Description: Quick question. Is having a dog good for you psychologically? Don’t do any searching on the question, just go with what you have heard or recall. Answer? Good for you, right? Maybe you have heard that regular time with dogs extends the lives of elderly people or that dog companions help their human friend… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Adult Development and Aging
Happiness and Aging: A New Look at the Data
Description: You have heard, I hope, of the supposed power of providing random acts of kindness to others, even strangers, haven’t you? However, have thought much about why that might be a good thin g to do? We may have heard from parents, teachers and others that it is a good thing to be kind… Read more »
Aging and Fake News: A Big Deal?
Description: Who is most susceptible to fake news? Children? Young adults? Middle aged adults? The elderly? Let’s leave children out of the question for now as their fake news exposures and uptakes are, at least to some extent, their parents’ concern. What about the elderly? ON the one hand they have less access to the… Read more »
Gender and Wisdom?
Description: Think about what you have read, learned or heard about wisdom. It is not a characteristic typically applied to young people, is it? In fact, it is one of the few positive things associated with aging and with advanced age in particular. Why is that? What is it about wisdom that leads us to… Read more »
New Life Stages or Just Changed Life Stages?
Description: Ok, quick, think of a typical 22-year-old. What are they like? Yes, they are all different but step back for a minute and generalize. Now do the same with a typical 66-year-old. Now, with each of those generalizations in mind don’t compare them to one another but, instead, compare them to what each generalization… Read more »
A Soon Post-COVID (Small, Thin) Silver Lining?
Description: OK, I realize deeply and fully that we are most definitely NOT even close to being ready to consider even the thinnest of possible silver linings to the COVID debacle. So, just put that aside for now (I will hint at it very cautiously at the end of the second section below) and let’s… Read more »
Mushrooms in Palliative Care?
Description: Consider these two questions for a moment. 1. Who uses cannabis, psilocybin, or LSD? and 2. Who should (under a doctor’s supervision) use cannabis, psilocybin, or LSD? Unless your answer to the second question is “Anyone who wants to” the number of people, if any, that you have in your second list will likely… Read more »
The Concept of Adult Attachment Has Legs!
Description: The self-help book literature and on-line jungle is HUGE. The supply of and demand for “how to live better” advice seem insatiable, but you will not be at all surprised to hear that a lot of it does not actually work very well. You can find out about some of this by reading what… Read more »
Dementia and Elder Care: Could Robo-Pets Be Part of an Answer?
Description: Consider these statements. The number of elderly people who are living alone and who do or will need some support to remain on their own is growing very quickly. The costs of providing this care can be prohibitive and finding enough people to provide what care can be paid for is also becoming increasingly… Read more »
What Age Would You Pick to Be?
Description: When have you been happiest in life, at what age? If you are just in your twenties, do you think things will get better or worse in terms of your happiness as you go forward in life? If you could pick, what age would you like to stay at for the rest of your… Read more »
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