The first thing we will do, before entering fully into the analysis of the word old age, will be to determine its etymological origin. Investigating we discovered that it is found in Latin and more specifically in the word vetus, which can be translated as “old”.
Old age is the quality of the old (someone who is old or old and not new or recent). Old age refers to senescence or senile age. Although there is no exact age at which the onset of old age can be considered, it is customary to say that a person ages when they are over 70 years old. Old age is also linked to the social category known as third age. Members of this group are usually retired (ie no longer working and therefore not part of the economically active population) and, in many cases, have become grandparents.
October 1 is when the International Day of the Third Age is celebrated throughout the world, a state that has worried for centuries and provokes comments from the most lucid thinkers of each era. Thus, for example, we find the fact that the famous Greek philosopher Plato showed his uncertainty and “fear” of reaching this stage in one of his most important publications: “The Republic”. The low birth rate and the improvement in life expectancy in many countries have increased the elderly population group. The company, therefore, faces the challenge of continuing to offer opportunities to the elderly. Older adults, when they do not work, need the support of the State to enjoy a good quality of life. In underdeveloped nations, this support is precarious, so old age is often synonymous with misery. We must not forget that diseases and physical disorders such as osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s appear in old age. Often, they face a reality that they do not like, that oppresses them and affects them psychologically. And it is that when they reach old age, in the Third Age, they must face that they lose the role they played in society because they stop working, because they do not have the same physical and mental qualities that they had when they were young and that they can feel a little lost when it comes to dealing with that gift. For all this, it is necessary that you have access to a series of simple but very useful tips to face this new stage of life. Among the most important are the following: accept the changes of all kinds that happen, find activities in which you can interact with other people and feel useful, enjoy all those experiences that you always wanted to do, but never had. .. This means that the notion of old age is also used to name the diseases and attitudes of old age. For example: “I forgot where I kept my keys: it must be old age”, “Today my back hurts a lot and I can barely walk, but I’m not complaining… these are normal things of old age”.
