The health psychology approach to normal ageing

Abstract

Approaching the process of normal ageing with a health psychology model was an important development in health science. In earlier healing models, questions of old age were either ignored or dealt with only in the context of various diseases. Definitions of the stages of human life have changed and pushed the limits of old age to a higher level. The expanding human life course raises important medical, psychological, and sociological issues. The definition of ageing and the characteristics of normal ageing need to be reconsidered. The cognitive representations of ageing people are a good reflection of how they think about themselves, the world, and the stage of life ahead. The contribution of health psychology as a modern approach to healthy ageing has greatly altered the attitudes of healthcare professionals. The concept of active old age helps to deal with the growing number of elderly people in a new context. In this brief overview of the health psychology approach to normal ageing, we aim to help healthcare professionals better manage the problems in their daily work. In a brief introduction, we review the physical and mental symptoms of ageing. We strive to isolate the normal variants from gerontopsychiatric and neuropsychiatric disorders. While normal ageing does not require clinical attention, psychiatric disorders do, and we briefly describe the therapeutic forms. Psychoeducation, group therapy, and supportive techniques prove to be the most effective.