65 + .THE BEST YEARS OF YOUR LIFE The results of a ten year search on ways to counteract the finding that older people are more miserable

Started by being sent a depression survey,

oooo

Depression questionnaires are unbelievably depressing

Depression surveys

Misery in themselves

----------------------

“How much time do you spend thinking about how you might kill yourself?”

BEYOND BLUE In the past 4 weeks...

About how often did you feel tired out for no good reason?About how often did you feel nervous?About how often did you feel so nervous that nothing could calm you down?About how often did you feel hopeless?About how often did you feel restless or fidgety?About how often did you feel so restless you could not sit still?About how often did you feel depressed?About how often did you feel that everything was an effort?About how often did you feel so sad that nothing could cheer you up?About how often did you feel worthless?

Answers:None of the timeA little of the timeSome of the timeMost of the timeAll of the time

Black Dog Institute. • Are you stewing over things?• Do you feel more vulnerable than• usual?• Are you being self-critical & hard on• yourself?• Are you feeling guilty about things in• your life?• Do you find that nothing seems to be• able to cheer you up?• Do you feel as if you have lost your• core and essence?• Are you feeling depressed?• Do you feel less worthwhile?• Do you feel hopeless or helpless?• Do you feel more distant from other• people?• NB: This self-assessment test may also be done online:

www.blackdoginstitute.org.au (Fact• Sheets).• Scoring: 0 – for ‘Not true’, 1 – for ‘A bit true’, 2 – for ‘Fairly true’, 3 – for ‘Very true’ • Nine or more: there is a good chance that you are clinically

depressed. Speak to a GP • Less than nine: unlikely to be clinically depressed.• , Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick NSW 2031

Depression screening test

• 1. I do things slowly.• 2. My future seems hopeless.• 3. It is hard for me to concentrate on

reading.• 4. The pleasure and joy has gone out of

my life.• 5. I have difficulty making decisions.• 6. I have lost interest in aspects of life that

used to be important to me.• 7. I feel sad, blue, and unhappy.• 8. I am agitated and keep moving around.• 9. I feel fatigued.• 10. It takes great effort for me to do simple

things.• 11. I feel that I am a guilty person who

deserves to be punished.• 12. I feel like a failure.

Continued

• 13. I feel lifeless -- more dead than alive.• 14. My sleep has been disturbed -- too

little, too much, or broken sleep.• 15. I spend time thinking about HOW I

might kill myself.• 16. I feel trapped or caught.• 17. I feel depressed even when good

things happen to me.• 18. Without trying to diet, I have lost, or

gained, weight.

• To which you answered •  Not at all

 Just a little Somewhat Moderately Quite a lot Very much

GERIATRIC DEPRESSION SCALE

• : 1. Are you basically satisfied with your life? • 2. Have you dropped many of your activities or

interests? 3. Do you feel that your life is empty? • 4.Do you often get bored? 5. Are you in good spirits

most of the time? • 6. Are you afraid that something bad is going to

happen to you? • 7.Do you feel happy most of the time? • 8. Do you feel helpless? • 9. Do you prefer to stay at home, rather than go out

and do things? • 10 Do you feel that you have more problems with

memory than most? • 11. Do you think it is wonderful to be alive now? • 12. Do you feel pretty worthless the way you are now• 13. Do you feel full of energy? • 14. Do you feel that your situation is hopeless? • 15. Do you think that most people are better off then

you are?

• A score of more than five indicates a more thorough clinical investigation should be undertaken

Depression in older peopleBecoming a major public health problem throughout the world with a very high prevalence rate in the 65 and over age group

[Francisco Bagulho, 2002 Geriatric psychiatry]• --------------------------------------• The prevalence of depression increases

with age,

Andrew Dentino, et al 1999 Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, [examined 1,686 rural and urban community-dwelling persons (aged 70+ yrs)]• ----------------------------Common depressive symptoms are incorrectly attributed to old age, dementia or poor health. [but they are depression ]

[Black Dog Institute]

MAKES SENSE

OLDER PEOPLE

No longer earning or contributing to the community. Many living on the community

More aches and pains

Closer to death

The Intergenerational Report

In 40 years time , Australians aged 85 years or over are projected to quadruple to two  million, and will represent almost 5 per cent of the population, up from 2 per cent today.  

The report projects life expectancy will rise over the next 40 years, to 95 for men and almost 97 for women.

Medical breakthroughs may lift life expectancy above 140 years.

NUMBERS + DEPRESSION = BIG PROBLEMS!

So I started a search What makes for older people being (un)happy?

The search embraced:

1. Initial discussions with friends and colleagues

2. A search through the ancient and not- so- ancient philosophers (from 400 BC onwards)

3. A search through the modern happiness gurus,

4. A questionnaire sent out to every 65 plus person I knew.

THE SURVEY • Name… (First name or Alias); Age years; M or F?

•  

• Some people argue that your post retirement years (65+) are the best years of your life. They give many reasons: greater freedom enables you to do anything you want; they have found an activity(ies), which are very fulfilling.

• Others argue no, that declining health, lack of money, closeness to death, make life less than totally happy. Or perhaps greater achievements earlier in life outweigh those now.

