Aging - Health and Wisdom

[Commander Troi]

Someone suggested this in another thread and I thought it could be an interesting discussion.

What are you doing to age in a healthy way? What has aging given you? Taken away from you?

Apparently, it's never too late to be healthier as we age:

13 Tips for Aging Gracefully with Exercise, Diet, and Wellness

Aging gracefully is about being healthy and happy more than keeping wrinkles at bay. Here are 13 tips to get you on the right track.

www.healthline.com

 

[Santaman]

First of all, gettining older sucks, there's no way to sugar coat it.

So what do I do to stay in shape/try and outrun the inevitable.
Fitness, two times a week fitness/powerlifting/bodybuilding and one time a week, if the weather plays nice an outdoor high intensity interval training style workout, at least walk 40 minutes a day, use the bicycle for most trips, I don't smoke, I sometimes take a little snifter of single malt when i don't forget it otherwise I don't drink.
Friendships, one of the most important things there are, I have a group of friends who also workout so we've got that in common besides that we're there for eachother, we don't use smartphones or social media unless they're used to sort out days where we workout/have b-days or BBQ's other than that nope.
For your mental wellbeing you NEED friends/family.
Get a hobby, learn stuff, keep learning stuff, mess with your garden, read books.
Watch your food, avoid sugar as much you can, get your proteine, get our fruits in for the fibers you need, extra vitamins are recommended, especially C, D and B12, do allow a cheat day here and there.

Getting old has given me the power to not give a damn about trivial stuff, it allowed me to see the power of the word "NO" and to take care of myself before others because you can't help anyone if you yourself are messed up.
No longer caring of what others think of me, my appearance etc.

Getting old messes up your damn eyesight, ye frigging gods, you need a 5 million lumen lamp when you do stuff like building a computer, mess with cars/motorcycles and so on, reading small print means you have to drop the document on the floor, use the 5 million lumen lamp and hope you can find your reading glasses.. I'm personally not just a litle away of needing reading glasses but damn!
Getting up in the mornimg has two settings.. "ow" and "AAAAAARGHH!!!" also you get workout related injuries much faster and they heal slower.
You learn slower and because you have a vast amount of stuff in your long term memory digging that up takes time which is annoying like hell.
Yes you'll become stubborn and a dinosaur because you can't be bothered/don't want to learn all those new and increasingly stupid gadgets the youth is pushing onto everyone.

DON'T DO DUMB SHIT. this goes for everything, if something feels dumb or you simply know it's stupid then don't do it!

So, my two cents..

 

[Sim]

I'm 44 now and my co-worker, just two days ago, said she would have estimated I'm 35 ... I felt flattered and told her so. My beard and the hair at my temples starts becoming grey. It's somewhat weird because I don't really feel more mature than in the late 20s or so.

But life has gone on, I am married and have three daughters now, the first about to be really a teenager ... so I guess age is something that just happens.

I guess that's just something to accept. I won't feel inclined to do anything differently, just because "I'm old" now. I try to be just who I am. If my teenage daughter asks me about anything, I will tell her to the best of my abilities. And if someone thinks my age gave me wisdom and asks me anything, I will tell them I am no wiser than before.

So... I guess my advice is, just be yourself. Nothing bad about getting older.

 

[Tim Walker]

I am 68 years old. How the aging process has so far unfolded for me:

This may be purely psychological-by your 30th birthday, the sense of being brand new and shiny starts to fade.

Approaching middle age. A few months before my 42nd birthday, my energy level vastly decreased. The drop in energy was too abrupt, too obvious to miss. Now, I don't have half the energy I once did. In the mean time, my physical appearance remained relatively youthful.

A few months before my 43rd birthday I suddenly started getting wrinkles and grey hairs. Announcing the end of youth.

An older acquaintance commented that the warranty for your body expires at your 50th birthday. For me, the first sign of this was planters foot.

My health was failing in early 2011. Not simply sick, but failing. I had surgery and chemo therapy for colon cancer. Fortunately, my body responded well to surgery.

Got arthritis in my knees a couple years later.

A few months before my 65th birthday, I got arthritis in my hands. Seemingly over night. I woke up early one morning, and immediately realized that something was wrong.

I am now on medication for arthritis pain, and for high blood pressure.

