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16 - Psychological Measures

from Part II - Applications: What Can We Do about the Opportunity of Aging?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2022

Robert P. Friedland
Robert P. Friedland
Affiliation:
University of Louisville School of Medicine
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Summary

It is necessary to maintain healthy and productive responses to the stresses and declines associated with aging. A key factor is the choice of attitude. It is critical to see opportunities for growth in aging – they are there to be had. Aging is accompanied by declines in the speed of learning, working memory, and memory capacity. These declines are not caused by disease and are nearly universal. Devoting memory resources to what is important, and ignoring things that are not important is an excellent strategy. The best way to avoid negative emotions caused by events and experiences in the past is to be actively involved in the present moment and planning for the future. Meditation is a valuable method to practice letting go and enhancing your awareness of the opportunities that are available now. Aging also presents an opportunity to demonstrate self-compassion. Frequently, persons express compassion to others throughout their lives with loving devotion and selfless actions, without realizing that that are worthy of compassion themselves. Psychological reserve can be enhanced by attention to the development of self-compassion and appreciation of what give your life meaning.

Keywords

meditationdepressionattitudeforgetingmemory strategiesself-compassionsearch for meaningdenial
Type
Chapter
Information
Unaging
The Four Factors that Impact How You Age
 , pp. 206 - 215
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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