•  • Do you agree [that 65+ are the best years of your

life]? (Cross against one)• YES • or • NO •   •  Why did you give that answer?  •   • Live where ? At home? Retirement community? • What did you do when you were working?• Email: peterbowden@ozemail.com.au You can put in a “Cannot decide

answer: Give reasons

Endogenous vs

ExogenousDepression

Endogenous depression is chemical in origin. Difficult to diagnose, especially in children and adolescents. Often a lifelong condition.

Exogenous depression. has external causes that people can easily relate to, such as the death of a parent, divorce, job loss or a stillborn childbirth.

. Symptoms for both include sudden mood swings, fatigue, loss of appetite, low self-esteem, a tendency to withdraw from social activity , insomnia.

Depression not universalFour European countries (France, Italy, Germany and Belgium) by Korian Institute for Ageing Well

• Sample of over 4000 people aged 65 and over,

• Mirror sample of over 4000 people, aged 15 to 64

87% of seniors feel rather well 34% consider themselves overweight,

35% have impaired vision and / or hearing loss (50% at 80 years) and

16% have often, very often memory loss.

59% experiencing health problems or feel life is no longer a source of pleasure.

• Occupations: Listening to the radio or watching television (94%), reading (90%) and even surfing the Internet (81%)

Has been around a long time[depression, melancholia]:

•  From the Ancient Greek melas, "black", and kholé, "bile",[1] melancholia was described as a distinct disease   

• a person whose constitution tended to have a preponderance of black bile had a melancholic disposition.

•  Hippocrates in his Aphorisms, 400 BCE•  • But if the autumn be northerly and dry, it

agrees well with persons of a humid temperament, and with women; but others will be subject ,,,in some cases to melancholy.

• Aristotle, about 350 BC, countered with happiness, or flourishing [Eudaimonia]

Burton’s Melancholy, 1621

Robert Burton, 1621.

Burton’s Melancholy•  ”One of the greatest works in the English language”,

•  First of six editions published during the Oxford clergyman’s lifetime appeared in 1621,

• “T]he tower of Babel never yielded such confusion of tongues, as the chaos of melancholy doth (in) variety of symptoms”

• Melancholia is available free on line:

• http://www.gutenberg.org/files

The opposite to depression is happiness

• MANY TERMS:

1. HAPPINESS 2. WELL-BEING,3. FULFILLMENT4. FLOURISHING5. EUDAIMONIA

[Aristotle, 350 BC>>>]

Survey used “ best years”

ARISTOTLE’S 12 VIRTUES1. COURAGE

2. TEMPERANCE

3. LIBERALITY

4. MAGNIFICENCE

5. MAGNANIMITY

6. PROPER AMBITION,

7. PATIENCE

8. TRUTHFULNESS

9. WITTINESS

10. FRIENDLINESS

11. MODESTY

12. RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION13.

• ....

ARISTOTLE’S MEAN• RASHNESS, COURAGE, COWARDICE• Thrasutes andreia deilia

• ---------------------------------------

• LICENTIOUSNESS , TEMPERANCE INSENSIBILITY • Anaisthesa Sophrosune akalolasia

• -------------------------

• OBSEQUIOUSNESS FRIENDLINESS , • DuskoliaPhilia CANTANKEROUSNESS• duseris

• • ---------------------------------

• BOASTFULNESS , TRUTHFULNESS , UNDERSTATEMENT

• Alazoneia aletheia eironeia

12 in total

Aristotle’s Eudaimonia [c.350 BCE]

ARISTOTLE’s 12 VIRTUES AND VICES.

ACTION OR FEELING EXCESS MEAN DEFICIENCY

 

Fear & Confidence

RASHNESS thrasutes

COURAGE

andreia

COWARDICE deilia

Pleasure and Pain,

LICENTIOUSNESS

akalolasia

TEMPERANCE

sophrosune

INSENSIBILITYanaisthesa

Getting& Spending(minor)

PRODIGALITYasotia

LIBERALITY

eleutheriotes

ILLIBERALITYanaleutheria

Getting & Spending

(major)

VULGARITYapeirokaliabanausia

MAGNIFICENCE megalopr

epeia

PETTINESSmikroprepeia

Honour& Dishonour

(major)

VANITYchaunotes

MAGNANIMITYmegalopsuchia

PUSILLANIMITY

mikrosuchea

Honour & Dishonor[minor)

AMBITIONphilotimia

PROPER AMBITIO

N, ....

UNAMBITIOUS aphilotimia

From Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics , Penguin 1976, translated by JAK Thompson – THE 12 VIRTUES

EUDAMONIA [Cont’d]

Anger IRASCIBILITYargilotes

PATIENCEpraotes

LACK OF SPIRITaogesia

Self- expression

BOASTFULNESS

alazoneia

TRUTHFULNESSaletheia

UNDERSTATEMENTeironeia

Conversation

BUFFOONERY

bomolochia

WITTINESSeutrapelia

BOORISHNESS

agroikia

Social Conduct

OBSEQUIOUSNESS

areskiaFLATTERY

kolakeia

FRIENDLINESS

Philia (?)

CANTANKEROUSNESS

duskolia(duseris)

Shame SHYNESSkataplexis

MODESTYaidos

SHAMELESSNESS

anaischuntia

Indignation ENVYphthonos

RIGHTEOUS

INDIGNATION

nemesis

MALICIOUSENJOYMEN

Tepichairekak

ia

WAS ARISTOTLE A PYSCHOLOGIST?

