Getting older changes your perceptions
By Fleur
@Fleura (30541)
United Kingdom
December 13, 2017 5:45am CST
I’ve really noticed this in the last couple of years – that the same things happen but now I worry about them in a different way to the way I did 25 years ago.
For example, if I get out of breath shovelling snow: 25 years ago I would have thought ‘Gosh I must be unfit, must do more exercise’; now I start to worry I’m developing heart failure.
If I struggle to lift a heavy sack: 25 years ago I would have thought ‘I wish I was stronger but I’m sure I’ll improve with practice’; now I start to worry that I’m losing strength with old age.
If I can’t remember what I was supposed to be doing next: 25 years ago I would have thought ‘Oh dear I wish I had a better memory’; now I worry I might be developing dementia.
If I spend the day hill-climbing and then find that my knees ache: 25 years ago I would have thought that was a natural consequence of the activity; now I start to worry I am getting arthritis.
It’s a depressing mindset and I wish I could shake it off!
Has anyone else noticed this change in attitude?
All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2017.
15 people like this
19 responses
@Morleyhunt (21744)
• Canada
13 Dec 17
My aha moment happened about ten years ago. As I slipped and slid along an icy uncleared sidewalk...I thought...some little old lady is going to fall and hurt herself....then thought....if I fell here....someone would say...an old lady just fell.
Not sure when it happened, but in that moment I realized I wasn't young any longer.
3 people like this
@TheHorse (220275)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 May 18
Heh. The same thing happened to me on a trail a couple of months ago. I did a face plant when my foot got caught under a root. I thought (and said to my hiking partner), "Sh*t! What if that happened to an older person!" Then I realized that to some, I might be seen as an old person.
1 person likes this
@kiran8 (15348)
• Mangalore, India
13 Dec 17
I too have noticed this change in my thinking and mindset . It makes you so helpless at times. I remember , how I jumped down from the sun roof just a few years ago and now I hesitate to do so from a stool or a chair . We just have to accept..
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
14 Dec 17
I creak and ache in places I didn't know I had places nowadays - I used to bound downstairs three steps at a time but now slowly and just one at a time
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
13 Dec 17
Amen to that. Whoever said "golden years" was full of it.
2 people like this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
6 Jan 18
I certainly have noticed this. What I notice most is my increasing feeling of vulnerability and impending mortality. I'm almost afraid to climb a step stool and do other things that could increase my chance of falling, when ten years ago it wouldn't even enter my mind that I might fall.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61101)
• United States
13 Dec 17
I agree that we do change our perspective about our limitations as we grow older and rightfully so in many cases. Not that getting forgetful has to mean dementia or worse but I think it is better to be thoughtful about the challenges that face us than to ignore them and pretend we are still 20 years old.
2 people like this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
13 Dec 17
Even 11 years ago when I was 55, I was kicking butt @Fleura . I worked for a rancher 6 days a week,10 hours a day and believe me it was hard labor and sometimes dangerous. When I think about then and now how physically serious I am, it makes me think WTH??????
2 people like this
@just4him (317238)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
14 Dec 17
@Fleura Maybe a little of both, out of practice and unable to because we're out of practice. I don't think I could ride a bike any longer, though they say some things are like riding a bike, maybe that also applies to getting old, some things are just left on the wayside and forgotten. 
1 person likes this
@everwonderwhy (7376)
•
30 May 18
I identify with you there. I have to brush off a lot of my self-demeaming thoughts. But my tendency to push myself to doing things to the finish to get good results often pays off. Feeling grateful that I still can do things-- but aching all over afterwards. Restful sleep is always sweet after a day's hard work. :-)
1 person likes this
@Fleura (30541)
• United Kingdom
30 May 18
@everwonderwhy I mean if I do something like climb a big hill and afterwards me legs ache, when I was younger I would have just thought that was the natural consequence of unusual activity but now I worry it is the first sign of some degenerative disease!
@everwonderwhy (7376)
•
30 May 18
@Fleura You mean, you want to do new things different from when your were younger?
1 person likes this
@misunderstood_zombie (8142)
• United States
13 Dec 17
Yes, I think of my age too much, and the consequences that could happen at any time. Mainly, I'm bewildered how I ever arrived here.
1 person likes this
