Senior person in view of existential concerns

Vzdělávání a rozvoj seniorů

Renata Kocianová, Miroslava Dvořáková (eds.)

Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Filozofická fakulta, 2013

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Vychází v rámci projektu Visegrad Fund

Analysis and Comparison of Forms and Methods for the Education of Older Adults

in the V4 Countries

Editoři

PhDr. Renata Kocianová, Ph.D.

PhDr. Miroslava Dvořáková, Ph.D.

Recenzenti

Doc. PaedDr. Mária Pisoňová, PhD.

Doc. PaedDr. Ludvík Eger, CSc.

Za obsah, způsob bibliografické citace a jazykovou správnost odpovídají autoři.

© Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Filozofická fakulta, 2013

Všechna práva vyhrazena

ISBN 978-80-7308-469-1

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SENIOR PERSON IN VIEW OF EXISTENTIAL CONCERNS

Dr. Artur Fabiś Pedagogical University of Cracow, Cracow, Poland

E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: The article deals with the issues of some chosen existential worries such as fear of death, loneliness and suffering which are specific for mature people. They are amongst the most common connotations of elderly people with their own mortality. The article presents the specificity of the confrontation between a human being in their declining years and their existential worries. The text is based on classical literature of polish and foreign gerontologists, philosophers, psychologists and educationalists as well as on the author's own research. Key words: Existential worries, old age, maturity, thanatic fear, loneliness, suffering, death.

Introduction Existential concerns gain an exceptional meaning in later developmental phases of the human. At the same time, when a man reaches maturity, he/she becomes ready to face the problems of existential nature. It is the case due to specific transcendent abilities which, in old age, J. M. Erikson calls “transcendence” and describes it as “going further, perfecting of self and independence from time and universe. It also means going beyond any human knowledge and experience” (2012, p. 150). And so it happens that in old age, the existential anxiety is triggered by many stimuli, both internal and those created by the external environment. Old age, or actually a state which often is a part of it – maturity, allows man to confront the questions of God, the meaning of existence, a need to suffer and live but at the same time it makes it easier to understand life here and now and to understand others. It allows us to look into the future from the perspective of the life that passed. Basing on own study, C. Timoszyk-Tomczak and B. Bugajska state that “transcendental approach” connected with death and afterlife may be both destructive and causing fear and inspiring. However, “the perspective of the future in old age is connected with life situation, psychophysical condition, personal experience, personal knowledge of the world, self and other people and culture and religion in which we are brought up in. With no doubt, the shape and the range of future time perspective of seniors depends on many variables connected with internal and external context of their lifes (...)” (2012, p. 248). The future in the situation of closeness of own finality is very uncertain. It is the unknown, which a person would like to explore or even understand. This effort can be undertaken only by a person who is smart, mature and experienced. Maturity means being ready to make decisions based on reflection, analysis of circumstances, consequences of decisions and actions undertaken. A feature of maturity is a proper level of social adjustment which can be observed, among others, in balanced relations with others, understanding others and supporting them. In reference to self, a sign of maturity is creation of common history of life with clearly underlined goals, point of existence. The foundation of maturity is also acting rational in view of many incentives, especially intellectual provoking to reflection, which, in old age, must be not only selected careful,