•  

• Aristotle’s writing covered a vast field , (Ethics, memory, sleep, geriatrics , learning )

• His book De Anima, On the Soul, is considered to be the first book on the development of psychology

• De Anima centres on the kinds of souls possessed by different living things, He holds that the soul is the essence of any living thing; that it is not a distinct substance from the body that it is in.  

• Book III discusses the mind or rational soul, which belongs to humans alone.

• Hergenhan B.R. (2005) History of Psychology Wadsworth Belmont CA.

TEMPERANCE TODAY Moderation or voluntary self-restraint

• A virtue by religious thinkers, philosophers, and more recently, psychologists, particularly in the positive psychology movement.

-------------------• A cardinal virtue in Greek philosophy and Christianity, As

well as Buddhism and Hinduism.

• Temperance is one of the six virtues in the positive psychology movement, included with wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, and transcendence.[3] 

• Generally considered as control over excess,

• Evidenced by  behaviours chastity, modesty, humility, prudence, self-regulation, forgiveness and mercy;

• Each of which involves restraining an excess of behaviours , as sexual desire, vanity, or anger.

• Green, Joel (2011). Dictionary of scripture and ethics. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic. p. 769.

Aristotle’s definition

• He is happy who lives in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life. (Nicomachean Ethics).

• In short

• 1. is virtuous • 2. is reasonably well off 

• [SURVEY FINDINGS agree with 2,Minor agreement with 1]

Aristotle: Nobility• “Even in adversity, nobility shines through, when a man

endures repeated and severe misfortune with patience, not owing to insensibility but from generosity and greatness of soul.” ―  

• “The pleasures arising from thinking and learning will make us think and learn all the more. ―  

• “Without friends, no one would want to live, even if he had all other goods.” ―  

• “The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things about which he cares sufficiently;

• but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life--knowing that under certain conditions it is not worth while to live

• . He is of a disposition to do men service, though he is ashamed to have a service done to him.

• To confer a kindness is a mark of superiority; to receive one is a mark of subordination.

THE WISE MAN [Aristotle]

• Does not take part in public displays...• He is open in his dislikes and preferences;

• He is not fond of talking... It is no concern of his that he should be praised, or that others should be blamed.

• Is never fired with admiration, ….nothing great in his eyes.

• He cannot live in complaisance with others, except it be a friend; complaisance is the characteristic of a slave...

• He never feels malice, and always forgets and passes over injuries...

The wise man ( cont’d.)He does not speak evil of others, even of

his enemies, unless it be to themselves.

His carriage is sedate, his voice deep, his speech measured; he is not given to hurry, for he is concerned about only a few things;

He is not prone to vehemence, for he thinks nothing very important.

He bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of his circumstances, like a skilful general.

Aristotle’s Eudaimonia, c.350 BCE

The negatives of Aristotle’s theories

[The term & concept Eudaimonia is still used today]

Problems

• Magnificence (at times) implies a person who big notes himself: “Power & wealth are desirable for the honour that they bring”.

• Designed for upper class Greek males

• No working class: Excludes women, slaves.

• Learning, curiosity, minimised (surprisingly).

Courage is courage in war, not moral courage.

Aristotle went further

ON YOUTH AND OLD AGE,

 The elderly live by memory rather than hope.

a lot of experience, sure about nothing and under-do everything.

small-minded because they have been humbled by life. Driven too much by the useful; not enough by the noble.

are cynical and distrustful and neither love warmly nor hate bitterly.

They are not shy

• ------------------------------------

• From “The Art of Rhetoric” Included

• On Life and Death, • On Breathing

CICERO ( Next; 44 BC)on old age: De Senectute……  as 84 year old Cato the Elder

“I find four reasons why old age appears to be unhappy:1. first, that it withdraws us

from active pursuits;2. second, that it makes the

body weaker (memory); 3. third, that it deprives us

of almost all physical pleasures; and,

4. fourth, that it is not far removed from death.

CICERO’S RESPONSES

1. Withdrawal from activities It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment; in these qualities old age is usually not … poorer, … is even richer,

CICERO’s FOCUS IS ON COMMUNITY SERVICE, WRITING, CONTINUED LEARNING AND

PHILOSOPHIC REFLECTION. Compares the older person to a

helmsman

Cicero: Body weaker - Memory • “Of course (it happens), if you do not

exercise it, BUT

• “I certainly never heard of any old man forgetting where he had hidden his money!”

• “The aged remember everything that interests them, their appointments to appear in court, and who are their creditors and who their debtors.”

2. Cicero: Body is weaker It is our duty…to resist old age; • to compensate for its defects by a watchful care;

• to fight against it as we would fight against disease;

• to adopt a regimen of health; to practice moderate exercise; and

• to take just enough of food and drink to restore our strength and not to overburden it.

3. Deprivation of physical pleasures SEXUAL PLEASURES …

• “Granting that youth enjoys pleasures of that kind with a keener relish, …although old age does not possess these pleasures in abundance, yet it is by no means wanting in them”…….

• “So youth, looking on pleasures at closer range, perhaps enjoys them more, while old age, on the other hand, finds delight enough in a more distant view.”

3. Deprivation of physical pleasures

• SENSUAL PLEASURES

•Old age lacks the heavy banquet, the loaded table, and the oft-filled cup; therefore it also lacks drunkenness, indigestion, and loss of sleep.

