The happy elderly as a being-toward-death: a phenomenological research

Little research has been done on elderly adults from an optimistic perspective. What is it like to be a happy elderly person who is moving toward death? How can we approach their health promotion? This study aimed at exploring ways of being happy in older adults in Chile.

We used a phenomenological approach, using Martin Heidegger’s philosophical frame. Participants were chosen after applying the Lyubomirski scale – those who fell into the “happy” category were invited to a semi-structured interview.

We identified categories in happy elderly people; such as being autonomous, traveling, dancing, childcare, reading, pets, enjoy material goods. Thus, being able to understand the happy elderly person as being placed in the world without any choice other than accepting life and death as best as possible, with an optimistic regard about the past, an ability to reinvent themselves, and an awareness of being closer to death.

There is still not enough knowledge available about the psychological resources that promote a welfare state in old age in juxtaposition with the losses at this stage of life. Studies show that happiness levels in older adults are very good, albeit in a context of high concentration of emotional and material losses, and the imminence of death. Unlike the common standpoint that conceives older adults within a biomedical framework, we believe it is necessary to promote an ontological understanding of old age; that is to say an understanding beyond bodily conditions, which includes the meaning of life experiences, and happiness as a tool for active and healthy aging.