Importance of eriksons theory

Importance of eriksons theory

Introduction

Erikson’s theory is of great importance, highly regarded, and meaningful concept in life. It contains several lessons and challenges that assist different people experiencing harsh life situations to overcome them and grow. The theory helps to inform people, such people, why, it is also necessary for child development and adults as well. Erikson reiterated on specific encouraging words like “positive,” “negative,” to identify every first and second factor in each crisis. This paper will use such terms in identifying and finding solutions to an adolescent experiencing a developmental crisis. The eight stages, as provided by Erikson, convey a useful additional review. Experience with late-life is always seen as a period of an uncontrollable or stressful period. People of ages 60 years and above experience difficulties related to coping with chronic illness, loneliness, illness, and disability as well as their impending mortality. Older people report different numbers of life events based on their ages. The kinds of hassles or stresses they experience vary according to their age functions. According to Erikson’s psychosocial theory, older adulthood is characterized by challenges regarding both daily living and other significant transitions, which can be optimized through utilizing skills experienced earlier in life.

The Interview Summary

Based on Erikson’s psychosocial crisis stages, an interview was conducted on a 60 years old grandmother who was experiencing some stressful episodes and always appeared uncomfortable whenever she talked to anyone around. I learned of her behaviors when I checked on her sometime back, initially, I thought she had some health complications. However, that was not true until when I interviewed her and used the Erikson’s theory to establish the possible causes of her unusual behaviors and what could be applied or done to solve it. The approach has eight stages that offer insight towards the problems and the influence on people\development and personality. According to the old woman, the whole family had neglected her, and she had no one to talk to, she was bitterly responding to my questions explaining how lonely she felt, and her need for people around her. She has been experiencing stressful episodes since her husband, who is my grandfather, died two years ago. As much as she is trying to forget about him and live a life she wants, things dont work out well because she or talk to other people to forget about her late husband memories.

In older adulthood stage, lifecycle weaves back to itself, and the challenges experienced both in daily living and life translations can be settled using earlier skills learned with the previous life experiences. The learned skills allow the aged people to reapply wisdom learned and maintain the decision making autonomy instead of relinquishing tasks to others. The ultimate goal of using Erikson’s theory in this context/interview is to find a solution towards the last stage of developmental crisis, which is integrity v Despair that is connected to the 60 years old woman and to achieve wisdom.

In the final stage of Erikson’s theory, there is great information about the adulthood age 60 years and older. The kind of crisis portrayed in this last stage is integrity v despair. This stage starts when an individual experiences an aspect of mortality, and all people have to pass through the eight stages of development as they move through their lives. Many theories focus on childhood events, but Erikson’s looked at the development across the whole course of the lifespan. He is recognized as one of the first to explain the aging process as part of human development. The stages of psychosocial development are linked to a crisis which acts as a training point in development. Therefore, a better solution regarding the crisis leads to developing a psychological advantage, which significantly contributes to the overall psychosocial well being. Like other older adults, my grandmother looks at her life and reflects n the things she is happy with and those she regrets. However, how she intends to find a solution to such a crisis will establish whether she will be left with the feelings of despair or she will achieve her ego.

Possible solution

The most effective stage relative to this situation is the integrity v despair and disgust because they are told a lot about the later life. According to Erikson’s reasoning, the other developmental stages are always renewed in older adulthood; as a result, the mature forms of such psychological managements are linked to an overall sense of wisdom. This stage starts approximately at my grandmother’s age and ends at death. As a result, I intend to use Erikson’s concepts from his stated theories to provide care for her. According to Erikson, theory, before one gets older, he or she passes through eight different developmental stages, which helps them learn different things as they grow and change through life. As people advance from one stage to the other, they are faced with a crisis that strengthens them because it acts as a training point for development. When a crisis is successfully resolved, it leads to developing a psychological virtue which successfully contributes to the behavioral wellbeing of an individual. Focusing on the interview done on the 60 years old grandmother at the integrity despair stage, the primary conflict context is establishing whether she had led a meaningful or satisfying life. The older woman’s response from the interview portrayed how such people are always frustrated by life events like retirements, loss of a spouse, and lack of friends or people to talk to around them.

In order to help her solve the stressful episodes she was experiencing, it was necessary to use the interview responses and the Erikson’s concepts to enable her to look back at her past life with a sense of contentment and discourage her to get prepared for anything, avoid stress or face life with a sense of wisdom and no regrets. Intelligence is defined as the informed and detached concern with life itself despite the harsh experienced that people face. Completing this phase implies that one is looking back with few regrets and the feeling of satisfaction. As a result, encouraging the old woman who is experiencing the stressful episodes will help her retain the aspect of wisdom even when confronting unexpected life circumstances. She must try to be successful during this stage to avoid the feeling of loneliness or other related regrets.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development provides an insightful means of solving different issues or crises related to each of his eight developmental stages. Old people of ages 60 years and above experience crisis related to their past experiences. As a result, they must be guided according to help them meet their need for wisdom. This will help them effectively manage the stressful moments they experience. Despite such challenges, Erikson’s theory explains that when older adults experience declines in their physical health or cognitive abilities, their resulting sense of self managements might become autonomous, allowing other family members to care for them. As a result, their experiences must be renewed to allow for self task management.

References