4. Cicero: On Death

• Death should be held of no account,

“For clearly (the impact of) death is negligible if it utterly annihilates the soul,

or even desirable, if it conducts the soul to some place where it is to live forever.

“ What, then, shall I fear, if after death I am destined to be either not unhappy or happy?”

JOHN STUART MILL THE COUNTER POSITION

“The principal cause which makes life unsatisfactory is want of mental cultivation”

. “A cultivated mind …finds sources of inexhaustible interest in all that surrounds it”: [1861] 

The objects of nature, the achievements of art, the imaginations of poetry, the incidents of history, the ways of mankind, past and

present, and their prospects in the future

Utilitarianism ,1861

MILL

•The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the (de)privation of pleasure.

CHARLES DARWIN‘The Descent of Man’ ‘:

It must not be forgotten that although a high standard of morality gives but a slight advantage or no advantage to each individual man and his children over the other men of the same tribe . . . [t]here can be no doubt that a tribe including many members who, from possessing in a high degree the spirit of patriotism, fidelity, obedience, courage, and sympathy, were always ready to aid one another, and to sacrifice themselves for the common good, would be victorious over most other tribes; and this would be natural selection.

BERTRAND RUSSELLThe Conquest of Happiness [1930] 

• . To Russell, personal happiness was the best hope for ending warfare and other social ills.

•  ”Now, I enjoy life; I might almost say that with every year that passes I enjoy it more” .

• “very largely it is due to a diminishing preoccupation with myself.

• “I came to centre my attention increasingly upon external objects: the state of the world, various branches of knowledge, individuals for whom I felt affection”

•  He published• War Crimes in Vietnam. aged 95, • His autobiography in 1969 , aged 97.

AGING IN OLDER PEOPLE [study]

• Began at Harvard in 1938 and is the oldest, most thorough study of aging ever undertaken.

•A sample of 268 socially advantaged Harvard graduates born about 1920.

• Second sample of 456 socially disadvantaged inner-city men born about 1930.

• Third sample of 90 middle-class, intellectually gifted women born about 1910

•  principal investigator, George Vaillant.

• John F Kennedy was a participant

Six factors at age 50 that have a great deal to do with whether you will get to age 80.•a warm marriage, •possessing adaptive or coping strategies,

•not smoking heavily, •not abusing alcohol, •getting ample exercise and •not being overweight

[from Harvard study]

The most important thing that makes you want to get out of bed in the morning?"

• An 84-year-old study member answered:

• , "I live to work, to learn something that I didn't know yesterday, & to enjoy the precious moments with my wife."

• Richard Dawkins’ answer? Is it somewhat related ?

(“Sex , death, and the meaning of Life” SBS,18/05/15).

• “We can find meaning in struggle”

• “ Can we find meaning in futlity?”

• “There is no plan, no design,” Our existence is ruled by chance, 

AND NOW:

THE POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGISTS

Leaving the philosophers

CHARACTER STRENGTHS AND VIRTUES [2004]

• Strengths of Wisdom and Knowledge: • 1. Creativity • 2. Curiosity • 3. Open-• 4. Love of learning:.• 5. Perspective [wisdom]:

• Strengths of Courage: • 6. Bravery [valor]: • 7. Persistence [perseverance, industriousness]:• 8. Integrity [authenticity, honesty]: • 9. Vitality [zest, enthusiasm, vigour, energy]:

• Strengths of Humanity: • 10. Love• 11. Kindness • 12. Social

•  Christopher Peterson, (2004). Character Strengths And Virtues .A Handbook And Classification. American Psychological Association Oxford University Press

Flourishing: Positive Psychology and the Life Well-Lived

• Edited by Corey Keyes and Jonathan Haidt

Distinguished scholars apply scientific analyses to study the good life. Their findings: 1. a sense of meaning and a richness

emerge in life as people immerse themselves in activities, relationships, and

2. the pursuit of intrinsically satisfying goals like overcoming adversity or

3. serving one's community through volunteering.

Dorothy Rowe:Depression: The way out of your prison (2003)

Depression should not be considered an illness in the normal physical sense, but rather an understandable response by the mind (person) to the past and present experiences in their life•  Advocates self –help  

On drugs, Rowe quotes psychiatrist David Healy: “There is no correlation between how effective these drugs are at blocking serotonin reuptake and how effectively or quickly they cure depression”.•  • Nevertheless, “can be helpful as, they can

take the edge off your pain … “

Todd Kashdan 

• Professor of Psychology, George Mason University.

• Works on: well-being, social anxiety, anxiety disorder. positive psychology, emotion regulation,

•  • Books include: •  • The Upside of Your Dark Side: Why being you

r whole self - not just your good self - drives success and fulfilment  (2014)

Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Positive Psychology: The Seven Foundations of Well-Being (2013)

Designing Positive Psychology: Taking Stock and Moving Forward - Series in Positive Psychology 2011

• Curious?: Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life (2010)

Tod Kashdan

• What is essential to creating a fulfilling life? His personal answer is:•  • Being curious.

• Being open to new experiences.

• Being able to effectively manage ambiguity and uncertainty.

• Being able to adapt to the demands required of different situations (what his editor called “psychological flexibility”).

• Discovering our strengths, deepest values, and what it is we are passionate about.

• Strengthening connections to these values and passionate pursuits so that we can pursue a life aligned with them.