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but properly used. P. Oleś states that a criterion of maturity specific for old age is “an ability to control the fear of death, redirecting the personal activity on timeless values with a maintenance of the ability to enjoy life and supporting others” (2011, p. 356). On the other hand, I. D. Yalom sees maturity through the filter of existential concerns defined to as “final concerns” which include death, isolation, the meaning of life (and lack of life) and freedom. Basing on quality studies (Fabiś, 2013), an attempt can be made to form a set of most significant problems faced by mature people inspired by reflection on own not-very-far end of life. Connotations which trigger reflections about own finality may be confined to five basic phenomena. Fear is caused both by the process of dying, as the final phase of life prior to death, and the death itself. Every fear is a natural feeling, a state of emotional excitement derived from danger of some kind. In case of thanatic fear, the background is a feeling of the ultimate value – life, being in danger. The connotation of solitude, especially alienation, may be observed in relations of seniors moved by awareness of their own finality. Anxiety is caused by a though of dying lonely or being alone during the last phase of life, and for many narrators, dignified (good) death is connected with dying at home, among the intimates. The death itself, is depicted as a phenomenon that helps to fight separation alleviates the negative feeling of loneliness – it is, in fact, a state in which a person meets again with those, who already left “this world”. The balance of life is, in the cycle of life, a phenomenon occurring in old age. It is a direct factor creating a view on finality. The Biography of a mature human being affects directly a view of own death. Only reflections connected with balancing own life may occur in earlier phases of human development, but in old age an analysis, enriched with experience of the biography, takes place. All the above mentioned existential problems seem to be justified among the most important concerns triggered by human finality because of the role which they play in human life. Namely, when stimulated by the awareness of death, they turn into a weapon against it. They may become not so much defensive mechanisms activated by the vision of own evanescence as mechanisms helpful in acceptance of it. According to The Fear Control Theory (see: Rusaczyk, 2008; Fabiś, 2011), the fear of death (actually, mechanisms activated by this fear), are buffers alleviating the confrontation with death. So is the case with religion – it is a belief of some kind being a foundation of actions which helps us gain immortality which in natural way alleviates the thought of earthly evanescence. Is it the same with balance of life? This subjective process may be a tool to alleviates the fear of death. People whose balance turns out favorable find it easier to settle accounts with life, accepting upcoming death with peace. They are aware that they lived their lives as well as they could or at least good so it is easier to accept the next, natural (though last) phase of existence. It is sufficient to justify all the actions giving them a positive meaning in order to face the death without overload.

Thanatic fear Fear is a common phenomenon, it is a feeling of discomfort. In case of fear of finality it refers to the most fundamental existential conflict, it is therefore an emotion caused by the will to maintain own life with an awareness of inevitable annihilation. It is, in the first place, a fear of the unknown which, on the other hand, is the most certain event awaiting every man. Thanatic fear may be divided to fear of the process of leaving the world of the living with all the circumstances and the fear of inevitable and nowhere-at-


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all explored phenomenon of non-existence. Thus, there should be division between the fear of the process of dying and of the state of not existing – death. Although every fear, according to A. Kępiński (2002), is simply a fear of death, the thanatic fear occurs as a state of being afraid of death – as a state and the act of dying itself. Human activates many psychological mechanisms in order to handle this paralyzing feeling of finality. He/she denies it, smothers it, transfers fears on more rational phenomena or avoids intellectual confrontation with problems of existential nature. According to Tillich (see: Tillich, 1994), the cause of the fear is a danger of non-existence. Fear is a materialized feeling and appears in order to confront it in the atmosphere of manly existence. The affirmation of existence is love which root is God. Fear will always be connected with the danger of non-existence. The first type of fear depends on the nature of non-existence. The main three fears are: the fear of death, of nonsense and of damnation. All three types of fear named by Tillich occur on parallel basis although one of them is dominating. The author also distinguishes the moral fear from pathological fear. The pathological fear should be, in Tilich’s words, integrated though the bravery of existence. Seniors must prove their bravery of existence in order to integrate their own, appearing more and more often, awareness o their mortality. Also, the increase of fear of it, both conscious and unconscious (smothering, transferring, rationalizing), is lower than in other adult age groups. According to many research to which Yalom (2008, p. 58–60) refers, there are a few relations that may be mentioned, among the oldest age group. People living in flats which resemble those in which they spent their lifes, are less afraid of death than those who live in typical social institutions. The fear is lower among people who are immature and neurotic. The level of fear among females is higher than among males. It is also worth mentioning that elder people find it easier to activate thoughts of death. At the same time, the thought of death causes bigger anxiety among young people than elder. What is interesting, in the situation of life danger, the perspective of death is far, in the situation of depicting mortality e.g. when reading about a tragic accident or receiving information about a lethal disease of a relative, human must face the awareness of death. Human is provided with psychological mechanisms, which allow him/her to handle the thought of mortality. The easiest of them is avoiding the thought of death. However, as W. Łukaszewski (2010) states, it is not an easy task. Forcing own brain not to think about some issues cause the opposite result which is constant thinking about these issues. Apart from that, this task is very exhausting which makes the mental ability weak by the effort to smother thoughts of death. Finally, we can expect that “the sadder are the thoughts which we want to delete from our conscience, the stronger they will be when they come back” (p. 38). Łukaszewski (2010) claims that human may choose among three groups of operations aiming at eliminating the results of thanatic anxiety by using many techniques. First group of operations involves avoidance of confrontation the theme of death. Death is not to be discussed, neither with family nor with friends, at school or at work. The topic of death is constantly avoided or treated lightly in the whole process of upbringing and socializing (see: Fabiś, 2011a). It is common to separate human from death by presenting death of relatives as a journey from which they will return one day, or in case of adults, replacing the truth about the about-to-come death with lies about a quick recovery. Paradoxically, the experience with death in the cycle of life may prepare to confrontation with own


