GROWING PAINS

I don’t know about you, but as soon as I hit my sixties, I started to feel my age. I expected to slow down, have a few aches and pains, and gain some weight, but it just got worse. Arthritis, respiratory problems, knee problems, sciatica, stenosis, torn rotator cuffs, the list goes on. Why so early? I thought I had until I’d reached the great age of 80 before falling apart. Now my days revolve around doctor visits. I’m even on a first-name basis and birthday card terms with some of the office staff. When I get together with friends, instead of talking about dating or those hot movies on Netflix, we recite what ails us.

Like most people, I’ll wager, I’ve always thought aging is a linear, chronological process. But a Stanford University Medicine study published last year in Nature Aging upended all that. It found that our bodies get older in significant spurts in our mid-40s and early 60s due to what Stanford says is massive biomolecular shifts. The study found that during these two periods we experience rapid aging because our molecules and microorganisms significantly rise or fall in number around the ages of 44 and 60.

I went through the normal metabolic changes at 44: perimenopause, putting on weight, a decrease in estrogen and changes in eyesight. I lost muscle tone, and my skin was not as bright and clear as it had been.

But I wasn’t prepared for what would happen in my ‘60s. It’s not just that everything hurts and I can no longer do things I like to do that negatively affect me. It’s the stress and anxiety of it all. The whole thing has rendered me quite despondent, frankly, and I’m not liking it one bit.

So. What to do?

Stanford’s summary of its study says it may look like increasing exercise to protect your heart and maintain muscle mass is a good option, along with decreasing alcohol intake.

Allowing yourself to feel frustrated or angry about aging is also said to help in a counter-intuitive way. Looking for the small wonders in your life, like that first cup of coffee, can also be useful, as well as pursuing activities you love that fulfill you. I, as others, have had to reframe my expectations, too. We need to listen to and accept our bodies as they change without the nostalgia of looking back to a time when nothing seemed to bother us.

Live life with resilience as we meet the challenges that time brings.

As the saying goes, it’s better than the alternative.