•  

Curious? Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life

by Todd Kashdan• In Curious? . Todd Kashdan offers a profound new message missing from so many books on happiness: the greatest opportunities for joy, purpose, and personal growth don't, in fact, happen when we're searching for happiness.

• They happen when we are mindful, when we explore what's novel, when we live in the moment, when we are open to new experiences and relish the unknown.

Happiness: Lessons from a New Science by Richard Layard. 20(256pp, Allen Lane),

Making Happy People: The Nature of Happiness and its Origins in Childhood by Paul Martin (272pp, Fourth Estate),

   Pored over countless surveys and scientific tests to reach similar general conclusions>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

LAYARD & MARTIN

“the key considerations in the avoidance of wretchedness are:

• the emotional ties of family, • financial security, • work, • community, • friends, • health, • personal freedom, and • moral values.”

Our aim as a society should be to increase happiness, as opposed to increasing income, GDP, health … as ends in themselves.

Paul Martin • Making Happy People: The nature of happiness and its origins in

childhood (2006)

• focuses on why happiness is an important topic…one that philosophers have debated since the time of Plato, usually in its components of pleasure and pain.

• An even more important component of happiness than seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, says Martin, is satisfaction or fulfilment.

• …the satisfaction we get from helping others as the goal of any well adjusted mind

• those who enjoy inflicting or receiving pain are in some disturbed state.

• We join social groups of like-minded people to contribute to our wellbeing.

SONJA LYUBOMIRSKY http://sonjalyubomirsky.com/

• BENEFITS OF HAPPINESS INCLUDE: higher income and superior work outcomes (e.g.,

greater productivity and higher quality work),

larger social rewards (e.g., more satisfying and longer marriages, more friends, stronger social support, and richer social interactions), more activity, energy, and flow, and

better physical health (e.g., a bolstered immune system, lowered stress levels, and less pain) and

even longer life

The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want , 2008

MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION – The answers?

• Not convinced• Those convinced are massive in numbers:

• Read:

Barbara Frederickson • Sharon Salzburg

The Oxford [Ohio] Ageing Study Robert C. Atchley.    Started 1975

• People with more positive views of their own aging lived, on average, 7.6 years longer than people with more negative views

• participants' will to live--as measured by descriptions of their lives as either hopeful or hopeless, worthless or worthy and empty or full--correlated with both their perceptions of aging and their lifespan.

• people who don't dwell on the negative changes that come with age generally seem to do best

• Becca Levy, (2002 ). Mind Matters: Cognitive and Physical Effects of Aging Self-Stereotypes Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 83, No. 2)

Ohio study [Cont’d]- other findings

• The most cheerful children died earlier, possibly caused by a more careless attitude toward their health--they were somewhat more likely to drink, smoke and take other risks.

• Seniors who held negative self-stereotypes about aging tended to lose more of their hearing over the course of three years than seniors with more positive views of aging.

THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING 

NORMAN VINCENT PEALE……….. 

• Believe in yourself • A peaceful mind generates power (read

the bible before going to sleep) • How to have constant energy (Read the

appropriate passage from the bible)• Try prayer power• Stop fuming and fretting • Expect the best and get it • Don’t believe in defeat • Power to solve personal problems• How to use faith in healing • When vitality sags, try this (prayer, faith)• The inflow of new thoughts can make you • Relax for easy power • How to get people to like you • Prescription for heartache• How to draw on that higher power

Published in 1952, stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 186 consecutive weeks,

-------------------------

Seven Habits of Highly Successful People

STEVEN COVEY

Building internal independence:• 1. Be proactive • 2. Begin with the end in mind• 3. Put first things firstBuilding interpersonal relations:• 4. Think win-win• 5. Seek first to understand, then be

understood• 6. Synergize (building positive and more

productive relationships)• 7 .Sharpen the saw (honing the previous six).

Poverty among oldies in France

• France is a country where poverty of seniors is less prevalent in Europe andthe world according to Eurostat,

• the poverty rate was 9.7% in France, against 15.8% in Europe.

• Seniors are less likely to be poor than younger people (the average poverty rate is 14% in the general population),

• More so than in Britain, Finland, Sweden, countries (where the retirement system is less protective).

• In France, according to the OECD, there are now fewer seniors living below the poverty line than twenty years ago.

• CENTRE DE RECHERCHE POUR L'ÉTUDE ET L'OBSERVATION DES CONDITIONS DE VIE

• www.credoc.fr.

MARTIN SELIGMAN – the guru

•  (1990). Learned Optimism. New York: Knopf,

• . (2002). Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment. New York: Free Press/Simon and Schuster.

• (2011) Flourish, A visionary new understanding of happiness and well being New York: Atria paperback.

• Will deal with the last two

• Marty Seligman• Director• Positive Psychology Center• University of Pennsylvania

Goal is well being, not happiness

• Happiness implies being in a cheerful mood.. Not necessary for overall well- being

• Measures of happiness depend on your mood at the time

• Five constituents of wellbeing :

1. POSITIVE EMOTION 2. ENGAGEMENT3. RELATIONSHIPS4. MEANING5. ACHIEVEMENT

- PERMA -

Subjective as well as measurable – we can ‘feel good’ but we can also objectively measure it.

POSITIVE EMOTION

•We feel pleasure, rapture, ecstasy, warmth, comfort ,etc.

