“Aging is not so bad when you consider the alternative. Stiff joints, weak muscles, loss of vision and fuzzy memory, combined with the modern world’s disdain for the elderly, seems like a frightening prospect. But, Humanity is wrong to fear old age“, He said years ago Maurice Chevaliera famous French interpreter of musical films of the 1920s and 1930s and an emblematic figure of 20th-century French culture, regarding the stigma that exists towards the passage of time.
Each person experiences what life is like in a different way. But thought happiness Follow a specific path. In general, according to many investigations, satisfaction with life tends to begin at a very high level and, with the passing of the years, decreases until it reaches, in mid-adulthood, one of its lowest peaks; Upon entering the third age, pleasant sensations such as joy and happiness come again.
This is the conclusion reached at Research from the University of Warwick, UK A cultural comparison of associations between quality of life and health status: the Whitehall II Study (UK) and the New York Western Health Study (USA). To reach this hypothesis, the scientists analyzed the lifestyle of more than 10,000 American and English citizens and studied variables such as: perception of general health, pain, state of well-being or mental health, and concluded that, despite the suffering -in most cases- a Physical deterioration, people feel unhappy as they get older.
The study shows that Levels of stress, anxiety, and anger dropped significantly as participants crossed the 50-year mark. In parallel, the Increase levels of happiness and enjoyment of life. However, in the letter, the specialists explained that the only feeling they detected that did not follow a linear and unpredictable pattern was sadness.
An interesting fact to note about research is that It involved people from two countries with different health and care systems for the elderly. Despite this, there were no differences in the responses or behaviors of the participants observed.
Dr Saverio Stranges, who led the study at Warwick Medical School, with Dr Kandala Ngyanga Pakoen, said in an interview with the British University: “It’s clear that people’s physical quality of life deteriorates as they get older, but The interesting thing is, the same thing doesn’t happen with his sanity; Instead of deteriorating, it increases.
We conclude that this This may be because older people have better coping skills or negative circumstances of life compared to youth.
Other studies have reached the same deductions. This is the case of a survey of 341,000 people conducted by the US National Academy of Sciences in 2010; When analyzing the responses of the participants, the academics agreed Enjoyment of life declines from the age of 30, reaches its worst at the age of 45, and only after this age does it rise again, reaching its highest point at 85.
“in the first place You need to start with It is not happiness: It is not joy, nor ecstasy, nor exaltation, nor is it emotion. Happiness is a background statewarned Dr. Daniel Lopez Rossetti in an interview with LA NACION.
specially , National Statistics Office (ONS) from the United Kingdom launched a investigation Similar to the one previously mentioned in which he concluded that the state of well-being throughout a person’s life can be represented as a ‘U’: There are peaks of happiness and contentment during childhood and youth and after the age of fifty; Conversely, the “worst years” occur in mid-adulthood and one is less happy.
“This study shows that When a person gets older, he is disappointed. Stressful situations appear, such as: being fired from work, being separated, going through a bad economic moment and other factors associated with prolonging the discomfort,” revealed Dr. Lopez-Rossetti.
In this way and according to the analysis of different institutions, Only after the age of 50 does “U” reach its second peak of happiness. What is this? As noted by Dr. Lopez Rossetti, People at this age begin to enjoy the results of everything they have done in the last 30 years of their lives Meanwhile, they still benefit – at least on a general level – from being in good physical and mental health to do so.
“Happiness not only makes people happy, it also makes them healthier,” he said in an interview. John WeinmanProfessor of Psychiatry at King’s College London and responsible practitioner Studying how stress levels affect the wound healing process for a group of volunteers. Dr. Weinman found it Less stressed participants’ wounds healed faster than those who were restless or anxious. In addition, Sheldon Cohen, a psychologist and director of the American Laboratory for the Study of Stress, Immunity and Disease, infected volunteers with cold and influenza viruses. To his surprise, Cohen found that those who were more satisfied with their lives were less likely to develop the disease, and if it did, They showed fewer symptoms of physical discomfort. Thus, it can be inferred that although elderly people tend to be less healthy than young people, a positive state of mind can help them counteract their decline.
In relation to the period of middle puberty in which the lowest states of mood appear, Jill Sheehyauthor best seller Transitions: Crises of Adulthood, highlights that around the age of 40, both men and women tend to fall into the crisis of aging, running out of time to achieve their goals, and questioning life choices. To this, the psychologist Gonzalo Odacola answers: “This stage of discomfort is expected in most people and you have to know it It is not a condition that leads to a mental disorder like depression or anxiety.” W He adds that if one realizes that an acquaintance is going through this process, it may be helpful to accompany him and help him find spaces that will provide him with tools for personal development. “It is the periods of expected change that for some can be seen as an opportunity,” he adds.
Finally, Dr. Lopez Rossetti confirmed that most adults today They are stressed for reasons far removed from their impending realityIncorrect situations, facts having to do with fiction/fantasy or problems that are smaller than thought. “You have to sit down and analyze it Separate fantasy from reality when judging a situation as stressfulHe finished.
