Age is but a Number

Even my grandchildren say “Grandma, I don’t want you to be old”, and that is coming from Danielle, my 6 year-old grand-daughter. The fear of aging crosses all ages, not only those who are above 50.

My advice is we should not spend so much time and effort worrying about growing old that we miss the day we are living. With the advancement of medical science, better and available knowledge on nutrition, availability of health check tests and screening, we can live better and live longer. In fact, the control is in our hands.

Worry

We are surrounded by so much fear of aging, that we take precautions that actually speed the aging process. For example, I have a few friends, who have just crossed 50, but they are already planning their lives like as though they are 80. They have cut down on the amount of exercise as they worry on the impact to their knees and they worry about falling as they are afraid of broken hip and bones, worry about osteoporosis. So, they got stuck with a sedentary lifestyle, watching television, chasing television series and taking supplements as recommended by their friends to help them to keep their bones strong.

This is all so sad. If you are in the same situation, equally worried and has decided by yourself to be “safe from harm’s way”, then take a different approach. Go see your physician for a bone density test and confirm before you take it easy else you will definitely be confined to that lazy chair for good. Keep in mind, the saying “you are as old as you feel”. So, do not act old. Check with the doctor on all the bone supplements you are taking as well, as some could render side effects that will make you age faster.

Help ourselves

Society, in general is not helping the Elderly person. For example, if an Elderly person took a fall, they would be showered with condescending comments such as “you should know better”, “you should know your age”, “why are you on the step stool” “don’t you know you are no longer 18?” The elderly would be advised to take a slower pace to cope with the disability, not to overcome it and get back to their former self as what a young person would be advised to. This is because Society has a set perception of the Elderly person, associating their age to frail and old, set a lower expectation on physical activity on them. Unless the Elderly person has serious physical problems, their bodies are able to prevent physical frailty and even revert it with vigorous strength training. Remember, Age is but a number. Our bodies are resilient and we should not lower our expectation on them and subject ourselves to reduced mobility. The result WILL be an aged and frail body.

Summary

Let us not act old, but act bold. No one knows our bodies better than we do. Do not let the social cultural perception of old Age drive us to age faster.