I went into psychiatry believing that mental health care should be preventive, thorough, and available across the whole lifespan. Every time an older adult gets dismissed, we lose the chance to give someone more good years with their family, more mornings that feel worth waking up for.

Aging is inevitable. Suffering without help is not. If someone you love, at any age, is struggling, treat it like the medical issue it is. Because it is one.

Erikson’s theory reminds us that development is lifelong. Growth does not stop after adolescence: identity can evolve, relationships can deepen, and meaning can expand.

For more than eight decades, the Harvard Study of Adult Development has followed individuals across their entire adult lives to understand what predicts happiness, health, and longevity. Across generations, social classes, and life circumstances, one factor stands out above all others: the quality of our relationships.