Where do I find inspiration for my own old age?

Aging takes a lot of people by surprise because of how many changes occur in the human body. Things like hormones get out of whack, and your waistline can expand exponentially. You're certainly not a young buck anymore! Check out these tips on aging and ease into the process a little more smoothly.

Quitting smoking is one of the most important health tips at any age but as you get older, you are going to hear it more and more from doctors and friends. Smoking does not only lead to cancer, but it will also accelerate the aging process of your face. You will develop more lines around the eyes and mouth.

Osteoporosis is an unwelcome part of aging. It is the loss of bone density. There are many ways you can prevent or at least slow this down. One important tip is to limit or eliminate caffeine consumption. Caffeine causes the body to excrete calcium, the exact opposite of the effect you want!

Keep up with the latest styles. Although some of today's fashion is a bit off the wall, you are sure to find a piece or two that you will feel comfortable wearing. Just by adding a trendy top to your outfit, you are sure to feel and look good and the younger generations will notice.

To improve your skin while aging, stay away from foundation and powder makeup. When aging, your skin needs all the hydration it can get. Add easy-to-use cosmetics like mascara, eyeliner, and lip gloss into your anti-aging repertoire.

Keep up with the golden rule to treat others as you would like them to treat you. Even though many people think that many of the elderly are mean and grumpy, you do not have to be that way. Treat others with the respect and sensitivity that you would like them to treat you and you are sure to get the same in return.

One of the key tips to staying young is to be happy. The body reacts to stress and this stress causes physical damage. So in order to stay young and have a healthy body, your life should be filled with the things that you love and get rid of all the other stresses. Use exercising and meditation to keep young and learn to appreciate the good things in life.

If you want to have the feeling of being forever young, then you will want to maintain a healthy lifestyle and laugh. Laughing reduces stress and stress is not good for anyone, whether they are young or old. Laughter also helps circulation, lowers blood pressure, reduces negativity, improves respiration and encourages digestion. These are all good things, when living a healthy lifestyle, so laugh and laugh often!

A smooth transition into your senior years is what you're after here. There is no miracle cure that's going to instantly-stop the aging process, but these tips will help you to live a healthy lifestyle and to look and feel your best as you get on in years. And you can't ask for anything more than that.

Yes I can relate. I divorced young, no children,brother died last year and I am caregiver for mom with alzheimers totally alone. It's bad enough watching her everyday struggle,but at least she is not in pain. She is 88 and if she goes before me, I plan yo live what's left of my life ti fullest. What this alzheimer journey has made me realize how bad some people need help. I have prayed to god to help me and not let my mom suffer.its difficult with her and will be difficult without her.

To THEIR DAUGHTER: I don't know that I have an answer, but I definitely empathize with you. I am also 59, married, quit my job, husband has brain tumor and has needed me as his caregiver for 5 years. No children and no insurance except through husband's BCBS. His cognition, memory and word recall are awful. I've been up and down. Thankfully I have a good church family and many Christian friends who are involved in our life. I don't know what will become of us. We do have disability from his 26 years of teaching and Social Security disability. I am trying to bring in come money by making pottery, polymer clay jewelry, and other art. I have to have faith that God will take care of us as He knows whenever a sparrow falls. I read a lot of Chicken Soup for the Soul books on my Kindle, am on anxiety and depression meds. I may start buying lottery tickets. Somebody has to win those things. lol. Try to stay positive and know that there are more of us out here than you know. My 90 year old Mom is starting to fail so I might as well hang out a shingle! I try to find humor in as much as possible. I do little unexpected things for strangers and ask that they pay it forward. Makes me think less about my problems. Try it - feels good and makes you forget the awful things you and I are dealing with.

I love all the feedback on this topic. I'm not sure why it suddenly took off because I was 59 when I posted it and I'll be 62 this year!

I am doing better. My dad died in 2012 after developing shingles. It was horrible because he was in so much pain. Meanwhile, my husband and I had gotten my parents into assisted living and that's where my now 94-year old mom continues to live. At first, I put myself through a lot of stress, worrying about her (see, I worry about everything!) and trying to make sure that between my brothers and myself, she was getting to see somone several times a week.

