Challenges and Stigma of Aging

Aging is a universal phenomenon among all living beings. As each year passes, age accumulates in chronology. It is often said that wisdom comes with age. Life experiences of the elderly make them wiser than younger people. Usually, it is parents who take care of their little children. As time passes, parents grow older, and children become younger. Consequently, there is a reversal of dependence. The stage between childhood and old age characterises what is called the age of young persons. Children crave for increased age to become young, while older people desperately become older and older with age. The youth, whether employed or unemployed, who have completed their education or are pursuing it, are just married or looking for marriage, are healthy, and fashionable, form a vibrant segment of the population. At the same time, the aged face many problems and challenges that are unique to them. A host of societal mechanisms work to their disadvantage. The aged retire from active work life as part of workplace regulation or established custom. The concept of retirement that exists in many societies is a way of excluding older people from active life. Coinciding with it, their roles and responsibilities in the family change. Increasing age is prone to many health issues, both physical and mental. The aged are considered to be weak, unhealthy, incapable of work, with reduced mental capacities, and needing care and dependence. Family and social relations are redefined. Stigmatized and isolated, they harbour stress and experience abandonment. Due to all these, the aged tend to become slowly marginalised. This is an attempt to examine the problems of the aged with special reference to the challenges and stigma of old age.