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mortality, isolating from the topic of death results in the fact that when a person feels the thanatic fear less often, it is more powerful. Seniors not only think more often about mortality but they also touch upon death in conversations. At the same time, Among seniors, certain actions may be observed which aim are to isolate from the signs of getting old through e.g. removing mirrors from the house or avoiding encounters with other older people. The second group of eliminating the results of fear is to come to terms with death and the fear of it. Very clearing expression of emotions are rituals of many kinds, funeral, mourning, Christmas, religious or cultural ceremonies. Some of the actions are of preventive nature, preparing and preventing the fear. This is the role of religious ceremonies or Halloween plays, other must alleviate the fear – wakes, remembering the deceased or taking part in therapeutic sessions or support groups. The third group refers to reinterpretation – giving the death other sense – it is achieved by using synonymous terms to death which alleviates the sense of this state, or through consciously giving the death other sense by attributing death with good power through stepping into the better world or freeing from the concerns of the living. The character of symbolic immortality which also positively affects the fear of death is to leave a heritage. This continuity – symbolic immortality – may be assured by leaving children, grand children and next generations but also big scientific achievements, works of art or smaller, but everlasting symbols of being on the earth in the shape of houses, trees, diaries and other.

Balance of life “To get old is a privilege. It is the opportunity to comment on life which we can live in retrospection. Within time, retrospections include more and more and scenes and actions recalled become more real and close. Sometimes, even far scenes and experience are amazing and reliving them may be very exhausting” (Erikson, 2012, p.151). The balance of life, an inevitable, analytical and valuing action undertaken by mature people, is even a steady part of the old age. It derives from the awareness of own influence on the life process. It answers the question “what did a person gain or loose as a result of his/her decisions. It refers to one’s own life but it takes into consideration actions taken for the sake of others, especially intimates. The balance of life is a conclusion of the existence. On one hand, one takes all the positive experience, achievements, successes, joyful moments of life, valuable moments into the consideration – on the other hand there is a load of loses, fails, chances not taken, moments of sadness and suffering of one’s own and suffering inflicted on others. Balancing is a very individual process, it is a subjective form of retrospection, rewinding. It becomes a crucial element of determining sense and aim of life. “The core of the issue is not what happened and what outcome it had, but what kind of reflection had a person on those events and how did they influence on the person in long term. How was it possible to handle them and what were the direct and long-term consequences. What kind of knowledge was taken from them. How did a person discount them for the sake of his/her own or others” (Oleś, 2011, p. 277). It is a living a life from other perspective, it is also searching and finding the meaning of life. The developmental cause of life balancing is reaching “biographical perspective” in old age. However, one has to be careful when calling the old age reflective since, as H. Bee (2004) convinces, there is no damaging evidence that seniors tend to remember more and some forms of memories occur more likely among seniors. With no doubt, different life experience like death of an intimate, children leaving home or retiring and many others may also by inspiration for life balance. At the end of existence, human asks himself/herself a question about a meaning of life, its quality or whether he lived his/her


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life well and whether his balance comes out favorable. It helps to confront the evanescence in the perspective of Erikson’s eighth phase of development and it is a crucial action in order to achieve integrity of ego. It is also significant for Erikson’s ninth phase. At the same time, the defensive mechanisms help to relive thee life from different perspective – a perspective, which may alleviate the earlier low self-evaluation or opposite – doubt the once-positive experience since the balance is about objective events but it is carried out through values – subjective and changing in the course of life. “Through the reference to the values, the balance of life is a part of logical side of human activity. It is not also filled with metareflection – what was worthwhile and what was not, were the measures adequate – but also with evaluation – why something was valuable and why something was not. The paradox of the balance is lies in the fact that criteria of valuing change in the course of time. Thus, the time comes to evaluate the activity which once – in the light of other criteria – seemed sensible and necessary.” (Oleś, 2011, p. 275).The Analysis of life balance also raises a question about old conflicts, possibilities to make up for the harm done, possibility to forget about what did not work out. The negative balance of the old age indicates pathology and because of this it may cause the will to make radical changes, to attempt to reverse the negative results. The positive ensures the strength of the actions taken, convinces to take further actions. In the old age, the negative balance often is connected with depression being its result. Then, it is disfigured, dependent on the disease. Depression may be the outcome of balancing life. In old age, when the chance to change and fix one’s own image is confined due to no possibility to repeat the events, medical condition, economic circumstances or lack of self-confidence my cause medical problems, including depression.