I got my two brothers to take turns seeing her every Saturday, and for the most part, they have continued to do that. But I was putting pressure on myself to see her twice a week, along with doctor's appointments, making sure all her needs were being met, etc. I know that compared to having her live with us, this was and is a blessing, but for whatever reason, I was getting really worn out.

Since this winter has been so hard between snow and cold, it caused me to cut back on my visits and often I only see my mom once a week. To be honest, letting go to some extent has helped me a lot. My mom is less dependent on me and she seems to be happier, as well. The staff at her assisted living facility are wonderful and even my mom will tell me how much she likes it there.

And to be honest, not having to deal with both of my parents has made a huge difference. My husband and I built our home on my parents' farm, so we were neighbors for more than 10 years! I'm glad we were able to help them and a lot of good things came out of it, but talk about stress!!! Unfortunately, my dad never did understand that he shouldn't just drop in on us whenever he felt like it and even when I had to take the car away during his final illness, he managed to get a friend to bring him over! Meanwhile, my mom was just getting worse with her Alzheimer's because my dad didn't tell anyone what was going on and he also didn't know how to help her! Just writing this makes me realize why I ended up seeing a therapist! :-)

But, I do feel better, as I said. Even though the weather is keeping me in a lot right now, I'm still into drawing and painting. I discovered something called Zentangles that is a very relaxing, "meditative" form of doodling. I've worked on learning more about photography and how to use my camera. I use my treadmill or lift weights 6 times a week. I guess I was doing those things before, but for some reason, I'm enjoying everything more.

Thanks so much for all the great posts. I hope some people who are in their 80s and older will add to the conversation! But, nice to hear from everyone.

Yes, stay active, don't become a couch potatoe. Get a part time job. Go to Church. Find something you care very deeply about, and spend time doing it. For example, I love cats and birds, I spend time rescuing them all over the country. It's amazing how many people get pets and throw them outside to die because they don't want them anymore. As I'm writing this, I'm realizing that I'm actually writing this to myself as well, as a reminder for me! Fear is the work of the Evil One, I find great comfort in our Lord and Savior.

I meant "play WITH or feed the rest ..."

Keeping it on the "I," at 54 I'm trying my hardest to live life to the fullest. That way I don't think so much about how much time I have left. Toxic relatives have been kicked to the curb already, and "me" time has increased a lot. Have a home in South America to spend my old age in, and no one has to worry about burying my a__ or cremating the carcass. I'm going to be recycled now that the body has been donated to science. Re-use what they can and play or feed the rest to the birds.

My grandfather died of prostate cancer; so did my Dad. And they accomplished a lot during their short lives. I strive to do the same. Working out regularly, eating healthy, living well, and looking good are becoming more important as time goes by; but it's no insurance against what befell them.

In many ways, I am like them; and proud of it. If my life has to end the same way, bet your cookies I'll go down fighting. Just like they did. No regrets.

Well, the key is staying active, engaged, open to learn new things and have new experiences. My mom is the type2 someone mentioned earlier. I know I don't want to be that way nor have my children going thru what I'm going thru. SO I'm making sure I keep as active as possible, work as long as I can, and actively meet new people and be open to their help when the time comes.

I travel a lot and I'm inspired by the number of elders who are in their 80s and still traveling either alone or with a caregiver, etc. they may have a walker or cane or wheelchair but they are still out there smiling and living life with aches pains, etc. I applaud them. I met a guy at a convention who was still a consultant and 88 and traveled on his own. Still sharp as a tack. How about that woman in PARADE magazine who was 94 and competing in track and field events. I go to YMCA and see amazing seniors alone and in groups doing wonderfully. I have visited AL facilities and see a wide range of elders in various states. Some have lost their mental faculties but are still smiling, happy and living their lives.

I take heart that I can be inspired by these brave "live every moment to the fullest" elders and I can age gracefully just like them until my last breath.

