ABSTRACT
Discussion of suffering has a long history in human thought as well as within various academic disciplines of study. Research on suffering examines the causes, results, and manifestations of suffering under several orientations. The exploration provides a framework to show the range of contemporary research on suffering and leads the reader into how this book extends the extant literature concerning suffering in old age. In the medical model, suffering is generally connected to pain. According to the psychological view, human suffering has many and varied origins. Research on psychological suffering in older age acknowledges that symptoms of mental illness may be overlooked or dismissed as predictable incidents, both by family and professionals, in the aging process. The views of suffering named previously reveal the enormous breadth and depth of knowledge on human suffering. Research on suffering traverses the many domains of being human. This chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
