You inevitably feel much older as you continue to advance in years. The truth is that, according to a 2009 Pew Research survey, many seniors feel that they are as many as 10 to 19 years younger, not older, than their chronological age.
Dementia is inevitable in your life. But dementia is only one of the many symptoms of the Alzheimer’s disease. If you do not have the disease, you may only have some senior moments, which are just your momentary memory lapses. Use it or lose it. If you use and exercise your brain on a regular basis, you will have fewer senior moments. Of course, if you do have the Alzheimer’s disease, then it is something else.
You can no longer exercise your body and mind as you continue to advance in years, reaching your 50s, 60s, and beyond. Nothing is further from the truth. It is never too late to exercise, despite your aches and pains. As a matter of fact, immobility only aggravates muscle weakness and inflexibility, and thus creating a vicious circle of inactivity and pain.
If you think you are too old to give up your nicotine, think again! Research studies have indicated that most seniors are able to give up their lifelong habit of smoking in their senior years.
You can never teach an old dog new tricks. Scientists have found that the cognitive reserve in the human brain enables learning new things in the latter half of life. Whether or not you wish to continue to empower your mind with new knowledge in your senior years is your personal choice, and it has little to do with your mind power or your age.
Women in senior years are more likely to develop depression than men do. According to National Women’s Health Resources, many women in their senior years become more adventurous and more ready to look for new opportunities in life than men do. It is also a myth that depression will impair an aging body and mind. The truth of the matter is that depression is only a treatable medical condition. So, do not stigmatize yourself!
Old people all think alike. But this is just an old way of thinking. Do you really think like your parents or grandparents did?
The Positive Facts about Aging
If you are over 65, you belong to the 10 percent of the U.S. population heading toward longevity. So, just continue to forge ahead with your healthy lifestyle to remain younger and healthier for longer!
Only 5 percent of individuals over 65 are confined to an institution for seniors. So, being healthier for longer assures you that you will not be one of them!
About 95 percent of individuals over 65 are still healthy without chronic health problems. If you are one of them, good for you! So, continue your healthy lifestyle!
Cognitive function does not decline dramatically with age. Many seniors are still capable of learning new skills and acquiring new information. In general, your ability to learn new things is affected not so much by your age as by your desire to learn them. So, keep up with your desire, and not just survive but thrive in this world of information and technology! This will keep you mentally fit and alert for longer.
Your physical strength is maintained from your biological maturity until around age 60. But physical strength and body mass are more related to diseases and health than to your number of years. So, continue to exercise to maintain your physical strength and muscles. Use it or lose it!
The bottom line: Western cultures perpetuate the perceptions and the negative stereotypes of the elderly. If you can believe in the positive facts about aging, as well as remove all the negative stereotypes and myths about aging, you are well on the way to the sunny side of your senior years.
Feeling about getting old is no more than a subjective perception of self. It is always the “glass is only half full or only half empty” attitude of looking at life. More specifically, it is how you view your own life “in the eyes of the beholder” who is you—just as author Oscar Wilde once said: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
If you have strong self-efficacy, which is your self-belief, you will retain control of your life at any age; you will feel capable and competent to seek any opportunity to improve your life. More importantly, you will overcome worry, which is self-disabling and self-destructive pessimism common in the elderly. According to a study by the Harvard School of Public Health, Americans are pessimistic about their health. To illustrate, according to the study, 40 percent of Americans believed they would get breast cancer at some point in their lives, but only 10 percent actually got the disease. A case in point, actress Angelina Jolie had her breasts removed out of her belief in the reality of becoming yet another breast cancer victim.
Stephen Lau
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