Stop Pathologizing Aging
Summer Greetings!
Thank you for allowing me to arrive here at the beginning of each month in your inbox. My intention is always to share thoughts that inspire, educate, or motivate in a meaningful way. Here's what's on my mind these days...
Aging is not an illness. Our bodies are machines; they are durable in different ways for every individual. Changes, seen and unseen, are happening all the time.
The cultural resistance to aging has resulted in a tendency to pathologize normal transitions, rendering them as signs that life is ‘over’.
Notice how your mood/mindset shifts when you reframe the narrative. I invite you to try these on for size:
Forgot something? “I have dementia.”
Reframe: “I've used up a lot of 'mental real estate' through the years. Sometimes it takes a minute for me to access information.”
Retiring? “My purpose is gone.”
Reframe: “What new opportunities will be revealed to me?”
Low libido? “Intimacy is over.”
Reframe: “Intimacy exists in many ways. What's possible in finding new ways of expressing tenderness with my partner?”
Relocating? “Bye-bye, independence.”
Reframe: “I love my house and thought I'd be here forever. I am supporting my long-term independence by living in a home environment that is better suited to my/my spouse's changing needs.”
Bodily aches and pains? “No more exercise for me.”
Reframe: “I've always been active. Now I'm learning new ways to move my body that are healthier and more supportive of my overall well-being.”
The human experience is distinct for each of us. Is disease real? Yes. Are diagnoses important in order to assess treatment strategies? Of course. Can we make ourselves nuts by ruminating on changes we observe in ourselves? Absolutely.
I am here to listen. I am immersed in conversations daily which inform me of the human condition.
Let's be present to our experience. Attempting to avoid change is a common human behavior. Yet, when we flex the mental muscle of openness to change, we open up a whole new set of possibilities.
I enjoy being in curiosity and wonderment of life's changes ~ please join me in trying it on for size.
As ever,
