Emotional states and old age: stories of women getting older, but exercising their body and soul

Abstract

The objective of this work is to reflect on the emotional states that surround the stage of old age and the aging processes from a sociocultural perspective, based on the narratives of women, by whose ages they are classified as older adults. The research used a qualitative methodology, resorting to the life story as a testimonial tool that allowed a direct approach, in this case, placed the women as central protagonists of their own lives, they are the ones who are part of the “staging” of each story, the analysis of these continued an interpretive orientation. The results of this exploration indicate that, in the relationship between emotions and culture, it is possible to distinguish that, women live old age emotionally in an ambivalent and contradictory way, the group of women studied holds an emotional tensor, which shows them with courage, acceptance and satisfaction, however, they have wonder, uncertainty and discouragement, traced by hope. It is concluded that, on the one hand, the women in this study are aging in company and they have found refuge in feeling part of a group, and on the other hand, tai chi represents a spiritual and physical care practice that emotionally stimulates them to accept aging with serenity.