The Bear Counseling Collective
Abstract
Physical, emotional, and cognitive age-related changes are challenging processes for an individual to manage as they age. The aging population has higher rates of social isolation and feelings of loneliness (Haroutunian, 2016). While loneliness can be seen as an emotional experience, it also can be viewed as an age-related change. As individuals age, they will typically experience a decrease in relationships and social interaction. The experience of loneliness or isolation is a negative emotional experience which can affect a person’s ability to cope with stress and age-related changes, and to achieve developmental milestones. Through interviews with participants recovering from alcohol addiction, members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and with a mental health provider specializing in addictions, the need to participate in generative activities to support recovery and healthy aging was evident. This information is critical to understanding addiction and the aging populations and can provide insight for treatment opportunities. Generativity is a concept of Erik Erikson’s psychosocial model which shows that as an individual ages they become more concerned with contributing to others through the understanding of an individual’s experience. Generative activities are activities an individual engages toward their attainment of generativity through contribution to others and their community. Generative activities were compared to findings on loneliness and addition, employing successful aging and psychosocial developmental theories to gain a deeper understanding of their impact on aging individuals dealing with addiction.
Recommended Citation
Carpenter, Chalan
(2025)
"Loneliness and the Experience of Addiction and Recovery in Older Adults,"
The Bear Counseling Collective: Vol. 2, Article 2.
Available at:
https://digscholarship.unco.edu/bcc/vol2/iss1/2