Loneliness and isolation Loneliness is a phenomenon occurring in human life from its very beginning. It is a special feeling and takes an extreme shape in the moment of dying. Dying is the most individual, most independent and isolated act. According to Yalom (2008), loneliness derived from the awareness of dying is called existential isolation.- “neither interpersonal isolation with the solitude, nor intrapersonal isolation, but fundamental isolation – from other creatures and the world is the background of every other isolation. Regardless of how close do we get, there is always this ultimate space that cannot be entered – we all step into the existence alone and that is how we have to leave it” (p. 16). Loneliness, however, also becomes something more common and open. Seniors are afraid to die in loneliness, most often they underline that this moment they would like to spend among intimates. But loneliness is inseparable part of the old age, it is even its crucial element. Definitions of such terms as loneliness and isolation are often treated as synonyms in speech and writing although they are not. Although they are some reactions occurring between them, for sure they cannot be considered similar. One of the position in defining loneliness and isolation indicates that is an objective state (physical), whereas isolation is subjective state – mental. Thus, loneliness is a real state of mind felt only by a particular person and affecting his/her emotions. (Synak, 2002) Moreover, loneliness may have a positive dimension, sometimes even wanted by human. Loneliness carries personal benefit understood and conditioned, sometimes (short-term) may be a factor encouraging development of the subject. Isolation, on the other hand, is a phenomenon evaluated (mainly by a


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person subjected to it) negatively and is unwanted both from objective and subjective point of view. It even undermines the development and decreases satisfaction of life. L. Dyczewski considers loneliness and isolation two different states which cannot be identified. According to Dyczewski, loneliness is a process of reflection by human on the existence and searching for the meaning of life, world and his/her own modus operandi. It is a state of concentration and excavation of the contact with other people and world and also with God and self (Synak, 2002, p. 45) Isolation is: a handicap of the personality and lack of ability to overcome one’s own personality which results in human confining his/her own thoughts, will to survive and aiming at giving- finally, the person becomes sad and feels unhappy (ibidem). E. Dubas defines loneliness as “special phenomenon of human existence, special feature of human experience and manifestation of the complex human personality.” And this manifestation is, according to the author , is best represented in antinomy “on one hand, the creature craving for close contact with other people best shown in love and friendship, on the other hand, avoiding, pushing them away in search for other encouraging relations: with self, nature or absolute (2000, p. 110). And although, according to the author, loneliness is most often represented in negative dimension, it may occur also as a positive, developing factor, when it is a loneliness by choice and perceived as a chance, developing task or as a blessing. Loneliness can be measured objectively, but it may occur as a hidden, introvert experience of an individual. Loneliness can be chosen, but isolation is a unpleasant feeling of lack of intimate person, which is experienced against will. Human, in the old age, undergoes many processes and phenomena which may make this stage one of the most difficult to accept. Old age, according to many scientist, is treated as a developing task and it goes without saying that it is a time during which a person must revalue many views which would allow him to accept his/her own life and old age. It is a time to redirect the energy of the senior and people in his surroundings. Still, our old age is characterized by terminating job, systematic decrease of social relations and stepping down from taking part in public life rather than realization of wide range of forms of activity in old age which would allow the senior to adjust to new situations and create a new sense of life. It is even more important providing that in the old age, many people suffer from loneliness and isolation. Loneliness is a state experienced both in emotional and as a state subjectively felt which is a kind of mental loneliness – unlike physical and social loneliness. Mental loneliness accompanies human in every time of life and is handled differently – most often is connected with isolation. Isolation as a emotional state derives from the lack of positive relations with other people. In order to reach happiness and to build the meaning of life and tasks for the future, everyone needs accepting presence of other people who are a source of encouragements, give a sense of relationship and belonging to the group or society. They inspire to activity, which we often realize in space and through the view of activity of the people from the closest surrounding. The lack of positive relations with other people is a very profoundly-received state. Weakening of the emotional bond with one or more people causes the decrease of self-esteem and the feeling of being loved and needed, it results in lose of the meaning of life.