About a year ago-a few months after my 67th birthday-I noticed something odd about my arms. The skin was starting to have a papery appearance, like old peoples' skin. A bit later, I noticed that my throat now had a gaunt appearance.

Well, thats how aging has unfolded for me. There may be some variation. For example, my hearing is still okay, but my younger brother wears hearing aids.

I won't pretend, I won't lie-(physical) aging sucks!

(BTW, I started wearing glasses during childhood).

 

[Alexander Corrino]

I'll be 42 next month and people still ask for my ID sometimes when I want to buy 18+ video games. As long as they do that I can be rest assured that I at least still LOOK youthful.

As for the internal aging process tho... ugh. I've been on high blood pressure meds ever since I was about 15 years old so I'm used to that one, but I am noticing more back pain, more neck pain, more pain in my knees (I bought a second fluffy heating pad a few weeks ago, this is how things are going). And I get tired at 8PM, no matter how much I slept the night before. Bed time is bed time now, no way around it. As for fitness etc... I'm very bad at eating healthy things and/or working out, so I'm probably the worst person to ask about how to remain fit. I've never been fit tho so this isn't a thing that's happening now. I'm still just as exhausted as I was when I was 25 when I have to run to catch the bus... only now my knees also hurt, lol.

As for the mental aging process... I've always felt like 80 in my mind, so, no real big change there, haha. What really gets to me is when I realize HOW young the young ones are today. I recently almost threw my phone in frustration when I saw a 20 year old Animal Crossing Youtuber explain what a fax machine is "for those who don't know or have never seen one of those things". Send help. Or a rocking chair.

 

[Tim Walker]

As for family relationships:

You don't have much control about this when you are a kid. Of course, this tends to be when your grand parents start to pass away-your first big loss in life.

In adulthood I did little to reach out to relatives. A cousin, years ago, tried. She sent out these newsletter things, but I don't think that anybody reciprocated her efforts.

I aged into that time of life when your elderly parents, your elderly aunts and uncles, start to pass away. A couple years ago, I was contemplating this one day. I sensed a strange void, because before there was always at least one adult generation older than mine.

I am not much of a role model in terms of family relationships.

 

[Moviefan2k4]

Well, I'll be 45 this summer, and about 3 years ago my lower back gave out on me. I've lost about 50 pounds since, but the pain hasn't diminished too much. In fact, I can only stand still for about 2 minutes or less, until its necessary to either sit down or lean on something. I'm hopefully seeing a specialist soon, but the complexity of the medical establishment isn't making it easy. To quote one of our favorite physicians, "The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe."

Aside from my back, I'd say my overall health is fairly acceptable. I've had epilepsy since I was 14, but my meds control that so long as they're timed right. I was also born with a form of autism previously called Asperger's Syndrome, which makes me very different in terms of perception and relational matters. For the longest time, I thought of it as a curse, something inside of myself that I desperately wanted to get rid of. But now, I almost treasure my uniqueness, to the point I'm not sure I'd want to live another way.

 

[Qonundrum]

I'm middling-aged and have found that dancing to music isn't as easy as it used to be. From reading, that's true for everyone so one has to roll with it, or if nothing else roll on the floor and pretend one's dancing?

I used to look 10~15 years younger than my physical age, until about 4 years ago. Now I just about look my age, but it's inevitable. Part if that might be due to hairstyle, but I've had nothing but compliments since changing it to look like Mr Crew Cut instead of Studio 54 Hipster. And yet, I still think like I'm 30.

But if it helps, I'll never act my age, which is odd since most people who knew or know me often say I act like someone older than my age. Which I like to believe is a compliment, but I am only me.

I'd been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (back before it was folded into the ASD umbrella. Due to misdiagnoses prior to the Asperger's one, I was given book recommendations and medication for those that didn't fix any claimed problem, but that had me gaining 60 pounds. Have never been able to get rid of all of it, not even by posting flyers at stores, I've simply accepted it but still do as much I can to maintain weight if nothing better.

And now, I'm going to buy hair dye, some brillo pads, glue, cut and glue the brillo pads onto the receding area, and dye the gray areas brown and/or purple because everyone almost twice my age is doing it in an attempt to blend in with people 1/4th of theirs, and then I still won't pass as a 20 year-old and I wouldn't pass any metal detectors either...

