remembers her best childhood memories and the best moments she used to share with her father.

The aspect of formality creates a remarkable difference because life review, on the other hand, can be more structured, comprehensive and formal as compared to ordinary remembering. Life review process is more structured because it involves a step-by-step process of reviewing major life events of an individual right from the beginning rather than focusing on the best memorable moments as the case with ordinary remembering. This aspect creates a difference because such structured process can only get facilitated by a professional, someone who can help an older adult through the exploration of the awkward moments of the past life without any form of judgment or criticism (Mahoney, 2017). For example, the life review interview conducted is best facilitated by a nurse at the convenience of the older adult to help her go through the unresolved conflict of her past life.

Erikson's Developmental Stage and Description

The final developmental stage of Erikson's is ego integrity versus despair which involve a conflict between two ideas that need to be resolved before an individual can complete that particular stage (Cherry, 2018). Ego integrity versus despair affects the older adults mostly people above the age of 65 years however situations such as terminal illness can cause the occurrence of this last stage much earlier in a life of an individual, therefore, making it occur out of order. Individuals who undergo the final stage of ego integrity versus despair tend to contemplate their achievements in life and develop either integrity or despair depending on the conclusions they come up to hence making reflection the most important aspect of maturity in the life of an older adult (Cherry, 2018). Some people tend to value the relationships they have made in their lives, and others tend to appreciate their wealth as a source of satisfaction. However, others regard the social aspects and financial perspectives of their lives. For instance, from the interview with the 77-year old Hispanic woman, it is evident that at her old age she is undergoing the last stage of Erikson's developmental stages and all she treasures are the relationships that she made in her past life in her way to old age. She treasures the relationship she had with her father and her childhood family and the relationship she has molded with her children in her marital life as a parent. In this case, the older adult is undergoing ego integrity because she is accepting and appreciating her past life for what it has been rather than viewing as missed opportunities.

Reflections Value and Reason

This section entails the reflection statements which portray the analysis of the information gathered from the life review interview, and it is very significant to a deeper comprehension for the individual older adult, her personality development as well as that of the aging process. Generally, the interview can be regarded a success given how the interviewee was active in response to the life review questions and her opinion of life review. The success of an interview is determined by the participation of the interviewee in the in the interview process together with the achievement of the interview goals and objectives. I feel this life review interview was a success because alongside the fact that the interviewee was an active respondent who was ready to review her life, all the significant details in regards to the personality development of the older adult throughout the aging process were obtained. These details of personality development are essential, and I feel lucky because it is the best option of comparison to my own life to make it take a new turn.

The life review interview helped me realize some sense in the fact that my loved ones or even I require support to cope up with the drastic life changes like loss of jobs, loss of loved ones or even changes in health status. From the life review interview with the older adult, it creates more emphasis on the point that aging is a process and conducting a life review entails accepting the past for what it was and for the kind of present it has brought upon you. This implies that the journey to old age is a process with a lot of frustrations and challenges which demand help from friends and loved ones at one point to move on. Conversely, this aspect reveals that the aging process is not all about thriving to move forward, but it is instead determined by the strength to overcome the various frustrations which show up from different life dimensions like financial dimension, career, loss of loved ones and even unsuitable individual health conditions.

Finally, the interview made me think of how I would change my young adulthood lifestyle to create a good reputation that I can live to be proud of in my old age. Parts of the interview that were significant are the sections about the young adult life as well as family and home because it relates directly to my current stage of life (McLeod, 2018). To better my early adult life and learn how to overcome challenges that I may face in the aging process, I am confident that it is essential to use the lives of others as a mirror to predict the way which my life is about to take. Therefore, I find the information by the older adult of the review of her younger lifestyle around the ages of the 20s and 30s very important because that is the lifestyle that has transformed her into the kind of person she is old.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Essay:

What is life review therapy?

Life review therapy is a form of therapy that helps older adults overcome depression by reflecting on their past experiences and events. It allows individuals to process the mysteries of their lives, gain a fresh perspective, and make peace with unresolved conflicts.

How is life review different from ordinary remembering?

Life review involves a more structured and comprehensive process of reviewing major life events, including unresolved conflicts and regrets. It is often facilitated by a professional and can be a part of therapy. Ordinary remembering, on the other hand, is a spontaneous and informal process that focuses more on recalling happy memories without necessarily exploring unresolved conflicts.

What is Erikson's ego integrity versus despair stage?

Erikson's ego integrity versus despair stage is the final stage of his developmental theory. It typically affects older adults and involves a conflict between developing a sense of integrity, accepting and appreciating one's life, or experiencing despair and regret. Reflection and evaluation of past achievements and relationships are important aspects of this stage.