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“Social loneliness is understood as a situation characterized by weakening or lack of natural bond with other person, a life outside the society. Social loneliness is characterized by lack of friendship, friends, company, community. Without such social bonds, the individual feels not only lonely in the world but also outside the world, separated from people. It is a phenomenon similar to social isolation, namely the lack of presence of other people” (Smykowska, 2007, p. 345). this is how V. Andreoli (2009) describes loneliness in old age : “loneliness is suffering – to exist and not to exist at the same time, it is possibly one of the most painful experience life, also because in this stage the hope is getting weaker and there is no time to realize one’s desires anymore. Loneliness is not also being in a place without someone but also life among people who do not see you as if you did not exist. Invisible life, invisible needs” (p. 150). Among the definitions of loneliness three common features may be distinguished, namely: loneliness derives from lack of contact with the other person, problems with interpersonal relationships, it is a subjective experience and finally, just like the mental and physical state, is unpleasant and highly stressful. However, one cannot forget about the fact that we also come across a loneliness by choice and then it is understood as a way of functioning based on tolerance or even choice of life with minimum social contact, often outside love the relationships of love or deep friendship, does not have to be perceived as subjectively unpleasant and does not have to carry any negative consequences. Moreover, some aspects of mental health functioning like e.g. creating process demands loneliness, at least at some stages but this kind of loneliness is hardly ever observed in old age. Both loneliness and isolation are the proper states for human in every phase of life although the theory that they become stronger with the course of time, seems to be justified. The feeling of isolation is not always connected with loneliness. It is not uncommon that people living alone lead a very active and reach social life, they realize this activity in many different forms on a very high level building a feeling of satisfaction. It is, however, connected with habits and attitudes gained earlier. That is how we reached the original thesis that the quality of life, the whole biography of the individual affects his/her perception and living the old age. The image of the old age and the way to live it is determined by both the features of the individual and social factors. The former include: hereditary factors, the history of life, features of personality. The latter includes education, place of dwelling e.g. What is common for both is the fact that they are absolutely individual and, in unique way, they commonly affect the image of the old age, they determine whether it is going to be happy, active or opposite- sad, isolated and passive. However, the old age is also connected with quantitative circumstances of the escalation of the loneliness phenomenon. Old people are not understood by younger generations, feel alienated, excluded and a consumptive model of the society excludes the old age beyond the frame of interest of the youth. Old age is not attractive and old people themselves remind that each and every person must get old and die. Health problems confine interpersonal relations and separate seniors from the rest of the society.


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Adjustment to the changing conditions of life, although hard on every level, in old age seems to be even tougher. The vision of no contact with intimates is seen by an old person as a serious problem, and at the same time as a crucial developmental task. Handling the loneliness will therefore determine the feeling of satisfaction because of the life led. It should be remembered, however, that as Astrid Tokaj observes, individual character of handling the life (finally, constituted image of own last period of life) depends not only on the whole spectrum of the factors lying in modern physical, mental and social state of the elder person. Being in the paradigm of the course of life, it is worth-underlining that a crucial meaning of the past time on the present biopsychosocial condition of the senior.” (2008, p. 219). What is more, subjective interpretations are meaningful in the view of life experience. In other words, the way in which events are interpreted here and now affects the disposition. Same experience on the axis of life may include different values and initiate different interpretations. Especially in the old age, a lot of free time may cause the feeling of loneliness – physical and mental, wanted and unwanted, real and imaginary.