•We are happy; satisfied with life.

•A “feel-good”, even hedonistic. feeling.

. This is the “yes” response of your questionnaire

ENGAGEMENT

•Are we ‘hooked into’ what we are doing, absorbed by it ?. Lose track of time?

•These are the “activities” in your questionnaire.

•Do they turn you on fully ?

MEANING

•Belonging to and serving something bigger than yourself

Often pursued for its own sake

Contributes to well being Measured independently of any other well-being factor

RELATIONSHIPS

• Relating well with other people

•Friends, your partner, even doing good deeds for strangers

•Based on evolutionary theory – the primate tribe that supported each other , cooperated well, would have won out over the tribe that was more individualistic.

Take up religion!• Older adults who participate in private religious

activity before old age appear to have a survival advantage over those who do not. []

• Helm, Hughes M.,  Hays, Judith C.,  Flint, Elizabeth,  Koenig, Harold G.,  Blazer, Dan G. 2000

• Does private religious activity prolong survival? A six-year follow-up study of 3,851 older adults. Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences.  

------------------------------------ 

• Studies suggesting that church going, religious beliefs, and prayer can improve morbidity and mortality have increasingly received attention in medical journals and the general media. One study at Duke University concluded that steady church attendance improves health and prolongs life (J Gerontology. 1999; 5). 

• MAYBE ANOTHER VERSION Of MEANING

ACHIEVEMENT

Or accomplishment. The extent to which you achieve your goals .Is product of the skill you have by the effort you put in.

Believe it is a vital requirement [PB]

Requires GRIT = self -discipline

----------------------------Many other theories on well –being and personal fulfilment >>>>>>>

MANY THEORIESNo common agreement

• Jahoda: attitudes towards own self, self actualisation , integration, autonomy, perception of reality , environmental mastery (1958)

• Ryff: autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relationships, purpose in life & self-acceptance (1989)

• Several: learning, productivity, creativity, good relationships, pro-social behaviour, good health, life expectancy

• Huppert: opposite to depression , anxiety (Described as eudaimonic.) (2011)

• Antonovsky: life is comprehensive, , manageable, meaningful (1993).

• Flourishing Across Europe: Felicia Huppert & Timothy So

Ed. DIENER et al • Purpose in life• Positive relationships • Competence • Self-esteem• Optimism• Contribution to the well-being of others

•  E,Diener, D Wirtz, W Tov, C Kim-Prieto, D Choi (2010) New well-being measures. Scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research.97, 143.

• Deiner E (2009): Well-being for public policy Oxford University Press

• D Kahneman, E Diener, N Schwarz - 1999Well-being: Foundations of hedonic psychology

Flourishing Across Europe:Felicia Huppert & Timothy So• 40, 000 people, 23 countries • Measured

• FLOURISHING High positive emotion, • plus any three of

• self-esteem, • optimism,• resilience, • vitality, determination and • positive relationships

• Highest in Denmark .• Weakest in Slovakia, Russia and Portugal

• SOURCE: • Cambridge University Well-being Institute

FLOW Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi –

and the foundations of positive psychology

---------------------

Csíkszentmihályi described flow as:

"being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost.”

PROBUS – CHPRSL.RESULTS

•NUMBER OF YESs: 18

•Number of NOs: 18

•Could not decide: 10

PROBUS – CHPRSL. REASONS FOR YES’s

• Freedom to do whatever 7• Travel 2 Learning,

curiosity 1• Less stress 4• Wiser 2• Grandchildren 2• Volunteering /helping others 2• Financial Security 1• Personal achievement 1• Good friends 4• Music 1 • Leisure 2

PROBUS Five Dock. RESULTS Number of yes’s… 6Number of no’s….. 4 Cannot decide……. .4 --------------- 14

PROBUS HURLSTONE PARK

REASONS FOR NO’s [20]  Average age of NOs,

 

PROBUS Five Dock. RESULTS

•  Number of YES’s… 6•Number of NO’s….. 4• •Cannot decide……. 4---------------•

14

PROBUS FIVE DOCK

REASONS FOR NO’s[4]Average age 80.2

No reason given, perhaps age 1No reason given, no age given 1Years now as good as before 1Any additional year a bonus 1Death of partner (wife) 1 

REASONS FOR CAN’T DECIDE[4] Average age 80.7

No reason given 2Depends on health (But severalpositive activities) 1  Positive life now; positive then 1

OVERALL RESULTS65 + ARE THE BEST YEARS OF

YOUR LIFE ?

• YES 87• NO 68

AVERAGE AGE OF SAMPLE YES:33 MALES 74.2 years29 FEMALES 73.4 years

AVERAGE AGE OF SAMPLE NOS

19 MALES 72.1years20 FEMALES 73.5years[Not all response supplied age]

REASONS FOR 87 YESs: Friends, relatives, U3A, Seniors organisations, Probus

• Freedom to do whatever 42• Travel 27• Learning, curiosity 21• Self acceptance 13• Close partner 12• Less stress 6• Wiser 4• Grandchildren 14• Volunteering /helping others 11• Financial Security 19• Personal achievement 10• Good friends 18• Music 13 • Leisure 19

REASONS BEHIND 68 NOs

• Earlier years more fulfilling 28• Earlier years more • financially rewarding 7• Ill Health today 19• Death - friends/ relatives 12• 65+ years less fulfilling 3• Lack of purpose 3• Poverty, or nearly so 2• Loss of sex drive 2 • Shortage of like minded people 2• No zest for life 4• .•

YES – a sample

• Pat 75 , F, writes:

• This is a difficult question as there are of course reasons why the best years of your life are under 65 and other reasons over 65.  Obviously the ones you have mentioned. On balance I would say over 65 is better This is because I feel I have more knowledge now how to deal with issues.   I am enjoying my grandchildren very much. I like not having to go to work and every day there is the freedom to do things or do nothing.

