Psychology

Humanity has been described in many theoretical descriptions of human potentials all expressed in the light of stages of life. The most certain things about life is that life in itself is a continuous and ongoing experience that offers ground for the development of who we are and what we become in later on. We continue to learn, grow and develop throughout our lives and adulthood is perhaps a time with vast potential for people to chart out newer directions lifestyles and choices.

Many critics have underscored that old age is the potential category of human experience that make sense of the entire history of human endeavor and as such, it makes it possible for people to reach a newer understanding of human maturity. Stages of life are a concise schema that offers a definitive description of the potential in all human developmental structures. The concept of adult development outlines that the individuals experiences are shaped by a host of conditional factors such as loss of a spouse. This paper seeks to discuss the stages of life focusing on a seventy five year old man and his grief as a result of loss of his wife within the parameters of his multicultural experiences of living and working in Switzerland and finally migrating America

Stages of life
According to Sigelman and Rider (2006), stages of life can be equated to structures within a corn, which entirely suggests all its potential stages of growth and development from seedling to sapling to a mighty tree. In essence, these stages of life are structures intrinsic to the human being and they principally determine the phases of human growth. It is imperative to outline that stages of life are defined within the parameters of three fundamental dimensions of life such as gross, subtle and casual as conditional human possibilities. For instance, the dimension of gross applies to the elemental physical body while the subtle aspect comprises of both personal and spiritual life which pervades the physical as well as the dimensions of the mind and the psyche. The final dimension casual aspect, becomes the deepest root structure of the conditioned human being and of attention to it self. This postulates the core sense of existence as a separate self.

Positive Ageing
Hill (2008) asserts that the concept of positive ageing describes the adverse effects of age on the lifetime of units. New theoretical frameworks for understanding the concept of ageing especially as related to the seventy five old Swiss, originate from the study which showed that positive ageing is associated with the need to find satisfaction in life regardless of the existent personal circumstances. Ideally most ageing adults like in our case point tend to adopt affirmative lifestyle choices, coupled with positive spirituality for him to be able o age well.

This innovative approach to ageing as argued by Hill (2008) is designed in the promotion of well beings in the later life and provides seven strategies of aging spelt in the ability to learn, discover wisdom, strengthen relationships among others, as ideal blends to the general life paths in to keys of staying upbeat during challenging times. For example, the old man, after retirement chose to migrate to America with the hope of enjoying his many years of hard work thus, demonstrating the assurance of sources of happiness that are inherent in the process of growing old. In other words, positive ageing, which is a factor in the stages of life, should not be confused to be how well individuals manage to dodge their infirmities but rather lies in the ability to focus on what makes life more worthwhile in old age in spite of the mental, emotional and physical challenges that may arise.

The first three stages of life are in the primary sense associated with the gross dimension of existence. Research points out that they are the only stages in the schema with a more predictable framework (Weinman, 2004). Although this phase takes on a foundational human maturity, Hill (2008) explains that they are more formative and include respectively physical development, development of sexual-emotional appraisal and the mental functions as well as the functions of the will. Successful completion of this phase of stages holds that psychological individuation full development of the will and a strong moral character oriented naturally towards the disposition of service is realized. Arguably, our seventy five year old man completed these first three stages to be a true adult and thus is an emotionally mature human being.

The Middle Passage in the Stages of Life
In a more developmental outlook, the stages of life are evidenced with middle passages which begins when one is obliged to ask a new, the question of meaning that somehow circumnutated their childs imagination but were effaced over the years. Hollis (1993) identifies that the middle passage begins when one is required to face issues that had been patched over, triggering the question of identity to come into play. In reference to our case in point, the middle age provides the seventy five year old Swiss, with the opportunity to reexamine his life and ask him who he is apart from his history and any possible roles he had played. The act of consciousness is central in the stages of life because, without it we may be run over by the complexities. The hero in each one of us is required to answer the call of individuation and hence the old man should turn away from the cacophony of the otherworld and be able to listen to his inner voice.

In addition, the stages of life have presented many individuals to be more resilient and happy than others as argued by Hollis (1993).What is important in positive ageing with regard to our case in point, is the sense of trust and the ability to accept his emotional life. Perhaps, his marriage was good at some point and thus it made him envision positive ageing at say 80 years old. In a recent study, it was found out that history, relationships, philosophies and hardships are the powerful forces behind the positive ageing (Rando, 2003). For example the seventy five year old man develops his perspective about life from his past experiences of the death of the first wife and the death of the second wife and somehow, this determines how he views life an aspect that greatly influences his ageing.