If you don't think your anxiety is some kind of a spiritual issue (BTW that's my experience too, it just isn't a "lack of faith" or trust if a little bit more of one molecule or another fixes the whole thing...same thing with my migraines, it was very liberating to realize they were not just "stress" but a highly medically treatable condition, and to find the class of medication that actually worked was one of those OMG, I've got my life back! moments) then it can be biological or medical and maybe a little cognitive. Fear is an adaptive emotion that becomes maladaptive if the threshold for it is too low. Faith and trust can help in the process of overcoming it, as well as developing perspective either just from seeing life as it is over a long period of time (i.e. getting old, but thoughtfully) or a litlte cognitive behavior therapy (counseling). BUT, sometimes our hormones and neurotransmitters are just way out of whack for some reason, and the right medication can be a huge help. If you have a terrific family history of anxiety OCD and/or depression (past generations used to call it "nervous breakdown") or just been through a traumatic event, serotonin levels may be real depleted and a lowish dose of an SSRI may make all the difference in the world. Some of us ladies also need our estradiol level to be just right to not go out of our minds with worry.

But yeah, absolutely do anything you can to avoid living in a state of anxiety. The stress on you is enormous, and so is the burden on everyone else if you live confined by worry, and God knows some of our elders' worrying is absolutely the biggest factor in how much of a burden it is to care for them and help them. Be open to whatever avenues you need to take to reduce this problem in your life. You have a lot of strength to go on and be a good mom despite it, but life does not actually have to be that hard all the time. Wishing and praying for you, all the best on your journey to health and wholeness.

I'm 30 yrs old dealing with Anxiety, Depression, Panic Attacks, n Fear. My heart is with God but how do I deal with this. Especially raising 3 kids ages 6, 12, n 14

Their daughter, you write: "...Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who tends to worry about things in general!..." I would gently suggest that this is something that you can change, especially if you get some help to change it. I can suggest this, because I have sought and received much help over the years in order to change some self-defeating thought/behavior patterns and it was totally worth every bit of time/effort/money that I invested. Get to a face-to-face caregiver support group ASAP and/or see a good cognitive behavioral therapist. I predict that you will be glad you did. Blessings to you AND to your parents. G~

I really appreciate all the info on bone density. I'm always interested in that because, so far, the drugs are not impressive. And, AgelessDreamer, I loved what you had to say. I know there are elders out there who are inspirational, but sometimes it seems like all we hear about are the ones who aren't doing well. Of course, one of the reasons for this forum is to deal with that very thing! I love my parents (despite my complaining). They are loving, supportive, kind, etc., but they are so "out of it" also. I have to remember that they were never good at keeping up with trends or styles. My mom was always shy and withdrawn and my dad was always obnoxious and overbearing. Nothing has changed, but somehow, because they are needy, it seems worse. I'm not anything like my mom in that I'm very outgoing and make friends easily. I love clothes and keeping my home nice. I'm not like my dad in that I'm much more aware of other people's feelings. On the other hand, I believe I have my mom's good manners and ability to empathize. I have my dad's outgoing personality and drive to be active and interested in what's going on.

I'm artistic, love riding my horses and have a wonderful relationship with my husband. I have lots of nice friends and a few really good ones. I'm interested in current events, history and learning in general. But I also tend to worry a lot about the things I feel I cannot control. I realize there's no point in it, but it's difficult for me to control. So, as I approach 60 I worry about losing the things I love so much. I know it happens and it's part of life, but it seems to happen so quickly and I find it difficult to come to terms with it lately.

So, no matter where this topic leads, I'm just so grateful that people are interested. Thank you everyone.

Yesterday my husband and I hosted a birthday party for my 99 year old girlfriend and 19 family/friends. She's lives independently at home (alone) with bedroom on second floor and art studio in basement AND she still gives oil panting lessons to 5 students once a week. Inspiring to say the least. She says "attitude is everything" and we have to agree. Also, check out this article about another woman in town who made front page news last week when she turned 101. Maybe it's the water in our town :). own parents are 93 and 90. Dad had me take them to a store a few weeks ago so he could buy a new suit to wear to a New Year's Eve party this week. Mom's getting a pedicure and they'll both be all dolled up. I think, as the non profit organization Ageless Dreamer says: "An attitude worth having".

Here is a summary The mini trampoline will definitely increase your bone density although not as much as a high-quality acceleration training machine.

