Erikson's Last Stage Of Late Adulthood: Case Study

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T.H. is a sixty-five year old female. She is currently in retirement and enjoying her days with her husband of twenty five years. They are living in their cabin off in the woods they had built themselves. The cabin was something they have been dreaming of for years before retirement. She is a retired factory worker of twenty years plus. She is very healthy in her age both physically and mentally. However, she struggles with having a gluten sensitivity that she acquired fifteen years ago. She also struggles with a small nerve issue in her leg which leads her to the chiropractor once a week. I am sitting in the kitchen while she stands and continues baking for the Thanksgiving holiday.
T.H. expressed the first thing she can remember in her life …show more content…

is in Erikson’s last stage of late adulthood, Ego Integrity versus Despair. Erikson believed the problems in adulthood were a result from not accomplishing the earlier stages he developed (Potter & Perry, 2013, p.133). Ego Integrity versus Despair is a challenge for the older adult. They should look back on their life, accept the life they lived and find meaning in their life and accomplishments. Although it is difficult, they should be able to adjust and to cope with the reality of their aging and mortality (Eliopoulos, 2014, p. 18). If they are able to accept their life, find meaning and cope with aging they are said to be in ego integrity. However, they are in despair if they cannot cope, fear death, keep focusing on their failures and what they should have done in life and if they experience “feelings of anger, bitterness, depression, and inadequacy” (Eliopoulos, 2014, p.18). T.H. is in ego integrity. She can look back on her life and overall she knows she had a good life and she is happy with her life. Even though she said if she had to do her life all over she would not but only because of the hardships and pain she overcame. She would just choose not to go through that type of pain again. She knows that aging is a part of her life and she takes care of herself. She only hopes to continue to stay healthy and that maybe her mind and body will stay in

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