People of America and the world are growing older as never before in the history of humankind. According to US Census figures, there are now 35 million older adults in the US who are at least 65 years of age. Persons 85 years and older are the most rapidly growing segment of our population. By 2011, the first of the 77 million baby boomers will begin to join the ranks of older Americans. The elders of today, however, are not the elders of yesterday. The newcomers to this group are healthier, better educated, economically more secure, and psychologically more sophisticated. Despite popular misconceptions, there is a lower incidence of depression in the older population than in almost any other age group. Indeed, we are aging successfully, and staying active, healthy, and productive. As the number of American older adults increases in the 21st century, they will face challenges and rewards as they and their families seek assistance in their struggle with their ensuing developmental and psychological transitions. Older adults are also becoming more and more interested in enhancing their intellectual, social, and emotional well being. They want access to information about the myths and realities of aging, broad issues relevant to successful aging, problems older adults face, and methods and tools for self assessment and self help.

Widowhood remains a primary transition that most people will struggle with in their later years. This transition tends to be a female event due to women's longer life expectancy and their tendency to marry older men. Loss of a spouse, for both men and women, means mourning the loss of a life companion. Remaking an identity as a "single" person and developing new life sustaining skills that may have been the domain of a deceased spouse, are major obstacles to overcome. It is within this context that depression, anxiety, and somatic complaints can emerge.

Retirement creates many challenges for older adults. Retired men and aging career women, have more emotional distress and score higher on depression, anxiety, and physical symptom scales. Three stresses are found to be most significant: loss of income, loss of friends, and marital difficulties. The four personal characteristics which have been linked to retirement satisfaction are: health, income, attitude, and preparedness. Assisting new retirees to deal with these issues helps them adjust to this new phase of life. But many baby boomers report that they are not interested in retiring. We can only speculate on how they will be affected psychologically, socially, financially by competition from younger generations.

To age successfully, people have to use coping styles that were effective in the past, or learn to develop new mechanisms for adapting to new challenges. We can help emotionally challenged older adults to: 1) Be more self supporting in relationships; 2) Explore replacements for their losses; 3) Come to terms with their limitations; 4) Unburden themselves emotionally by providing a safe container for them to connect to their internal resources and generative processes.

Irving Hellman, PhD is a Licensed Psychologist and Geriatric specialist in private practice in Sacramento since 1985. A graduate of Yale University, he is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, Davis Medical School.

Feel free to contact him at 916-731-7278 or email him at IDHellman@aol.com with your comments, questions, or interests in ElderCare Adviser.