On coming to terms with aging: any valuable resources?

[TopHatFox]

As I'm sure many of you are, I am interested by the aging process, such as with changes in appearance, experience, habits, wisdom, life stage, social groups, bodily vulnerability, mortality, sexual drive/partner changes, social expectations/norms, etc.

What are some books, documentaries, etc. that have helped you come to terms with aging and all its associated changes?

[Ego]

I like Ellen Langer's work. Counterclockwise. Also, a lot of good stuff comes out of Seligman's lab at Penn.

http://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/

[ThisDinosaur]

Not specific books or documentaries, but concepts of the role of aging in evolution have influenced how I think about it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmother_hypothesis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_ageing

Longer lifespans after the development of agriculture may have led to the rise of civilization. Individuals who live long enough to help raise their grandchildren will free their children up to be productive. Parenting is no longer a full time job, so time is available for farming, building, and tool making.

Getting older means being post-reproductive. So, there is a stronger biological incentive to cooperate with individuals in your family group rather than compete with them. Your lifetime of experience becomes useful for the group, so it isn't lost when you're gone. This might be a major reason for the success of our species; learning from our elders.

[OTCW]

Your elders, for a lack of a better word, should be a good resource. Get to know the kind of people you want to be and you'll see how to get that way.

[Dragline]

For making good choices that you'll probably be happy with later, read the book summarized in this article: https://live.washingtonpost.com/30-less ... iving.html

For learning about successful societies where people live a long time and age well, read "Blue Zones" by D. Buettner and/or check out that website.

For the effects of aging on various modern societies, read "Shock of Gray" by Fishman

For exercise as you get older, look to Mark Sisson at Mark's Daily Apple.

[BRUTE]

For learning about successful societies where people live a long time and age well, read "Blue Zones" by D. Buettner and/or check out that website.

brute will save Zalo some time:
- Zalo should not eat a standard American diet (even though the various Blue Zones feature vastly different diets, it's pretty clear processed food is not in any of them)
- Zalo should move around a lot every day, not necessarily as a workout, just as a lifestyle
- Zalo should have many friends and a big family and see them every day
- Zalo should have some kind of career/community/personal/ideological obligations

[EdithKeeler]

I just wonder what "coming to terms with aging" actually means.

Getting older is inevitable, if you're lucky enough to get to age--I've had friends I've lost young. Sure, there are health things to think about, eating a good diet, getting exercise, making sure you have good preventative care, etc. are important to help some of the issues of aging.

But..."coming to terms with aging" sounds like you're looking for ways to deal with it psychologically? I think of "coming to terms" with the aftermath of some terrible thing.... "Coming to terms with her husband's illness," "coming to terms with his cancer diagnosis..." I'll be 52 later this year, and I think this age is great--I feel better about my life at 52 than I did at 32 (which in retrospect is stupid--maybe I should come to terms with that...). FInancially I'm better off than I've ever been, I'm healthy, I have friends and a house and take vacations and learn new things... life generally looks pretty good. Sure, some of the slings and arrows of aging are ahead of me, but I feel equipped to deal with them. With a lot of life, you deal with it as it comes. YOu can plan for some things, but you can't plan for everything, and i think planning and worrying too much about the future and what might happen robs today of some of its joy.

Yep, my boobs are starting to sag, and they're gonna sag more. Yeah, I've got a little hitch in my knee that, along with family history, suggests a knee replacement is probably in my (hopefully distant) future. Same thing with my hip--arthritis is an issue in my family. But I figure that's an advantage of living in the times we do--great strides are being made daily in medical and technological areas, so maybe by the time I need one, they can just give me a shot of stem cells or something and my knee will fix itself.

Getting older is not so bad.

[7Wannabe5]

What EdithKeeler said. Being 51 is great! I have none of the decisions of youth to concern myself with, or the responsibilities of mid-life. It's like being 10, but nobody tells you that it is time for bed! ...,okay, that's not really true, but nobody can make you go to bed!...okay, that's not really true either, but...

...what were we talking about?

[Dragline]

What EdithKeeler said. Being 51 is great! I have none of the decisions of youth to concern myself with, or the responsibilities of mid-life. It's like being 10, but nobody tells you that it is time for bed! ...,okay, that's not really true, but nobody can make you go to bed!...okay, that's not really true either, but...

...what were we talking about?

+1 for the early 50s club. We rule. Or rock. Or something . . .

[enigmaT120]

52. I like the line from the Towns van Zandt song the Rake: "Time was like water, but I was the sea, and I never noticed it passing."