Aging is one of those inevitabilities in life. No matter what you do, no matter how much you exercise, no matter how healthy your diet, you are going to get old. It’s can be a scary thing for people to look forward to. Once you reach a certain age you begin to think about how aging will change your life. Sadly, too often people only focus on the negative aspects. Our society has created a stigma against aging, making it out to be some terrible thing that befalls you, however, much of that is based on misconceptions. Let’s work towards ending the stigma and deconstruct some of the fake news surrounding aging.
You slow down.
It’s generally assumed that older people do far less than they did when they were younger. The list of activities the average senior does is presumed to be relatively short, sticking to reading, watching TV and maybe the occasional short walk. While some physical restrictions can sometimes come with aging, your sense of fun isn’t going to fade anytime soon. Older boomers have shown that they are keen to keep as active as ever in their later years, there is even signs that extreme sports are becoming extremely popular with the senior crowd. Doesn’t sound like slowing down to me.
You feel old.
You will start to notice aches. Your hearing might fade a little. Maybe you’ll need glasses. But for most older boomers, they might feel older, but never old. Through staying active, an continued interest in maintaining a career, and healthy living, seniors are keeping themselves you in body and mind. It’s said that we mentally perceive ourselves to be more than a decade younger than we actually are. While some might look at that as being a tad delusional, it really just reaffirms the old adage that age is nothing but a number. You can continue living your life as you did without letting your age dictate how you feel. Feeling old isn’t a guarantee.
You don’t try new things.
There’s another misconception related to how seniors go about their lives as they age. The popular thought is that the young are adventurous and the old are resistant to change. This is not only a falsehood, but in many cases that opposite can in fact be true. As seniors reach a certain age they tend to develop a more risk-taking attitude. They are keen to try new things, push themselves and experience more. whether it’s taking up a new activity, travelling to places they’ve never been before, or just having a general openness to try new things, seniors are certainly not going to be content with the same-old.
You stop taking care of yourself.
One of the biggest concerns about aging is how your health deteriorates. In some cases, yes, this is unavoidable. Injuries, conditions or ailments can cause your health to decline, but it doesn’t have to be that way for all seniors. A healthy lifestyle can mean you live in relative comfort while staying active for the rest of your days. The misconception is that when people start to get older, they begin to neglect their own health and need other to care for them. the truth is that many seniors are very health conscious. They diet, they get regular exercise and they visit their doctor regularly. Such behaviour allows them to continue living with the independence given to them be a good health.
You become isolated.
Another are that many people assume seniors begin to neglect is their relationships. They don’t go out to see friends, they stop making new friends and they even become less communicative with family members. In reality, this is quite far from the truth. It’s not an exaggeration to say that at this point in their lives, relationships are more important to them than ever. They are generally working less and they take advantage of the fact that they can spend more time with their loved ones.
You’re less happy.
There is the stereotypical view of old people as grumpy, crotchety and generally unhappy people. Age and happiness have no real correlation that I can see, other than possibly causing people to make the most of everyday they have. Seniors can often find a lot to be happy about in their golden years, and might even enjoy this time more than most periods in their life. Whatever the perception of their age group might be, they are not letting a little something like age spoil their fun.