 

[scotpens]

I'm 71 and have so many prescriptions that I need a written schedule to remind me what pills to take when. I have high blood pressure, hearing loss in one ear, tinnitus, sleep apnea, a prosthetic heart valve, a cardiac pacemaker, an enlarged prostate, slightly subpar kidney function, kidney stones, and mild neuropathy in my feet and lower legs. Oh, and the latest wrinkle is an adrenal adenoma, for which I'm having a diagnostic procedure next month to determine whether surgery is indicated.

In spite of all that, I actually feel pretty good most of the time. Mentally I feel like a 24-year-old. It certainly helps to have a good support network of caring friends and family, and to be sure I get enough sleep.

And I don't mind admitting that I dye my hair. Gray hair may make some men look distinguished; it just makes me look old.

. . . An older acquaintance commented that the warranty for your body expires at your 50th birthday. For me, the first sign of this was planters foot.

I've never heard of "planter's foot." Do you mean plantar fasciitis? "Plantar" means "on or pertaining to the soles of the feet."

. . . I get tired at 8PM, no matter how much I slept the night before. Bed time is bed time now, no way around it.

Tell me about it. I was always a night owl, but now I occasionally have to remind myself that I'm too old to keep Frank Sinatra hours.

 

[Unicron]

I find aging easier when I count by imaginary numbers (such as eleventeen) and when I can find a fountain of youth. And perhaps a robot body.

 

[Tim Walker]

I'm 71 and have so many prescriptions that I need a written schedule to remind me what pills to take when.



I've never heard of "planter's foot." Do you mean plantar fasciitis? "Plantar" means "on or pertaining to the soles of the feet."

Yes, exactly, plantars foot is another name for plantar fasciitis; I wear special insoles to keep this problem under control.

To keep track of my medications, I got one of those plastic containers that organize pills by day of the week, and AM/PM.

I think of my medications as chemical crutches, propping up a body that is gradually falling apart.

 

[Gryffindorian]

I look at the aging process in a compartmentalized way. I'm 50, and through the years I've always felt that I look older than my actual age but feel mentally younger. Perhaps immature is a more accurate term.

I'm single with no children. I've never been in a romantic relationship with anyone in my adult life. My social life has always revolved around a few close friends I've known at or from work. I've been very content about solitude, since I'm very close with family members.

Having said that, at times I've felt I'm missing out on life. I could be meeting new people outside of my social circle, going out more frequently, and having more fun. As an introvert, it hasn't bothered me much, but still, the possibility of meeting someone that I click with lingers. And I hear the older one gets, the more challenging it is to find a prospective partner.

As a diabetic, I've still managed to live a fairly healthy life, having kept active and in fairly good shape all these years. I'm not, not have I ever been, in optimal (supermodel) shape, like most younger men in their prime, though I've maintained a slender figure. Thus I don't, or at least haven't felt significant changes to my overall physical wellbeing. Aesthically speaking, let's just say I look in awe at my old (or younger) photos and wonder at the possibilities.

Financially, I'm doing okay and I get by, though I had some setbacks in my 30s. In recent years, I've been in better standing compared to 20± years ago.

I just think, the best is yet to come.

 

[HIjol]

Always be myself (mostly)
Find the Humor (sometimes to fault!)
Laugh at myself
Keep teaching little ones- keeps me young
Find the Humor (did I mention that?)

 

[Bynar0110]

Age is just a number. It's how you take care of yourself.

 

[Tim Walker]

Friendship is one of the best things in life.

But to have good friends you need to be a good friend. Friendship must be cultivated. Sharing the good times, yes. But also helping out, being there for a friend who is having difficulties.

Such as getting up early, to drive your friend to the hospital for (scheduled) surgery.

Listening without being judgmental when they need to get things off their chests.

With years of time you can build up a history between you and a friend. You may become so close as to form a Found Family, or Family of Choice.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Just to clarify, when I said immature, I was primarily thinking of my personality, behavioral patterns, and lifestyle, as in I feel like someone in their 30s despite being 50.

For instance, while my hobbies and interests have evolved over the years, there were times I reflected, "Maybe I'm too old to play video games, read comic books, listen to Taylor Swift, etc.," when in reality, there need not be any age restrictions to these things. I have an eclectic taste in music, ranging from Classical to Pop Rock, from Elvis and ABBA to Patsy Cline and Lady Gaga.

