Wisdom and Age: What's the Connection?

This video series is taking a short break while Dr Moffic is away. For now, enjoy the rerun of this video with updated commentary.

Last year’s video from May 1st was actually a rerun from 2023, so now about 2 years old. By now, we have time to look back on the focus on age and wisdom in our recent presidents of the United States.

We know that past president Biden dropped out near the end of the race to be replaced by Kamala Harris, who lost. Despite some public presentation concerns, there has not been any clear disclosure of his mental status of the time. Just recently, he appeared publicly for the first time since the new administration began.

Since Trump won the current presidency, there has been no discussion about age that I have seen, even though President Trump is only 2 years younger than past president Biden.

And wisdom? I guess that is in the mind of the beholder. Certainly, we are going through a drastic change in federal policies. Whether they turn out wise or not, time and resistance will tell. We do know, however, that mental disorders continue to rise, with a special concern for those that have suddenly lost their jobs.

Age and wisdom is inevitably a concern of anyone who reaches old age and continues to practice in medicine and psychiatry. We need more guidelines on now to assess the desired increase in wisdom with what could be lost mentally with aging.

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry. Previously, he received the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Association, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1991. He presented the third Rabbi Jeffrey B. Stiffman lecture at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis on Sunday, May 19, 2024. He is an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physician burnout, and xenophobia. He is now editing the final book in a 4-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Eastern Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.