More sample YESs

• Barrie. Age 78 Is a Yes Discretionary use of time. More time for close relationships. New and interesting activities. Time for some travel .Less stress.

• • Phillip. 67, YES In some ways I am more

interested in the world, other people, philosophy, politics, religion, art, etc than I was when younger. Then I was focused on achieving within my profession. I could argue that this makes being over 70 more fun. There are advantages to aging, and diversity of interest is one.

• Susan, 66, tells me “Yes” with much enthusiasm - . After a lifetime in a job that was rather pedestrian, she says that that you are now free to do anything you like. To travel, to read, in her case to spend more time with her husband.

‘YES’ REASONS,GREENWICH [OUT OF 5]

• Freedom to do whatever 2• Travel 2• Learning, curiosity 2• Self acceptance 2• Close partner• Less stress• Wiser 1• Grandchildren• Volunteering 2• Financial Security 1• Personal achievement 2• Good friends 1

• GREENWICH IS AN UPMARKET RETIREMENT VILLAGE

• 7 yes, 5 nO

[3 F, 2 M]

‘NO’ REASONSGREENWICH [OUT OF 7]

• Earlier years more fulfilling 1

• Ill health today 2

• Death, friends & relatives 2

• Poverty, or nearly so 1

• Loss of Libido* 1

• No zest for life * 1

• * New categories ( Libido, zest,• I M, 3 F, 1 totally anon

NO s – A SAMPLE

• Tim, 71 No .Earlier years were better. Tim was the surgeon in the hospital of a medium sized town, and later became the director in China of a major international drug company

• John, 83 No. A near death experience at the age of 66 meant that I could no longer play tennis, a game of which I was very fond; and I had to give up travel. My intellectual capability was unimpaired and this was some compensation.

• Bernice,75 F Negatives are health, problems of living in a retirement home. Mother died 3 years ago , miss her greatly. Positives are I still paint, several really good friends.

NO – One sample.•Failing health.•No money so cannot go out.

•Elderly husband who does not want to do a lot.

•Children and grandchildren too busy for you.

•So you are lonely. (although I am luckier than some )

Adverse childhood experiences study

More than 17,000 Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) member study :

comprehensive physical examination provided detailed information on childhood

experience of abuse, neglect, and family dysfunction.

27% of hospital visits can be traced to causes linked to childhood trauma.

childhood experiences are major risk factors for the leading causes of illness and death as well as poor quality of life,

The study was in the United States but likely applicable to other developed countries

It is critical to understand that the worst health and social problems can arise as a consequence of adverse childhood experiences

Approaches to depression

• “The good news is that with treatment, nearly 80 percent of people with depression show an improvement in their symptoms within four to six weeks of beginning medication: psychotherapy, attending support groups or a combination. 

• Depression: Down But Not Out  Marina Benjamen, Ph.D.

• http://psychcentral.com/lib/depression-down-but-not-out/00019

• Seligman:”Fight it” Rowe: “Fight it “

• QUESTION? IF YOU ARE A NO , CAN YOU FIGHT THAT ? SHOULD YOU?

A likely NO!•

 Errol Larbalestier, 80, was falling.

• Diabetes had seen off his toes, one by one, each loss further compromising his balance. At 3am on November 14, Mr Larbalestier's son, Greg, was woken by a thump, and found the octogenarian on the floor.

• He spent six weeks in hospital and then six weeks in respite care, raging every moment to be allowed back home.

• Ten days after his wish came true, he slipped in the bathroom.

• "Dad, get up or you know what's going to happen," Greg said.

• "I can't," Mr Larbalestier replied. "You have to call an ambulance.“

http://www.smh.com.au/afl/-1mhu1k.html

THE GOLDEN OLDIES

• Harrison Ford, 72 Injured in crash landing at Santa Monica Ca.

• Nana Mouskouri 81, calls on Australia for release of asylum seeker children.

• James Patterson , 68, Has sold more than 300 million books. First person to sell 1 million e-books [2010 –aged 63]

•  Sigourney Weaver, 66, new movie, Avatar 2. Helen Mirren, 70, Eye in the Sky

•  Richie Benaud, 84, last public engagement on Australia Day,2015

• Christie Brinkley, 60, appeared in a turquoise swimming costume on People magazine,

• Tom Keneally , 79, latest book Shame and the Captives published in 2014

• Cyril Badock,70, Swims English Channel, 2014.. First time at 40 .

• Dorothy Rowe ,84, still giving public talks • Harriet Thompson, 92, Running marathons• Ingeborg Syllm-Rapoport, 102, just

presented with her PhD by Hamburg University

Not so golden + late starters

• Robert Mugabe, 91, President of Zimbabwe

• But all the above had started earlier. Need more examples of those who started late:

• Only example so far:• Colonel Sanders. Harlan Sanders was 65

when he started Kentucky Fried Chicken

A LESSON• SAM BERN,17 Y.O.

