Category Archives: Psyche

Older Adulthood: The Second Great Age of Passion

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I wrote recently about a passage in George Elliot’s novel The Mill on the Floss suggesting that middle-aged adults are particularly well-equipped to assist adolescents and young adults through their times of emotional turmoil. Elliot reasons that the middle-aged are … Continue reading →

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Is Midlife a Time of Calm or of Turmoil?

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I ran across an interesting quote on middle age by George Eliot. She wrote: “The middle aged, who have lived through their strongest emotions, but are yet in the time when memory is still half passionate and not merely contemplative, … Continue reading →

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Simplification of Character

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I’ve been thinking recently about the psychological task of simplification as it pertains to late life. I’m following the outline provided by twentieth-century theologian Lewis Joseph Sherrill, who says that simplification involves “distinguishing the more important from the less important, … Continue reading →

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Material Simplification, Part 2: Hoarding

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I recently posted a piece on material simplification. This was one of several posts exploring the idea that simplification is the most important psychological task of late adulthood. Material simplification, as described by theologian Lewis Joseph Sherrill, consists of “distinguishing … Continue reading →

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Material Simplification, Part 1

Posted on September 26, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I’m midway through a series of posts on simplification in late life. The idea for the series came from twentieth-century theologian Lewis Joseph Sherrill, who proposed that the most important psychological task of late adulthood is simplification, by which he … Continue reading →

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Simplification of Status

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

This is part of a series of posts on simplification in late adulthood. For some context on the concept of simplification, consult a previous post in the series. In this post I’ll focus on simplification of status, especially on the way theologian Lewis Joseph … Continue reading →

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Aging Well the Puritan Way

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

Where should we look for models of how to age well? Who has a good understanding of what makes for good psychological, social, and spiritual functioning in old age? Well, how about the Puritans? That, at least, is where Maxine Hancock … Continue reading →

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Midlife Complexity to Late Life Simplicity

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I wrote in an earlier post that the main psychological challenge of late adulthood is simplification. In middle adulthood, many of us had more complexity in our lives than we had ever had before. At work we took on more responsibility … Continue reading →

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Loss and Simplification in Later Adulthood

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

In my last post, I introduced the idea that the main psychological task of late life is to mourn our losses. I ended by suggesting that such grieving does not mean that we older adults are constantly in a state … Continue reading →

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What is the Primary Psychological Task of Late Adulthood?

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

Psychologists usually view human development as consisting of a series of tasks or issues, each of which must be dealt with in turn. Thus infancy is about learning to trust, adolescence about independence and identity, and early adulthood about intimacy. … Continue reading →

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