WHY FEAR AGEING WHEN YOUR BIOLOGICAL AGE IS WHAT TRULY MATTERS
Focusing on your biological age is what truly matters (Source: Freepik)
"I don’t know the exact percentage, however, most people I've come across are uncomfortable with ageing," said neurologist Sudhir Kumar from Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad in a conversation with this journalist. According to Dr Kumar, multiple reasons make people uncomfortable with ageing including:
External appearance: People are not comfortable with greying hair. That is one reason why dyeing your hair is common. Men are uncomfortable with balding, and hence, multiple techniques, including hair transplantation have gained popularity. Another issue is wrinkling of the skin, and botox treatment to hide the wrinkles is not uncommon.
Diseases increase as one ages: Old age is also associated with multiple health issues. Conditions such as osteoarthritis of the knees cause knee pain and disability. The prevalence of heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and dementia also increases with ageing.
Financial insecurity: Most people stop working and earning at an older age. If the savings are inadequate and children are unsupportive, financial hardships can occur. Financial insecurity causes stress and is undesirable.
Loneliness: Old age is also one of the life phases where one may feel lonely. Children leave homes for higher studies and may settle elsewhere after they get married. If one of the spouses dies, loneliness gets worse. Older people may also have fewer friends.
Fear of death: Old age is the phase closest to death. Although death is universal (as common as birth), many are unprepared for it and are not ready to accept it. When they see or hear about any death in their age group, they get anxious about their health and feel scared that the next person could be them. Concurred Saurabh Bothra, CEO, of Habuild, and said that when it comes to ageing, the perspective towards death makes a world of difference.
As a society, we put too much emphasis on youth, feels Bothra which leads to fear-mongering. "Every other poster or advertisement is flooded with a youthful image, trying to sell us something that would make us look or feel younger. This can add up to the fear of getting older," described Bothra.
What to understand?
Surprisingly, not many people are aware that there’s a way to overcome this fear. It is as simple as understanding that the number of candles on our cake does not define how old we are. "One person can have two different ages – there's the chronological age, which is the number of years a person has lived since their birth, and there's the biological age, which reflects how well your body is doing," explained Bothra.
You might be 60 years old according to your birth certificate, but your body and mind might function more like a 40-year-old. On the flip side, someone could be 30 and young on paper but have a biological age closer to 60.
Do you shy away or are fearful of ageing? (Representative) (Source: Freepik)
So, focusing on your biological age is what truly matters, mentioned Bothra. "It’s about feeling strong internally and staying sharp mentally," said Bothra.
The good news is that we have the power to influence our biological age through a healthy lifestyle which can be described in two ways.
1) You need to keep your body healthy with a balanced diet rich in nutrients, regular exercise, and avoiding harmful habits like smoking and drinking. But physical health is not enough - you need to keep your brain healthy and active too!
Keep learning new things: When you learn something new, it's like your brain is getting a workout. "Think of our brain like a muscle—it gets stronger with exercise! Learning and new experiences create new neural connections in your brain. What's amazing is that our brain can keep doing this throughout our whole life. It can change and rewire itself as you learn and experience new things," expressed Bothra.
2) Another fantastic tool to transform this fear and mindset is meditation. "When you meditate, you're like a pro at letting go of those future worries and staying firmly rooted in the here and now. It's like a one-way ticket to a peaceful and accepting state of mind. This can help dial down the stress we often feel about getting older. Once you eliminate stress - you will look and feel younger than ever," said Bothra.
What can be done to make ageing acceptable?
Dr Kumar listed down the following pointers
1. People should plan for life post-retirement. If one keeps busy, negativity can be kept away. One can take up a part-time job or choose a social cause of their interest and work for it.
2. It is also useful to have a circle of friends of similar age, to share and enjoy common interests.
3. Financial planning is important to build an adequate corpus that should be sufficient for needs in older age.
4. Good nutrition and exercise are keys to a healthy body. If one starts to focus on these aspects early, at least in the 40s, many health problems of older age can be prevented. Adequate health insurance is also vital.
5. Counselling sessions are needed to make people understand and accept the various phases of life. "It should be emphasised that death is inevitable (for every living thing)," said Dr Kumar.
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2023-11-04T08:38:43Z dg43tfdfdgfd