More Tips for Building Your Bones

Most of you reading this will not have regular access to acceleration training or a mini trampoline, but you can still keep your bones strong. The simple guidelines that follow can help you maintain, or increase, your bone strength safely and naturally and actually work synergistically with these types of exercise to optimize your bone density:

Increase your consumption of vegetables and eat based on your body's unique nutritional type. If you find it difficult to eat the recommended amount of vegetables you need daily, you can also try vegetable juicing.

Eating high quality, organic, biodynamic, locally grown food will naturally increase your bone density and decrease your risk of developing osteoporosis.
Avoid processed foods. If you eat a diet full of processed foods, it will produce biochemical and metabolic conditions in your body that will decrease your bone density, so avoiding processed foods is a first step in the right direction.
Consume a healthy balance between omega-6 and omega-3 fats, and especially reduce or eliminate the amount of processed vegetable oils such as corn, canola, safflower, and soy that you consume.
Most everyone needs to take a high quality, animal-based omega 3 fat. I recommend krill oil, as I believe it’s a superior source of omega 3’s.
Avoid gluten, a grain protein that has been shown to decrease bone density. Gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye, oats and spelt.
Avoid soda and sugar, which increase bone damage by depleting your bones of calcium.
Avoid steroids, especially if you have asthma or any other autoimmune disease. Steroids increase your risk for osteoporosis.
Consider supplementing with vitamin K2 if you are not getting enough from food alone. Vitamin K2 serves as the biological "glue" that helps plug the calcium into your bone matrix. The dose is about 185 mcg per day.

Fermented foods, such as natto, typically have the highest concentration of vitamin K found in the human diet and can provide several milligrams of vitamin K2 on a daily basis.
Optimize your vitamin D levels. Vitamin D builds your bone density by helping your body absorb calcium.
Exercise. Studies show that exercise is just as important to your bone health as eating a calcium-rich diet. Strength-building exercises like weight training are especially helpful here.
Consider natural progesterone, which can increase your bone strength. It does this by serving as a growth promoter for the osteoblasts (the cells that build bone). For more on progesterone, please review Complications Regarding Progesterone Cream.

there is a list of bone density articles
Probably worth a look through. There is so much information around these days it can be overwhelming. Gentle impact exercises over time seem to give good results. I have heard that Vit K is important too. You can not buy it in Canada but the herbal companies on line will ship it here.

Well, this took off in another direction! But, that's okay because I think taking care of ourselves is important no matter what age we are. Too many people don't.

I want to clarify that I'm not against doctors prescribing drugs, but I do often feel as though they do it too easily. And, another thing that bothers me is that drugs don't seem to be prescribed by weight. Shouldn't they be? I often cannot tolerate the dossage recommended for OTC and have had problems with some prescriptions.

I'm concerned also that certain drugs seem to become popular, LIKE bioidentical hormones, statins, Boniva, etc. I've been pushed into taking the bone density tests and, I'm sorry, I find myself thinking they bought the equipment and now they need to justify having it. So far, there doesn't seem to be a reliable drug for increasing bone density and I'm refusing to take anything, even though I'm small and am "heading towards osteoporosis" according to my doctor. I'm taking my calcium (although I've read that doesn't really help) and vitamin D. I use the treadmill for 40-45 minutes 6 times a week and twice a week I use a weight machine.

I'm not thrilled with any of my doctors and feel fortunate that I've had a couple of good ones in the past who made a big difference in my life. I imagine it's a lot of work keeping up with everything, but I sure wish I had more confidence in my current doctors all the same.

to add, I have a relatively "compliant" doctor and I have an ongoing requisition for thyroid testing -about every 2 months as my levels have been bouncing since my youngest son died 9 years ago. I went off statins and rebounded to the highest blood fats I have ever had in my life. They are down now. My BP was up after my son died (borderline high)- walking brought it down, my blood sugar was from the stress too - just borderline - and diet (restricted carb) works on that. I had chronic sinus infections for years and was prescribed antibiotics for years till it was resistant to most, and resulted in a massive candida infection which the average doctor does not know how to treat. I now rinse my sinuses with a 10% peroxide solution day and night and haven't needed an antibiotic for 2 years but am still fighting the candida imbalance. If the doctor had listened to me when I first had it, I think I would be better by now. I researched the dose of diflucan I needed and eventually convinced him and finally I am getting results not low grade fevers. You have to advocate for yourself and read, read, read!

