French intellectual Simone de Beauvoir wrote: "There is only one solution if old age is not to be an absurd parody of our former life, and that is to go on pursuing ends that give our existence a meaning -- devotion to individuals, to groups or to causes, social, political, intellectual or creative work."
To pursue those ends, the elderly seek to maintain good health.
The kind of health care we give our elderly, and the demands of that care, are a growing concern as the baby boomers begin to gray.
Dr. Richard Lefroy of Sir Gardiners Hospital in West Australia makes this comment about the field of psychiatry and its penchant for prescribing drugs:
"When all doctors are aware of the reactions of old people to drugs, specialists would [sic] be out of business."Reference
1. Psychiatry Victimizing the Elderly. Citizens Commission on Human Rights, 1995.
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