Myths About Growing Older
Most of us, at one time or another, has believed in a myth. Some myths are consequential – for instance, the big lie can become believable if it’s repeated often enough (see: countless examples on social media re: pandemics, stolen elections, et al.). Other myths are less significant (take the drink-eight-glasses-of-water-a-day myth. Please).
When it comes to getting older, a few persistent myths keep cropping up. Below are links to information about myths that many older Canadians still believe.
For instance: do you think your bones become fragile and your posture deteriorates as you age, or that age kills libido? Or that creativity diminishes? (Short answer to all of the above is ‘no’. Longer answer is more nuanced). How about this: depression, loneliness and dementia are part of the normal aging process. Or: aging makes you less adventurous and less open to new ideas.
Attitude goes a long way in perceiving how we feel (and how we feel is perception, ain’t it?). So, let’s get with the program and ditch the myths. Then live long and prosper.
Links:
Nine Common Misconceptions About Aging
Since we all seem to like lists, here’s something related, courtesy of that classic old stand-by, Readers Digest (still publishing!). It’s a list of fifty reasons you’ll age better than your parents. They range from the prosaic, like ‘greater awareness of environmental factors’, to the future-is-now, like ‘tissue engineering’. Not to be mythed. (Sorry, that was sort of awkward, wasn’t it?)