The A-Word: Aging

Yes, it's not lost on me that it’s mildly funny that my twenty-three-year-old self is writing about aging. But alas, here we are.

The word aging emits negative connotations so deeply ingrained that most of us meet its inescapability with sad resignation, fear, or perhaps even outrage. But did you know that aging trajectories are related to one’s outlook on aging? That’s right - your attitude on aging may actually impact the way in which you age. In fact, a longitudinal study published in 2018 demonstrated that a person’s stance on aging is a risk factor for eventual cognitive decline. What’s more, science is also supporting the notion that one's attitude on aging also impacts physical health. A study published back in 2002 found that those with a positive view on aging lived 7.5 years longer that those with grimmer lenses on aging!

We live in a society – perhaps even a country, (perhaps even a world?) – that by in large does not respect the elderly as it should. We worship youth and beauty, and we don’t give those who came before us nearly enough appreciation. Let us remember the virtues that we earn with time, such as increased knowledge, wisdom, and patience. A 2014 Yale study found that exposure to age-positive words leads to enhanced cognitive and physical performance among older adults.

While correlation doesn’t equate causation, it kind of makes sense that if one dreads getting older and anticipates impending doom before it strikes, aging may not treat this individual as kindly, sort of like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Don't you think? And beyond that, who is to say that biological aging must be such a bad thing, that we humans can’t ripen like a bottle of wine enriched by love, loss, and experience? Who is to say that we are not all ongoing projects, and that if we keep ourselves open enough, we won’t keep learning and growing? But I digress…