From a cognition standpoint, I'm pleased to say I've still got it. I sometimes forget or misplace things, but that's always been the case even when I was younger, and I attribute this to a short attention span or memory. I have been told I have a good nemory for remembing details and people from past events, and I have a good recollection of facts and trivia, which is handy for answering many clues on Jeopardy.

 

[Commander Troi]

In the last several years, I've been losing weight (including having a gastric bypass surgery last December), going to the gym, meditating, journaling, going to therapy, and taking appropriate medications. I also had a total knee replacement 2 years ago. I'm still really overweight, but I'm working on it and on general fitness. Since my bypass, I've been able to stop taking blood pressure medication. I also try to practice gratitude as much as possible. I have a small but tight circle of friends/family of choice.

I keep reading about women my age (57) who no longer care what others think of them. While I care less than I used to, I haven't quite gotten to the point where I don't care at all. Work in progress.

Aging has given me a certain amount of perspective. Learning I have anxiety in addition to depression has let me see why I react to things the way I do and has helped me pause more often before reacting. Watching my parents age and having several people I love die has really got it through my head that life is short and I'd better not waste it. I've been trying to have more fun and more new experiences.

I sometimes feel like I squandered my youth, but I'm trying to make up for it. Being no longer "young" and not yet "old" is a very strange spot. Internally, I still feel I'm in my 30s (sometimes younger). I kind of sleepwalked through my 40s, so I keep wondering where the time went. But I remind myself I could live another 30 years and I want to be as healthy as I can be over them. Menopause kicked my ass, but now that I'm past it, I actually feel better in some ways than I did in my 20s.

 

[HIjol]

In the last several years, I've been losing weight (including having a gastric bypass surgery last December), going to the gym, meditating, journaling, going to therapy, and taking appropriate medications. I also had a total knee replacement 2 years ago. I'm still really overweight, but I'm working on it and on general fitness. Since my bypass, I've been able to stop taking blood pressure medication. I also try to practice gratitude as much as possible. I have a small but tight circle of friends/family of choice.

I keep reading about women my age (57) who no longer care what others think of them. While I care less than I used to, I haven't quite gotten to the point where I don't care at all. Work in progress.

Aging has given me a certain amount of perspective. Learning I have anxiety in addition to depression has let me see why I react to things the way I do and has helped me pause more often before reacting. Watching my parents age and having several people I love die has really got it through my head that life is short and I'd better not waste it. I've been trying to have more fun and more new experiences.

I sometimes feel like I squandered my youth, but I'm trying to make up for it. Being no longer "young" and not yet "old" is a very strange spot. Internally, I still feel I'm in my 30s (sometimes younger). I kind of sleepwalked through my 40s, so I keep wondering where the time went. But I remind myself I could live another 30 years and I want to be as healthy as I can be over them. Menopause kicked my ass, but now that I'm past it, I actually feel better in some ways than I did in my 20s.

So many good parts and perspectives to this post, plus, maybe picking your brain, soon, regarding knee replacement; plus, bonus, ankle!!! Life is short, indeed, but it is what we have...I am hopeful for truly golden years for those of us who are at that "Golden" age...and for others, when they get there...

 

[Snowdrop82]

I am in my early 20s so I am probably a bit younger than others here but I have dealt with my fair share of issues, both mental and physical.

I ended up having one of my big toenails permanently removed and I need to have the other one removed. I had pretty major infections on one of them and a failed surgery on the other which has annoyed me greatly. I deal with the consequences of that failed surgery every day.

I also have a few hernias in my legs which make it difficult to walk sometimes but that would be a pretty major surgery to undertake but for the time being I can walk just fine but it feels rather strained sometimes.

Speaking of Wisdom, I recently had my Wisdom teeth removed and will be getting invisalign within the next few months to correct teeth issues.

In more mental aspects, I had gotten over a lot of the issues I had growing up - surrounding myself with toxic crappy people, bad friendships and the like. For years I was wading in toxicity but after many painful situations I've brought myself up out of it and now I am having a much more positive outlook on life.

 

[Commander Troi]

maybe picking your brain, soon, regarding knee replacement

Feel free! It's an interesting experience.