Question

There is an old saying, that says, “As people age, they become more like themselves.” Knowing what you have learned about the different theories of aging, what kinds of things can you imagine yourself doing to insure ego-integrity and avoid despair (per Erikson’s eighth stage of man)?

Your total response should be at least 250 words and include at least one in-text citation.

Answer 1

Integrity vs. despair is what Erikson termed the eigth and the final stage of development, which begins around the age of 65 and continues till death. This is the stage where one begins to wonder whether the life they have led has been meaningful or not, which causes one to reflect on the past.

During this stage, one would begin to contemplate mortality, as well as be faced by the death of loved ones around them, whic hwould cause huge changes to the roles that each one is playing. Successfully resolving the crises at this stage would result in what Erikson referred to as Ego integrity.

A person who is proud of his/ her achievements, feels that they have successfully completed the previous stages of lfie, and one that has little regrets over the past will feel a sense of contentment thus resulting in successful completion of this stage as well. However, those that feel are unsuccessful will not feel the same way, and instead will think that their lives have been wasted, which will cause them to feel despair rather that integrity over their lives, and will be left with feelings of bitterness and sadness.

These negative feelings could be avoided by realising that if there one was capable of resolivng problems that took place in the past, one would. He/she did what they thought was right at the time, and instead of reminiscing about the past, one should look ahead nad focus on the successes rather than the failures. It is also a good idea to involve oneself in helping others who are less fortunate in whichever way possible, so as to give life a little more meaning. Finally, the virtue that this stage gives rise to is 'wisdom' which enables a person to look back on their lives with a sense of closure and completeness and accept death without fear.