Suffering Suffering is a state occurring constantly in the course of whole life. Old age is a stage of life in which suffering caused by physical and mental pain comes into specific forms, maturity and closeness of the death cause the suffering of spiritual nature. Many illnesses, accidents, senile changes, problems with functioning are the source of physical discomfort. With no doubt, this kind of discomfort may become a source of mental suffering understood as a negative feeling of loss of something precious. “These are the feelings such as: uneasiness, tension, lack of emotions, emptiness and mental pain or feeling hurt” (Längle, 2004, p. 220). Human experiences a spiritual suffering when he/she loses something “which is crucial in order for a person to experience a fulfilled existence. (…) feelings connected with this experience are, among others : feeling of lack of security, abuse of trust, mourning, lack of relations, injustice, pangs of conscience, guilt” (ibidem, p. 220). The author extends this classic division by Franklin to one more type of suffering: existential. Feelings and attitudes dominating in this type of suffering are lack of sense, not understanding the life, perceiving fate as pointless. There are lots of direct causes of this kind of suffering. Lose of intimates, awareness of the own death coming, feeling of dependence and others rise the mental discomfort. The ways to suffer vary greatly. They may occur in the form of aggression, rebellion, isolation, sadness, complaining, silence and many others. Suffering is connected with negative emotions, it therefore takes part in understanding meanings, distinguishing situations and organizes further actions. The psychological analysis of the negative emotions (See: Trzebińska, 2004) depicts a few crucial features of this phenomenon. Negative feelings confine the view and at the same time they confine the perception of incentives directly concentrating the individual on analytical consideration of the problem. The continuity of the memories of experience marked by negative emotions is stronger than with the positive, least steady experience is the emotionally neutral one. Strong negative feelings have a great power, are very motivating, at the same time, they set the mind on the competition. It can be stated that the occurrence of the negative feelings indicate the unpleasant situation and at the same time it is an impulse to action aiming at handling the difficulties. “The wide range of emotions and their mutual similarity in basic features, forces us to verify the common belief – who is afraid or who is sad. The area of suffering


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includes, as it seems, states which in conscience perception are not related to suffering such as anger, jealousy, hostility or boredom” (ibidem, p. 93). Suffering as an existential problem, considered from the Christian theology, occurs as a result for the lack of an agreement with self and in relation with the other person (see: Kiernikowski, 2004). The first form derives from the awareness of who we are in confrontation with the person one should. It is “an experience of emptiness, an experience of not being able to realize what one wishes – being subjected to a failure, bankruptcy, lack of influence of some processes, on the other hand- as a non-acceptance of this lack of power (ibidem, p. 13). The second form relates to discomfort in the relation with the other person. The need of being accepted by others with the feeling of being imperfect and deserving to not being accepted causes the suffering of the existential nature. From the biblical point of view, the problem of suffering has its roots in relations with the absolute, which is God. He too, for a believer, becomes helpful in handling the suffering. “Old age was called a stage of chronic suffering indicated by the constant resistance toward the suffering and an effort to alleviate its strong and extreme strikes” (Andreoli, 2009, p. 151–152). Suffering takes a shape of both physical discomfort and mental torment. Scary is the thought about physical problems and relying on others when it comes to care and an image of the spiritual ballast. Thus, suffering has a form of physical pain, pain connected with disability, diseases and mental pain since it would relate to the discomfort connected with lack of fulfillment of the social, psychological, emotional and spiritual needs. As scientist state, physical suffering will always be a background for physical pain but physical suffering does not have to be connected with physical illnesses. Experience of suffering is a part of a human life cycle, it helps to notice dysfunctions and undertake proper steps aiming at alleviating lack of something, overcoming the obstacles. Pathological suffering – too long – lasting, too intensive which human cannot handle becomes destructive, harms the suffering person, damages relations with others, with self, with the absolute. At the same time, important seems the question of the meaning of suffering, it is hard to understand the existence in the world created by God. And what is old age if not a time to think about most fundamental questions, also about a sense of suffering. This question is asked by reflective people searching for the answers not only in their own digressions but also by exploring the thoughts of the great philosophers or by listening to the voice of Church. Suffering in the old age is, by Andreoli (2009), related with loneliness. The causes of this unpleasant feeling are the other member of family life and wider social circles. “The old man suffers from the loneliness because he/she feels useless. Sometimes he/she becomes a load, object which is moved so that it does not take space and cover the view (…)” (p.150). Suffering in the old age is, therefore, a challenge, especially in confrontation with relations with others. The aspect of suffering, which is a tool of God indicating the evil in order to wake the conscience of the humankind is underlined by C. S. Lewis (2010). It may be a way to find the sense of life through giving the suffering a meaning, as states V. E. Frankl (2009).

Conclusion Elder person prepares for death the whole lifetime, for the whole life time he/she works for the old age to finally face the existential concerns. The time comes when the perspective of the future drastically shortens in the view of an inevitable death. It is a natural fear of it with the common loneliness and physical and spiritual suffering and a


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need to balance the life what encourages the spiritual anxiety in which a mature man must face in the last stage of development.

