AGING, AGE, AND DEATH FROM PSYCHIATRIC POINT-OF-VIEW

Ageing, age and death from the psychiatric point of view represent the experience of permanent deprivation. Biological, psychological and - above all - psychosocial impairments are felt as narcissistic insult and threat. There are typical ways of coping with such situations. A frequent way of defence is reaction-formation. Losses are turned into the contrary. Ageing persons overemphasize youthfulness, potency and fitness. Depressive-regressive modes of Psychical Working Out are frequently present and they often cause problems in medical practice. The sublimative way to work things out may be considered as the most mature kind of coping. Usually the latter will be based on metaphysical concepts of survival. Another important point is the significance of psychoorganic processes and alterations. They often accelerate to acknowledge and contemplate these mechanisms to understand the complex dynamics of ageing in order to be able to treat them adequately.