Depressed Over A Number

don't be depressed over turning 50 be thankful. i will be 67 in dec. & the onl;y thing that has slowed me down is my bad health. i still think young & like you can't believe i'm that old but i am thankful i'm still here. i like not to have been. so u have alot to be thankful for i'm sure. i just hope i live to see grandchildren grown. do u have any? i'm telling u they are wonderful. i hope you have a wonderful birthday and as my grandson says get out & shake that booty.

yeah i am thinking the same thing . i am 37 years old already. just seems yesterday i was about only 24. time flies. when i was 24, i said to myself. i will stop being serious on my plan in my life. cause i still have lots of time in my hands. and then days past to weeks. weeks to months. and months to years. and years to one decade. and i still have not back to my old plans of fulfilling my dream cause i keep on delaying it. and so i think that i have lost so much time in my life. and there is one video television series that i have watched here in the philippines. actually it was a korean television series dubbed in my local language which is tagalog. and i could see my self. and that was the plan i had for my life. that i was not able to fulfill. it was not one big grandeur in my life. but i lost it and was not able to fulfill it. and every time i watched it. i have this thought, if i could have made a right decision in my life back then when i was young i could have been living that dream till my old age. and maybe getting old would not be that scary. anyways, i think i have to accept so many things and disappointments in my life.

A few years ago, when I turned 50, I had the same apprehension as you about getting old. Somehow, when you are in your 40s, that didn't bother you but once that magical 50 is upon you, suddenly you start to feel old already. But I tell myself it is all in the mind. When I was a young lad, 50 and above was considered an old age. Life expectancy then was in the 60s or no more than the 70s, and people were retiring from their careers at 50 or 55. Life expectancy has since improved by leaps and bounds, and today, many people live till their 80s or older. Both my mother and mother-in-law are in their late 80s and are still very much alive. Nowadays, people say you are too young if you retire in your 50s. Being 53 now, physically I am that age, but mentally and inside me, I feel as young as when I was in my 30s or 40s. I am still doing most things I was doing 10 or 20 years ago. Nowadays, I am quite actively doing designing with graphic software on my computer, something I never did when I was younger in my 20s and 30s. When you think you are old and your mind starts to tell you so, you will develop an inclination to stop doing certain things you think only a person who is younger should be engaged in. If you start to do that, you will soon find you are growing older faster. Our official retirement age has gone up to 65, so hitting 50 these days is still considered young. However young or old you are, you never know till what age you will live to. Only God knows that and determines that for your life. People die at all ages, and even more people these days are dying younger, not due to old age, but due to accidents, sicknesses or their lives are taken away by someone else. So there's really no need to feel paranoid and start thinking hypothetically at what age you will live to, and start counting down the days left of your life and feeling nervousness about not being able to accomplish things you set out to do. That's a negative way of viewing life, and will only cause you unnecessary anxiety and depression. My life philosophy is to be thankful for each day that comes, and live it to the fullest ~ planning, doing and accomplishing all the things that I desire to do while I am still living and have my faculties to do them. Think positively and life can be lived happily, whatever your age.

I went through that last year when I turned 40. Age is just a number, you know? It's how you feel inside. If you are going to think that you are old, and act old, then you are old. I know plenty of 50 year olds who certainly do not look 50, nor do they act 50. And hey, 50 is the new 40. Plan a nice day for yourself on your birthday - have a massage and a pedicure at the spa. You can't change your past, but you can shape your future. You have a long life ahead of you, so enjoy it!

I guess turning 40 or 50 can sometimes really make us look back and asked these questions and feel anxious about the future but why don't you take things one day at a time. Our life is so uncertain that we simply can't afford to use the present to regret the things of the past. Our body may physically slow us down on the many things that you want to accomplish. But I'm pretty sure that the spirit and youth in you still burns like a wildfire. I'm turning 30 this coming april and one thing made me so confident about my future is because i have entrusted it to the Lord Jesus Christ. No matter what happens, whether im 29, or 30 or 40 if that day arrives, I shall be absent in the body but in the presence of the Lord.

Never seem to have a problem with age and birthdays. In my head I still think I feel about 19. This was certainly the case when, after being widowed for a while, I met and fell in love with a new friend. Life is all about living, learning and family. I have few true friends, but very good friends. We see each other rarely but they are often in my thought. The world is a beautiful place and there is lovely scenery every where. I do not mind very much where I am as long as the person I am with is special. We chat, play scrabble and take care of each other. What more can one wish for.

didn't u hear 50s is the new 30s lol! i think u should still do everything u wanted to do...people r living up to 100 now...my grand parents are in their 80s and because they took really great care of themselves they r probably healthier then me and i'm 27...just take care of urself and u'll live a really long life.

OMG!! I thought I was the only one that felt or thought like this. I'm going to be 44 and at times I think I only have 20 or so more years left! There is so much I want to do. My best friend is 10 years younger, most of the people that I associate with are younger. I don't feel old enough to think of my life as being 1/2 over with, well except when my back starts up! lol I just do my best to try not to think about it and somedays it works. I don't think that there is much we can do, although I do at times wonder if everyone thinks like this and they just don't say anything?

Well your a few months ahead of me. I just turned 49 in January. And as I put it to anyone that asks my age......I'm 49, feel 39, act 29. Age and/or birthdays have never bothered me. I guess because it's just a number, it's more how healthy you are, how active you are, and how young you feel. I'm expecting plenty of jokes and black balloons on my 50th......of course I did do that to my sister lol. So, you're turning 50! Happy early birthday, and many more to come. I hope I can be like my grandfather was, he learned how to surf when he was 70! Don't think I'll be learning how to surf, but..............ya never know!

There is nothing you can do about what has already passed but you can make the most from this day foward. I am 53 and though I am getting older I like who I am and will make the most of the days ahead. I plan to be around for a while and am going to enjoy it. I also feel young and that is a good thing.

"adjust to what I should be and I do not feel I even know what that is." What you should be is what you want to be. A number doesn't make you who you are. Your dreams and ambitions do. If you want to go sky diving at 80 and are capable of learning how, then that is what you should do. You said you felt 20 in your head. Sometimes I do too, but am thankful I'm not! I have grand children older than that, and in some ways I can relate to them and their view on the world and in some ways I can't. Keep learning, keep doing, whatever makes you feel fulfilled and happy. If you want to say "let somebody else do it so I can have leisure time", go for it, but if being active is what you want then that is what you should do.

I'm 53 and I felt I had done so much, as I was working eversince. I'd been working since I graduated from highschool, continuous my college being a working student. Even when I got married I'm still working the more I worked hard when I was widowed 12 yrs after. No time for me to have rest as being a single parent I have to support my children who were then on their primary education. After so many years of hardships got a chance to rest from work, when no one had to take care of my aging mom, until she was laid to rest. Thanks God my children are now fully grown ups and have quite stable job. I feel like on working again I feel am still young and capable of doing things I'd been doing before. My children however, wants me to stop working and instead stay at home with them. It's wonderful however being with the family and I have to admit I'm quite old and tired. Though am enjoying with my grand daughter still I do part time jobs. Though I've done my part in raising the children still I feel so many things to be accomplished like you I feel am running out of time too, so we have to make the most of it. Yes, we don't know until when do we live, I just hope, I made everything in the proper place when the time comes.

Be grateful that you still have the time to accomplish all you want to accomplish and don't regret the past. If it weren't for the things in your past you wouldn't be the person you are today. Enjoy life day by day and do anything and everything you can to make your life count! Have fun and love life!