Life After 85 years: An Embodiment Perspective

Brianne van Rhyn

doi:10.25918/thesis.254

The dual ontology of the human body is that it is both a biological object and the subjective vehicle with which we experience life. Little is known about the experience of the body after 85 years, and how bodily being at this later age influences lived experiences. Despite projections of significant population growth of people over 85 years, current research has failed to capture the embodied experiences of this group. In addition, current policies and practices fail to meet the needs of older adults. To address these knowledge gaps, this research was approached with three aims. The first two aims were to explore and describe the experience of (1) the lived body, and (2) lived space, lived time, and lived relationships, of twenty purposively selected participants over the age of 85. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and analysed interpretatively. An existential phenomenological methodology facilitated the exploration of the embodied experiences of older adults, as manifested in their everyday life and described in their own words. These phenomena were framed in the context of identity, sense-making, and meaningfulness. Findings indicated that (1) the body was experienced as compromising engagement in meaningful activity, independence, safety, vitality, dignity, and identity, and (2) ways of being, relationships, and one’s place in the world continued to evolve in later life. Participants coped with bodily changes of ageing through adaptation, humour, and acceptance, and viewed their unreliable body as distinct from themselves. Gerotranscendence theory best encapsulated actual lived experience. The older adult is complex, resilient, evolving, and deeply reflective. The third aim was to demonstrate how embodiment can be utilised as an instrument of (3a) research, and (3b) practice. The findings of the primary research demonstrated the rich knowledge gleaned from embodiment as a methodological instrument, and the application of embodied empathy as a practice instrument in a social work context is explored. This research addressed the current paucity of subjective accounts of embodied experiences in the group of people over 85 years, dislodging narrow or assumptive views, contributing greater understanding, and providing a more encompassing view of life after 85 years. It further provided new insights into how identity and meaning are influenced by corporeal ageing. This knowledge may help to inform sociocultural theory, practice in various fields, policy guiding care of older people, education, and future research, offering more balanced, positive options for all of us as we ourselves age.

Life After 85 years: An Embodiment Perspective

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Life After 85 years: An Embodiment Perspective

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