"How about, which drug is best for whom?" AMEN to that, sister! There are still so many drug trials that include only healthy young men. There is info on adjusting thyroid dose for age, and I did have a good doc take care of reducing my dad's meds when it no longer made sense to be on some preventives. They MAY get to where they can predict statin side effects on muscle at least, the way they do a couple of cancer drugs, but that may not help someone like me who had cognitive effects..and it did not help my mom who doubled her dose and got rhabdomyolysis...long, sad story there. Some of my colleagues who probably have not had to take much medicine themselves, or they'd most likely have had a little personal experience continue to frustrate me by not ilstening to what their patients try to tell them and try to blame or scold the patient. My patients absolutely get told potential side effects, my overall experience with any given drug, whether to just quit, taper off, call me, or ride it out for a limited period if they experience anything untoward. I do NOT want anyone dying or even beign ill from a side effect on my watch, as it really is a horrendous problem as you stated...that generation in particular is very prone to just take whatever they are told to take without asking a single question or really knowing a thing about it, which IMHO is a potenitally deadly attitude or habit to have. Now I need to disclose that I'm a pediatrican and rehab doc, so none of my patients at work are elderly; I had to learn about that side of things as we went. Modern geriatric literature does include listings of meds that should generally be avoided, yet not everyone knows about this - too many of us never bother to stay even superfically up to date in each other's specialities, which is another big part of the problem. (Don't even get me started on artificial vs. bioidentical estrogens - if only we all knew what the transgender endocrinologists knew about them, the whole approach to menopause would be a lot different, too.) But sometimes I feel fearful that something I really need and toelrate could be on that list when I'm older and they won't let me continue! I'm putting a lot of stock in the field of personal genomics, that it can be leveraged to find out exactly what is and isn't safe and beneficial for each of us, and where any of us might have different results than the larger study population as a while. We are definitely not there yet.

vestefans....... which diet is best for WHOM? How about, which drug is best for whom? I wish that were the question that the pharma companies would use when trying to push their nasty drug therapies on EVERYONE especially the elderly when we all know that there are NO clinical trials to prove that those nasty drugs even work on the elderly. I hope you physicians are FULLY DISCLOSING these facts to your elderly patients. BTW, I just met a young professional who confirmed what I have been reading, that over 100,000 people DIE from taking their drugs as prescribed. Also, according to the LANDMARK Starfield Study, the medical system is the THIRD LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH behind cancer and heart disease. YIKES!!!! Probably way better to eat well as Joan says then to be drug dependent IMO.

According to some experts, in terms of weight reduction or maintenance, diet is about 80% and exercise 20% (on average), The schools should be advocating good diet way above exercise, IMO. However, exercise does, as you mention, have other very important benefits, and those include lowered risk of certain cancers. I agree you have to find out what suits you. I have to eat low carb - just how it is. My mother, at 99, can exist on little more than well chosen carbs, and stay healthy. Must take a look at NEJM again - brings back memories... Your $0.02 is worth more than that!

Lancet, huh? I'm a NEJM girl myself. I like Medscape and emedicine for reference articles, and yes, you are right on about nutrition. Exercise alone, with a bad diet, was not all that helpful to me, and I have some patients who truly cannot exercise for various reasons. Now, for me exercise is very essential to maintain muscle mass and mobility as well as boost my mood. A lot does depend on individual genetic makeup in terms of how much excercise and diet will or will not help you, and which diet and workout program is most likely to work - I am very convinced that attempts to find out "which diet is best?" are very misguided, as the question should be "which diet is best for whom?" Just my $0.02..

