Concerning Aging

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To the Editor.— Our bodies age, but not our souls— We are always children inside. —a 73-year-old patient My older patients are distressed when they hear the word "senile" used in describing their diagnoses. In some instances patients are confronted with this description when they happen to see the term on their medical reports or insurance forms. Aging is a reality difficult to face. Dealing with a serious disease or condition at an advanced age is also difficult, especially if one is placed in a physically or economically dependent position. When one adds to these realities the characterization of senile, not surprisingly, the older person feels depressed. "Senile" must be recognized as a derogatory term. We usually attach to it negative implications of weakness, infirmity, helplessness, and deterioration. Often the word suggests mental incompetence or reversion to a second childhood, technically (and unfortunately) known as senile psychosis. I advocate that

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