References ANDREOLI, V. Zrozumieć cierpienie. Aby ból ustąpił radości. Kraków: Homini, 2009. ISBN 978-83-61568-52-0. BEE, H. Psychologia rozwoju człowieka, Warszawa: Zysk i S-ka, 2004. ISBN 83-7298-432-8. DUBAS, E. Edukacja dorosłych w sytuacji samotności i osamotnienia. Łódź: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, 2000. ISBN 83-7171-410-6 DYCZEWSKI, L. Ludzie starzy i starość w społeczeństwie i kulturze. Lublin: Wydawnictwa Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego 1994. ISBN 83-228-0398-2. ERIKSON, E. H. Dopełniony cykl życia. Gliwice: Helion, 2012. ISBN 978-83-246-3441-5. FABIŚ, A. Przygotowanie do własnej śmierci. Perspektywa osób starszych. In: Fabiś, A. (ed.) Współczesne oblicza starzenia się. Biblioteka Gerontologii Społecznej Band 7. Katowice: Wydawnictwo Naukowe „Śląsk”, 2013. (in print). FABIŚ, A. Teoria Opanowania Trwogi i jej implikacje dla opieki i wsparcia w starości, In: A. Fabiś, M. Muszyński (Ed.), Społeczne wymiary starzenia się, Biblioteka Gerontologii Społecznej, Band 4, Bielsko-Biała: Wydawnictwo Wyższej Szkoły Administracji, 2011 ISBN 978-83-6430-29-2 FABIŚ, A. Śmierć w całożyciowym procesie uczenia się. Rocznik Andragogiczny 2011a, p.131-145. ISBN 978-83-7789-085-1. FRANKL, V. E. Człowiek w poszukiwaniu sensu. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Czarna Owca, 2009. ISBN 83-7554-125-0. KĘPIŃSKI, A. Lęk, Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2002. ISBN 83-03225-7. KIERNIKOWSKI, Z. Rola cierpienia w dopełnianiu się życia człowieka. Spojrzenie w Świetle Biblii, In: R. Jaworski, A. Rusak, E. Simon (ed.) Wobec cierpienia. Płock: Płocki Instytut Wydawniczy, 2004. ISBN 978-83-89625-08-3. LÄNGLE, A. Cierpienie – wyzwanie egzystencjalne; Rozumienie, postępowanie i radzenie sobie z cierpieniem z perspektywy analizy egzystencjalnej, In: R. Jaworski, A. Rusak, E. Simon (ed.) Wobec cierpienia. Płock: Płocki Instytut Wydawniczy, 2004. ISBN 978-83-89625-08-3. ŁUKASZEWSKi, W. Udręka życia. Jak ludzie radzą sobie z lękiem przed śmiercią. Sopot: Wydawnictwo Smak Słowa, 2010. ISBN 978-83-62122-07-3. OLEŚ, P. K. Psychologia człowieka dorosłego. Warszawa: PWN, 2011. ISBN 978-83-7369-066-9. RUSACZYK, M. (ed.) Teoria opanowania trwogi. Dyskurs w literaturze amerykańskiej. Warszawa: Scholar, 2008. ISBN 978-83-7383-253-4. TILLICH, P. Męstwo bycia. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Rebis, 1994. ISBN 978- 83-7120-060-9. TIMOSZYK-TOMCZAK, C., BUGAJSKA, B. Przyszłościowa perspektywa czasowa w starości. Szczecin: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego, 2012, ISBN 978-83-7241-876-0. TOKAI, A. Krótka refleksja nad samotną i osamotnioną starością, In: R. Konieczna- Woźniak (ed.), Dorosłość wobec starości. Oczekiwania-radości-dylematy. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, 2008. ISBN 978- 83-232-1960-6. TRZEBIŃSKA, E. Negatywne uczucia: koszty i pożytki, In: R. Jaworski, A. Rusak, E. Simon (ed.) Wobec cierpienia. Płock: Płocki Instytut Wydawniczy, 2004. ISBN 978-83-89625-08-3.


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SMYKOWSKA, D. Instytucje wsparcia społecznego. Skrypt dla studentów. Łódź: Wyższa Szkoła Informatyki, 2007. ISBN 978-83-60282-01-4. YALOM, I. D. Psychoterapia egzystencjalna. Warszawa: Instytut Psychologii Zdrowia, 2008. ISBN 978-83-60747-12-4.


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Senior person in view of existential concerns

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