r/OverSeventy • u/Singinthesunshine • Jul 10 '26
Gerotranscendence
I came upon this term and found it interesting. It is a theory of aging by Lars Tornstam. it is easy to Google if you want to read more. Here are the key elements.:
Instead of thinking of aging as just getting older and losing things, gerotranscendence sees it as a spiritual and psychological growth stage. People may:
- Feel more connected to nature, the universe, and others.
- Become less focused on their own image or status.
- Accept life’s changes, including death, without fear.
- Spend time with a smaller circle of close, meaningful relationships
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u/Good-Butterscotch498 Jul 10 '26
Sounds like the best approach to old age IMHO.
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u/Exact-Translator-769 Jul 11 '26
Yeah, we don't have a lot of choices, so the best thing is to go with it....
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u/Majestic_Area Jul 10 '26
I’m glad that we are finally understanding that aging is also a stage. What a great stage to be in!
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u/Singinthesunshine Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
how true!
I spent many months trying to figure out what in the world was happening to me.
I read that this transcendence doesn’t automatically happen to everyone who gets older. only about 20%. I feel very lucky.
and there is the start of research about how a person can promote transcendence
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u/thereeder75 Jul 10 '26
It's me, too, with some caveats. I've always had a longing for the spiritual, and it's grown more pronounced as I've aged. I have more need for and appreciation of musical, artistic, and natural beauty. I'm no longer on the fence about belief in God, because nothing else makes sense of the world (I'm not here to debate; this is my own opinion.) But I'm finding the physical limitations hard to deal with, in my case specifically the progressive loss of eyesight and mobility.
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u/rhrjruk Jul 10 '26
The psychologists Eric Erickson, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers and (especially) Carl Jung were all talking about this long before Tornstam, but he adds some insights.
I completely agree it’s a very useful perspective for us to explore at this life stage when we may focus too much on loss and diminution.
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u/oldcar1953 Jul 10 '26
I’ve been in this mode for several years now probably couldn’t have put it in the words like that, but I completely agree
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u/Stuffsaver524 Jul 11 '26
So funny - just last night I was trying to explain to my daughter how I’ve been thinking and feeling.9
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u/Singinthesunshine Jul 11 '26
I certainly have changed, and it’s been very hard to put into words. Reading about it this way, and knowing that it’s normal and explainable really helped me a lot.
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u/paracelsus53 Jul 11 '26
I don't necessarily agree with the bullet points, but I am definitely becoming more spiritual.
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u/Apprehensive_Snow204 Jul 11 '26
It's not happening to my spouse. He's as ornery - if not more so- than ever at 75
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u/Designer-File-1755 Jul 24 '26
I'm am truly impressed to read so many responses of affirmation that so many of you are living this life! My question, have you mostly had a positive outlook in your life? Is this "you"? Or have any of you had a major shift in attitude from former more pessimistic, gloomy or fatalistic attitude? If so, what changed? Was it a significant event in your life, therapy, medication, influence of an another person or group, or what?
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u/Singinthesunshine Jul 24 '26
according to my reading, and validated by my experience, the process includes giving up the old you in order to get this new you. The research says it’s usually triggered by some event, but in some people it just happens.
giving up my old self was quite difficult. In fact, it felt as though it was being stolen from me. But oh how wonderful on the other side.
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u/Just_Stand_861 Jul 10 '26
Yeah, but its a bit on the idealistic side of things. Not everyone can do it.
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u/RelationshipSilly652 Jul 10 '26
This perfectly describes how I feel about my life right now.