My doctor called me 'An elderly Lady.'

grandMattie

growstuff

I had my first child when I was 37 and "elderly" in the context of other first time mothers.

I was 30 when I had my first and was "Elderly"

I was a spritely 28 when my hospital records described me as an elderly primagravid. ?. I was horrified.

80 is not the new 60 FFS!

I was called and elderly overweight lady who was very fit. Now I can just about accept elderly and fit but overweight, well I am 7lbs over my ideal weight.. I might also add this was said by my consultant who was huge, but not elderly.

What’s wrong with being called elderly? It’s a fact, not a passing comment. When the average age of death for a woman is around 83, of course you’re elderly at 73. We don’t live for ever!

This is an interesting thread. I'm 76 and struggling with/trying to understand my own feelings about ageing. Obviously I'm no longer young, or even middle-aged. Denial is very strong--when I'm told I look younger, I take it as a compliment. I want to pass under the ageing radar, as it were. But I think this resistance to what is a very natural fact of life is largely, in my opinion, due to the negative stereotypes of ageing in movies and TV. I recently binge-watched Sopranos on Netflix. Anthony's 76 year old mother was depicted as mentally and physically feeble, really for no other reason I could see other than the fact she'd reached her 70's and was old/elderly and therefore had pretty much reached her use-by date. As a friend put it, 'she was at the age where you're basically just waiting in the departure lounge. With this sort of attitude, how can active, fit, 70 plus individuals not take offence at being termed elderly?

I really hate being referred to this way as i'm not! Most days! Even worse is being told that something is due to my age when I see people older than me who don't have the same problem. Ageism is rife.

ellenvannin, i totally agree, 80 is the new 60!

Surely we dont need labels? I am 75 but consider myself still young! And I am! To hell with other people's labels and judgements.

I sympathise. Had a minor op when 67 and swear I was put on a geriatric ward ?

Venus, you become elderly when you have pins and a ticker instead of legs and a heart. And you "have a fall" instead of "falling over"

This pandemic is the first time I have been openly referred to as an "older adult"

If we are purely talking of age, I suppose we all have to admit that we are elderly - after all I shall be seventy this year and I suspect that most of you are either only slightly younger or around that yourselves.

Habit of mind is another kettle of fish. As far as that goes, I don't feel either elderly or old, or even middle-aged.

My body does not always agree with my mind about this, I may add.

None of us like being called elderly, or old, but I think we should try to be less vain about this. How else could we be described? And would we really be more flattered if someone came up with another word for our age-groups?

Could we turn things around in our minds, and regard elderly or old as a compliment on having got this far?

After all, it is sadly likely that we all have lost dear friends and relatives who were younger than we are now when they died. I know I have.

Urmstongran

I just suppose in medical terms, the reality is your heart, liver, kidneys are 70+ years old which is all your doctor is concerned about. Not whether you colour your hair or wear skinny jeans.
?

Brilliant! ?

I got my covid jab booking letter last week together with a leaflet headed A Guide for Older Adults. I’m just 60 and far more tech and science aware than many 20/40 year olds. The language was pretty patronising. What happened to 60 is the new 40??

It's a blooming cheek and disrespectful. I hope you pulled her up on that!

I quite like the word Senior which is what they use in USA. I like being a senior!

Nowadays I truly don’t care how I’m referred to - I’m nearer to 70 than 60, live in jeans and Doc Martens and feel young at heart but know that in terms of life span elderly is a fair description.
I’ve definitely mellowed since my younger days though as I was enraged when I was referred to as elderly when I had my first child at 28.

Humm yes, so the elderly will be soon asked to keep working until late sixties?

In my late 70s I don't mind being "elderly" but I was shocked and rather aggrieved a year ago to be labelled "elderly vulnerable". Then Waitrose told me that they had priority delivery slots for the elderly vulnerable and I happily embraced that category. More objectionable to me is being called "deaf". I have a hearing loss. My DH was affronted to be asked recently if he could manage the three steps down to the doctor's surgery. Mind you he does look quite old with his white hair...

My doctor shocked me when he said I was lucky to be alive at 68 !(having survived polio as a baby).

For teenagers someone who is in their 30s is middle aged and someone in their 50s is elderly!. Because life expectancy has risen about 20 plus years in the last 100 years or so I suppose someone in their 70s would not view themselves as elderly. If you have a facelift it takes 10 years off your face but normally people look.about their actual age! I am 55 but do view people in their 70s as elderly but I suppose it depends how healthy you are at that age.

My favourite term for the over 70's is 'chronologically enhanced'.

That said, at 46, I am starting to accept the fact that I am middle-aged. Middle age may be regarded as lasting until general retirement age (65-ish), but I'm afraid once you're over 70 you definitely are in "elderly" territory, whether you like that word or not.

My parents are gone, but my inlaws are in their 80s. They don't always see what everyone else sees. Fraility is definitely a thing.

I was 25 when I had my first baby and was classed as an elderly prim then. I was horrified.

I'm 54 and hate being called middle aged lol, when I start to get called elderly I'll probably blow my top.

When looking for a term to describe the demographic I was hoping would attend a luncheon club we were starting up as a church, I asked my friend. At 92, she was the oldest church member. She said “Young at heart”. It stuck and that’s whom we’ve always advertised it as being for. Sad that it’s been a year now since we held the last one.