Providing Teletherapy and In-Person Psychotherapy

Aging Consciously

And then the knowledge comes to me
that I have space within me
for a second, timeless, larger life.
- R.M Rilke

As a Baby Boomer or Gen Xer, you have probably lived a different life from your parent so far. This is also true as you age. Today, more older adults stay active, are health conscious, and choose to stay more engaged in life and sometimes work than previous generations.
“The third chapter” of life can be a time of cultivating wisdom, of living a more authentic life, of deeper introspection and spiritual growth, of mentorship and service, and of new or renewed creative interests. As time grows shorter, it may be time to reflect on what is really important and to move in those directions. A life review may assist in this process.
Other growth-oriented topics may include:

Exploring self-compassion and self-acceptance (if not now, when?)
Forgiveness of yourself and others. Is it time to finally put resentment, guilt and shame to rest and feel more peace?
Surrender/Letting go of thoughts and feelings that no longer serve you. Are you ready to lessen or release the need for control?
Creativity and new interests may flourish as you have more time to take up new or previous creative pursuits. Is something calling to you?
Creating a new vision of aging for yourself, free of societal tropes and stereotypes. How can this time be meaningful for you?

There may also be losses, fears and concerns that are present or emerge, and these too, need a voice and a place at the table.

Retirement may be anticipated or dreaded depending on many variables. You may welcome it after a lifetime of work or you may feel unmoored, outside of the flow of life, disconnected from others and with financial concerns.
Health and mortality are usually concerns as you age. Whether you are healthy now or experiencing health challenges or chronic illness, aging is a time of eventual physical and cognitive vulnerability that can bring up feelings that need to be voiced and explored openly.
Relationships may be a fraught topic in later life. We read repeatedly that social connection is important to maintaining mental, physical and cognitive health in aging. Yet, you may be widowed, divorced, single, a caretaker for an impaired partner or parent, or in an unhappy relationship or marriage. If you have children (and grandchildren) you may be close or not so close. Friends and family may have died or moved away, leaving you less socially resourced than in the past.
There are inevitable losses and accompanying grief as you age. It’s important to allow yourself to feel and mourn, whether it’s loss of another or of parts of yourself.

We cannot live the afternoon of life
according to the program of life's morning-
for what was great in the morning
will be little at evening,
and what in morning was true
will at evening, have become a lie.
-Carl Jung

Aging is not for the weak. One day you wake up and realize that your youth is gone, but along with it, so go insecurity, haste, and the need to please... You learn to walk more slowly, but with greater certainty. You say goodbye without fear, and you cherish those who stay. Aging means letting go, it means accepting, it means discovering that beauty was never in our skin... but in the story we carry inside us.
- Meryl Streep

Peggy Handler ​psychotherapy

****Providing Teletherapy and In-Person Psychotherapy****

Aging Consciously

Peggy Handler
psychotherapy

Providing Teletherapy and In-Person Psychotherapy