Aging And "The Grey Zone": Between Competence and Incompetence
When Competence Is Neither Black Nor White
Anyone who has spent time around older adults, whether they be family members, friends or your clients, probably knows someone who seems “with it” sometimes and “not with it” at other times. They can change from making sense to not making sense in a matter of minutes or hours. Do you think of this person as competent? Do you overlook all the little “slips” and signs of their not being able to track the conversation? Do you treat the person as if everything were fine and normal? Here at AgingInvestor.com, we refer to the in-between state of mind as the grey zone. It describes a person in a way that is neither black nor white, neither completely without decision-making ability nor completely safe in decision making. It is a variable problem and one nearly all of us are going to witness sooner or later. Why?