THE ELDERLY

THE ELDERLY

Worrying About Aging? Here is How and Why to Stop
Having a sense of anxiety, concern, appre-hension and perhaps all-out fear about aging is something that seems to be inherently human. In fact, when more than 39,000 people from 31 nations were asked to explain what they worried about most in relation to getting older, they were not short on words:


Americans´ top concerns about aging were loss of energy, trouble caring for themselves, memory loss, and weight gain


Germans worried about losing their memory and mental alertness


The Dutch worried about gaining weight

Thais were concerned about fading eyesight

While widespread concern about aging showed up in many countries, including Sweden, Spain and Japan, only the Egyptians reported relatively few concerns.

When asked why this group seemed to have a self-confidence, assurance and relative ease about aging that many other country´s populations lacked, researcher Michael Gusmano, a director of the World Cities Project of the International Longevity Center, suggested that perhaps they believe aging is inevitable, so why worry about it.

No Need to Worry

The idea that worrying is pointless is actually a great premise because the more you worry; the more likely you are to experience those things you fear. Worrying about aging holds in mind thoughts of wrinkles, losing your memory, weight gain and more, so that even before any of these things have happened, you´re feeling their effects.

In this case, if you "think old" you´ll likely go gray long before your time. But "think young" and you will truly stay young at heart, and in body.

In reality, by the time you are "old" you will probably not care if you have some wrinkles or if you´ve put on a few pounds. In fact, our brains are hardwired to become more emotionally stable, and more able to control fear, as we age, according to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience.


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