Sudden ageing

My friend told me things go downhill quickly after you reach 75. Takes longer to do things you have always done easily (changing the duvet cover, carrying shopping, walking upstairs, remembering the names of people and things). I particularly noticed how younger people treated me, speaking louder, offering to help me and being extra kind which made me feel older. Didn’t help as a few friends my age still swim, play tennis or play golf. However one my age recently confessed she can only walk 9 miles in one go now. Saying nothing.....

It depends which part of me you are talking to. In my head I am about 26, able to run about and have many plans for things I want to do in my life when I have time and can afford to do so having lived abroad, plan to go to Ulan Bator and Macchu Picu. Unfortunately when I pass a mirror, I see a white haired,chunky , rather bent over (due to bad back) person. for some reason she seems to be walking rather slowly and its taking an effort to keep going. I am probably lucky to get to Scarborough!! But actually so long as I am clean and my hair and clothes are clean I dont worry about it . I can look very gaunt when I am in a lot of pain, but probably kid myself it is only the pain causing it not being old!! Dont forget looking old or being old is better than the alternative!!

I look in the mirror and see my mum looking back at me!! Fortunately , despite being 67, I still have thick dark brown hair ( the fact that it has a complete life of it's own is a different story. ( I know there should not be an apostrophe in its but try telling my tablet that!). Sadly my jowls have sagged to the level that I look like an aging, miserable blood hound. But sadly it is my DH who has suddenly started to look old. He is tall and slim. He has a mass of white hair , it started being grey in his late 20s, and looks like a mix of John Major and Arsene Wenger. But he has no muscle tone and his legs and bum have started to look scrawny and he has started to stoop slightly. He thinks he still looks good for his age, 69, and dressed for work he still looks great but his jeans look saggy. So sad. And I dread to think what I look like to others.

MissAdventure

I look as if I've bypassed the steps and slid down the bannister!

MissA ???

I look as if I've bypassed the steps and slid down the bannister!

I feel aging is rather like walking down a flight of steps with frequent landings rather than a smooth slope.

Germanshepherdsmum, we tend to look younger with some chubbiness in our cheeks.

But then, our bodies look better when we're thin.

My friend says we hit a 'certain age' - when we have to choose between our face and bum. Now, I'd choose my face every time, as far more people see it - but I can't put weight on.

She also says never be a jogger - they have very saggy faces!

SachaMac:

'I have been told I look younger'

Why do people keep saying that? When is anyone ever told they look older?

Zooms - get that screen as high (or a little higher) than your face. (Here, the laptop goes on a pile of books.) Next, be aware of your light source and direction - not just the background. It makes a world of difference!

Bereavement has aged me (the loss of my DH in the summer) I don't sleep well & I’m sure all the crying I have done these last few months has aged me around the eyes. I had let my hair go greyish with just a few highlights but 2 weeks ago after catching a glimpse of myself in a shop window and seeing not my mother but my grandma staring back at me I decided to get it coloured more my natural dark colour, it’s not as dark as I didn’t want it to look harsh. I have been told I look younger but I can’t say I feel any younger!! I agree with others weight gain and poor posture are very ageing so I suppose it’s important to work on this if you feel able. Ive had a card through offering me a free 7 day trial at the local gym, maybe I should give that a go.

Just stop cleaning mirrors - and buy lower wattage lightbulbs - works for me! (I've even moved the hall mirror away from the sunlight.)

Never felt old or looked it, but the last few years I’ve rapidly gone down hill. I have bags under my eyes, look pale and have developed wrinkles, that with my un dyed hair, now long plus I’ve been unwell for two years, it’s taken it’s toll over the pandemic, my support system dropped. I can never reverse tge process but have started a few new things where I hope I fit in and enjoy as cannot do old hobbies now. Age is just a number and they don’t bother me it’s about how you feel.

Gilmul thanks for that info regarding your experience of HRT

So sorry you have had more than your share of sorrow
.may the future be easier for you...xx

Howverydareyou.
You’re going in the right direction and spring’s almost here. Sending hugs ?

When I hit 60 in the august i didn’t feel any older, but in the November of the same year my daughter turned 30. That hit me like a brick & made feel really old.?

Travelsafar that’s horrific. I’m so sorry.

Regarding pain, my mum had her hip replaced when she was in her early 80’s. It was like she’d had a face lift, too, because the relief from the awful pain made her look ten years younger.

60 has been the watershed for me - I look (and sometimes feel) ‘old’. The reckoning with mortality plus beginnings of arthritis have piled in on me!

Growing old gracefully, can’t stop the clock ticking away.

Lulu16

My mother, now aged 95, used to say that every five years there was another milestone of the ageing process.
However I agree that possibly this may have been accelerated over the pandemic. People have had extra worries and stress is a major factor for illness and not feeling so good mentally.
I also think that we are almost
coming out of another difficult, long winter. I'm looking forward to casting off layers of clothing and just wearing a Summer dress in the sunshine!

I’m not looking forward to summer clothes unless I can get rid of the lockdown weight. Easier to hide under winter woollies.

When I was young older people told me they no longer looked in the mirror because they could not stand to see themselves aging.

I thought that was a bit extreme, I'm there now.

My mother, now aged 95, used to say that every five years there was another milestone of the ageing process.
However I agree that possibly this may have been accelerated over the pandemic. People have had extra worries and stress is a major factor for illness and not feeling so good mentally.
I also think that we are almost
coming out of another difficult, long winter. I'm looking forward to casting off layers of clothing and just wearing a Summer dress in the sunshine!

travelsafar So very sorry. ?

travelsafar

I feel i have aged too. Constant pain in my back and hip wears me out and it shows!!! Having covid myself and being in hospital in one ward waiting to hear that my DH who was in ICU had died, coming home to an empty house and self isolating for the then 10days, no human contact to comfort me, no proper funeral for him, the whole lockdown experience, being scared to go out when we could, yes it has put years on me. I could cry.

What an appalling time you have had. . You have my deepest sympathy x

So sorry travelsafar?.

Certainly agree ,past couple of years I've got really deep wrinkles and my hair has got thin on my crown ,it's quite depressing