Merry Christmas to you too, vstefans. I am with you on the drugs and supplements. I had a horrible withdrawal from cetirizine (OTC antihistamine for those who do not know it), I will never touch it again, and my muscles don't like statins. Niacin does just fine and at my age my blood fats being a little high is not a risk factor. They were awesome when I was younger. I know of the studies where they found multivitamins not linked with improved mortality but that the opposite is true. Vit D is worth taking I think, and possibly calcium and magnesium if your diet is lacking in them. It seems the bottled omega 3s may not be much help either. Eat fish. I am allergic to dairy, but I make bone broth (boil bones for a couple of days with a little vinegar added) and then make soup. Home made food is best with as few processed food as possible. We have bought a meat grinder/sausage stuffer for the moose and deer meat we have. I have a masters in Human Physiology and a great interest in Nutrition. If I was to pick one lifestyle factor that needs attention in order to live a healthy life it would be nutrition. Exercise and stress management are important, as are adequate sleep and keeping mentally active and being socially connected, etc but I have come to believe that nutrition plays the most important role. Genetic make up is important but we cannot choose that ;). I am a rabid googler too. Do you get Lancet? Keeps me in touch. Sig other wonders that I am not up on world news. I tell him I am up on world health and new developments in medecine and that is more important. LOL
BTW - LT is 77 - even more amazing!
My faith is very important to me too and I know it helps my health - "do not worry..."
. and thank you for the reminder about the helmet. Sig other never wears one, but he has ridden for years and really knows how to read horses nonetheless he could be surprised. I am still in the process of getting comfortable around them and learning to read their body language.
Blessing to you too.
Joan

Hey Guys, a Happy Chistmas Eve/Last Day of Advent to all who celebrate it, and seriously - that web page is VERY nice, by which I mean very pretty, very clean and simple with good information and navigation, and it just got added to my Favorites list. LT, I know you said you were 71, but you are obviously the youngest person on here...and no one could better answer that question YES, there ARE ways to stay inspired as we age! Blessings to all!!

Hey, as one of those drug-pushing doctors, I'd just say that all prescription drugs are not all that bad - I don't like to think where I would be without a half dose of oxcarbamazepine at night to prevent hyperacusis from triggering migraines, or my sack full of triptans in case I get one anyways. And my mom - she would have been in a world more hurt and died much younger and worse off than she did without her SInemet and thyroid replacement...though I've got my doubts about a couple of the other things she was on. Side effects are very individual - I've had more than my share - and I've even managed to have some on OTCs and supplements. I would say to everyone be very careful and very choosy about what you put into your body and switch docs if yours just blanket discourages supplements and healthful eating, and does not listen to side effect concerns. Always suspect a side effect if something new develops within the first several weeks or maybe a little longer on a new pill of any sort; people really can harm themselves by not speaking up about it and just continuing to take something that makes them feel bad because its *supposed* to be good. It is also possible that as we age, some things we take may no longer be metabolized as well and may not agree with us anymore at all, or may require much lower dose. Finally, If you choose to take "a good multivitamin" because you don't think your diet has all that you need, be aware they have recently found there is apparently some increased health risk to that. A possible reason is that there are compounds in real whole foods that we don't know about (look up the PQQ saga) and/or the balance of isoforms in the food is better than what they can cheaply and easily put in a pill (e.g. tocopherols/VitaminE - just alpha by itself may be harmful, you also need gamma.) Read those labels!

Oh my dear. What a journey that is for you. One of my dearest friends struggles with that challenge. I have an email on the web page if you ever want to connect. I am off to bed now - family all coming over for dinner tomorrow.
Hugs and happiness to you. Lydia

I am in Canada too and mother is narcissistic with borderline personality disorder and not the warm type - nobody strokes her head! I have had few hugs from her in my whole life. And believe me she keeps herself going, or perhaps the disorder does. None theless she does do some things that are admirable/ Blessings back to you.

That is great. Give her a hug from me - in Canada. Maybe it will be her first Canadian hug. Make it long and sweet and stroke her head for me.
Such a nice daughter you are to be proud of her. That keeps her going.
Blessings,

Good for you for you Lydia!
to add to this my mother bought her first computer when she was 94 and learned to use it.. My daughter and I helped her with telephone tutorials or suggestions by email and she does OK. She said that the young people use computers now to communicate so that is why she does too. She keeps in touch with the extended family and is the only one left in her generation.

One more thing, I'm so bad at forums. I didn't realize I had so many nice responses. I want to give all of you guys a hug. Thank you for such thoughtful, funny and inspirational answers. I feel like I've gotten a very nice Christmas Gift!

Darn it, I wish there was a way to edit these things before posting. Correction: I am NOW completely off the drugs! I need to add that now they are trying to get me to take one of those drugs for bone density (that have all the side effects).