However, Weinman (2004) discusses that the old man can still learn what can make his old age vital and interesting. Irrespective of his multicultural perspectives in life and the bitter experiences of losing two wives and well as grief, the old man can explore the adult developmental tasks such as intimacy, identity and generativity so that he may be able to engage in a healthier satisfying and meaningful old age. According to research, health in old age is not a prediction of ancestral longevity or low cholesterol but more by factors such as a positive outlook, adaptive coping styles such as learning how o make lemonade out of the lemons of life and  on a serious note regular exercise (Vaillant, 2002).

The final stage of life in view of Vaillant (2002) is associated with the process identification with spiritual ascent. This is the stage of life with the ultimate process within the boundaries of the subtle dimensions of the being. For instance, after all that has happened to the life of the seventy five old man, following his being raised in Switzerland, his life, migration to America, retirement and service in both the military an as a teacher,  this stage of life him is characterized by profound spiritual as well as psychic experiences, ecstatic vision and mysticism. Marked by the transcendental consciousness, this stage is evidenced through the subjective dissociation from changes and phenomenon in the conditionally arising events in the world. As such, his loss of wife leaves him to associate his life with the casual dimensions of existence.

Grief and Loss of Wife
Although the death of a spouse may be an expected change in the life of an individual, it becomes a powerful loss of a loved one. This is because a spouse becomes more often than not, a part of the other in a unique way. The experiences and grief of many people, especially the seventy five year old man, can be described in the light of losing half of himself. It is evident that after a long marriage at his old age, the old man finds it very difficult in assimilating to begin a new. As a fact, Ambler (2007) argues that grief is normally heightened by the possibility of the apparent divisions of labor that were a fore. Therefore, dealing with grief and changes of life may mean an added responsibility to the old man hence he may contemplate social isolation, because of finding it difficult to adjust to a new identity.

According to Sigelman and Rider (2006) and with close connection to the mans case, his grief may be complicated or prolonged considering the fact that his first wife also succumbed to cancer hence, he is able to go passed the transient emotional and behavioral responses to loss. Further, Rando (2003) asserts that such form of grief may involve nightmare, problems of appetite as well as sleep disorders. It is difficult for him to integrate the circumstances of death or even the story of death and depending on his earlier degree of attachment with his wife, the unexpectedness and naturalness of death and others the level of his grief may be much more beyond our comprehension. Psychologists argue that in complicated grief, the bereaved will always act in denial of the fact a factor that make them to grieve the loss for years (Ambler, 2007).

Coping with Greif and Loss
With regard to the theories of adult development, there are more clinical approaches that can be engaged to help this old man cope with his grief and loss of his wife. To begin with, Rando (2003) underscores that while a significant loss like the old mans may be followed with all sorts of difficult and surprising emotions, such as shock, guilt and anger and while at sometime it may feel like the grief will never let up, accepting all the painful emotions as part of the grieving process is the right footing towards healing. As a result, it is advisable that the old man seeks support for grieving and bereavement such that he may go through it and express it in a more positive way for healing, which will eventually strengthen and enrich his life.

Moreover, the single most important factor for healing and dealing with the grief is looking for the support of other people. Even if it means that the old man is not comfortable talking about his loss and how he feels to people, sharing his loss will make his grief easier to handle and as Weinman (2004) puts Do not grieve alone because connecting with others will ultimately help you to heal. This kind of support may range from turning to his friends and families members, drawing comfort from his faith, joining a support group or most importantly, talking to a therapist or grief counselor. Ultimately, an experienced therapist will help the old man work through intense emotions and overcome obstacles to his grieving. Support group on the other hand will present a situation where the old man may shares his sorrow with others who have experienced similar losses which helps a great deal. Bereavement support groups can be accessed through the help of hospitals, hospices, funeral homes and counseling centers.

Conclusion
From the foregoing discussion, it is evident that as we grow older, we tend to slow down our productivity and contemplate our accomplishment in life. After retiring and migrating to the United States, the old man envisaged a life that was embedded with success but the death of his wife leaves him more dissatisfied with life and often developing despair that leads to depression. Through the stages of life and the psychological practices that focus on dealing with grief  among the adults, the final development task will be for the old man to develop feeling of integrity and  contentment if they choose and believe that he can lead a yet more happy and satisfying life.