Page 2 | Saturday, April 20, 2019
ourmidland.com
Alter Attitudes About Aging & Embrace Your Age! By Trena Winans, Senior Services Education & Community Outreach Director Our culture seems to surround us constantly with anti-aging messages. I can’t even begin to count the number of products, programs and treatments I have seen trying to sell a new version of a youth elixir. Perhaps it is time to ask ourselves why we should want anything that tells us we are not ok as we are— today? Have you ever found yourself grumbling about the “old” driver in front of you? Despaired about an upcoming birth-day or a new wrinkle on your face? Look around, and you will see negative stereotypes about aging all around us, and if we are honest with ourselves, most of us can observe numerous negative thoughts and beliefs about age within ourselves as well. Ageism is arguably more prevalent and accepted than any other modern bias. The reality is that negative beliefs about aging have a very real impact on health, longevity, employment and quality of life, and it affects us all. Unless we are aspiring to die young, age will impact every person across all boundaries of race, color, nationality, creed and sexual orientation. The
and “decrepit.” Among them, 74% criticized older people, 37% suggested they should be banned from public activities and 27% infantilized them.
good news is that there is much more to celebrate about growing older than to despair of. What is needed is a change of perspective. What if Midland were to lead the way? What if we were to start with our own little corner of the world and show others how to embrace all the phases of our lives? The Scope of the Problem Next time you watch TV, make note of how many commercials advertise anti-aging products. Trusted personalities such as Oprah reinforce the message that we must fight age. When older adults are
featured in articles and stories it is usually for either surpassing the 100-year mark, or for taking part in “extreme” activities associated with the young. Must we all skydive when we are 90 to be seen as aging well? Perhaps some of the most disturbing stereotypes emerge in the relative anonymity of the internet. A recent study by researchers at Yale University found 84 publicly accessible non-commercial groups on FaceBook that came up in a search for 75 words including “old,” “aged,” “elderly,” “retired,” “experienced,” “senile”
Most of us can probably think of numerous times when we have heard, said, or thought about aging in a negative light. Some of it is couched as jokes: the “Over the Hill” birthday party themes, themed gift boxes in the shape of a coffin, or laughing at “senior moments.” Sometimes it is wistful: despairing about “feeling old,” searching for wrinkle remedies, or bemoaning changed physical capabilities. Other times, it may be couched as a compliment, but is really condescending or infantilizing— describing older adults as “cute,” marveling that they can “still” do certain things, or speaking with them as one would with a child. Negative beliefs about age begin in childhood and are reinforced throughout our lives. By the time we reach the peak 1/3 of our lives, most of us have internalized these attitudes deeply. We see examples of it all the time. Regardless of age, many people like to tell themselves
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