• Progeria – premature aging , Live till early twenties ,v.rare : only 350 afflicted world wide

Ted X: Oct 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36m1o-tM05g#t=256

He is “very happy” , Sam's three rules: 1. OK with what I cannot do ,as more than happy doing what I want to do 2. Surround myself with people whom I like- family friends 3.Keep moving forward ,Doing new things

0000“I believe I can change the world” “But being brave is not easy “

Sam died January 10 ,2014

Research on Older People fromCulturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds (study)

The literature identified that older people of refugee backgrounds are particularly vulnerable to physical and mental health issues. • Older people from CALD backgrounds

have a higher risk of mental health issues than other Australians.

• Evidence of under-use of mental health services by older people from CALD backgrounds.

•  • Older people from CALD backgrounds rely

more heavily on family members for support as they age,

Foreign born

• Almost one in three older Australians was born overseas,

• 20 % of Australian families do not speak English at home

•  • Herta . German, in a multicultural

nursing home, started to forget her English, Became increasingly isolated , disoriented and final affected by dementia

•  • Sam, Born on Cyprus :”Foreign families

stick together – stronger support ” •  

If you accept the positive psychologists theories • Engagement , meaning, achievementWHAT WOULD THEY BE, FOR YOU ?

Running the local men’s shed ?Learning French?Volunteering for a do-good organisation? “ “ an achieve something

organisation ?

Doing something yourself to build a better world ?

AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE PRIORITIES

•Global warming •Budgeting and the economy • Inequality •Retirement & superannuation

•Refugees/asylum seekers•The land; protecting the environment

•Protecting the ABC / SBS•Free Trade•

PB’S PRIORITIES

• 1. Writing a book ( on happiness in older people).

• 2. Stopping war by working to strengthening the United Nations as a world policeman

• 3. Making democratic government more responsive (to peoples’ wishes )

• 4. Making the world, people, businesses, more ethical (by strengthening whistleblowing),

• 5. Refugees , globally• 7. Outlawing the death penalty everywhere

The oldies are conservative

• The Republicans' Senior Moment• PAUL STARR THE AMERICAN

PROSPECT• DECEMBER 6, 2010• Seniors depend more on federal spending

than any other group, but that did not deter a majority of them from voting for candidates who deplored "big government" and "socialized medicine."

• One reason the electoral map turned red in November was that the electorate turned gray. Older Americans went to the polls in droves to vote Republican, while young people stayed home.

Conservative Oldies globally

The lowest support for same sex marriage came from Australians aged over 65, at 48 per cent, and men over 55, at 42 per cent. [Australia]  Conventional wisdom: People turn Tory with age. The Guardian (but appears to be changing) [UK]Why did a sensible party elect an idiot,Tony Abbott, as its leader? Was it the oldies?

Older people are more conservative, and thus more likely to vote for Republicans.  [US]

The 2013 election was probably the first in Australian history in which half of the votes were cast by electors aged fifty or over.  [Australia]

 The voting patterns of individuals in eight post-Soviet countries in the elections of 1989 or 1990 reveal disproportionately conservative (in the sense of preserving the status quo) voting among older voters. 

A great older life – tentative

1. Take up a cause (s)2. Curiosity and learning-

study and read3. Acting on the learning –

some achievement – teach, write, manage,

4. Good companionship 5. Travel, with curiosity 6. Start earlier – earn money

DEATH• David Hume 75 , PHILOSOPHER “I have done every thing of consequence which I ever meant to do, and I could at no time expect to leave my relations and friends in a better situation than that in which I am now likely to leave them; I, therefore, have all reason to die contented”•  • Three days after , Adam Smith received the following

letter from Doctor Black.

Edinburgh, Monday, 26th August, 1776.• “• DEAR SIR, Yesterday about four o'clock afternoon,

Mr. Hume expired. The near approach of his death became evident in the night between Thursday and Friday, when his disease became excessive, and soon weakened him so much, that he could no longer rise out of his bed. He continued to the last perfectly sensible, and free from much pain or feelings of distress. He never dropped the smallest expression of impatience; but when he had occasion to speak to the people about him, always did it with affection and tenderness

EPICURUS

• On this blissful day, which is also the last of my life, I write this to you. My continual sufferings from strangury and dysentery are so great that nothing could increase them; but I set above them all the gladness of mind at the memory of our past conversations. But I would have you, as becomes your lifelong attitude to me and to philosophy, watch over the children of Metrodorus

• .[a Greek philosopher of Epicurus’ school]. 

• Letter to Idomeneus, 270 BC

• The United Nations declared 20 March the International Day of Happiness 

Musicians die earlierSource: Diana Kenny The Conversation 19 Nov 2014

We can still try!Pensioners arrested - 67, 74, & 76

SMH: 20 May,2015England’s biggest jewellery heist

– Hatton Garden

Even more hope

REASONS BEHIND 50 NOs

• Earlier years more fulfilling 21• Earlier years more financially rewarding 5Ill Health today 14

• Death - friends/ relatives 9• 65+ years less fulfilling 2• Lack of purpose 2• Poverty, or nearly so 1• Loss of sex drive 1 • Shortage of like minded people 1

• No zest for life 3