Summary Discussion The Fear of Aging
Last week in the discussion We spoke about the fear of aging> I would like to add a little more to it of the 5 fears of aging and what they mean.
As we all begin to get older we are faced with some concerns for ourselves. I know personally I am going to be 60 soon and wonder do I have my life where it needs to be and to what means can I make to make sure my life ones are taken care of.
There are 5 main fear to people as we get old:
1. Losing independence - We fear as we grow older the need to ask family or friends for help because we can not do things like we did when we were younger. We may ask for help around the inside and outside of our homes because we can not bend or carry things we need to do in keeping our homes looking good.
We may ask in helping to take care of ourselves if we are living with our children because we grew to old to live alone. We may have a hard time cooking or just plain taking care of our hygiene.
2. Deteriorating health - As we begin to age we may be faced with medical bot mental and physical health problems. We may have a stroke enabling us not to function with daily activities. We may have a heart attack , cancer or alzeheimer disease.
3. Loneliness - When we live alone because our children grew old enough to leave home or lost a spouse to passing away we experience being sad to be alone. Our children may live in another star or country and seeing them like we did can cause loneliness.
4. Financial insecurities - As we age we begin to worry if we will have money to survive as the economy is changing, forcing more demand on rent, gas for vehicles, food increases and medication increases. We begin to wonder if our Social Security will be enough to make ends meet or will we have to take on part time jobs just to survive.
5. Death - not a topic I want to think about but it is a way of life and we need to make sure our finances are in place if we should leave it to others to take care of. Many begin to feel if there will be pain and suffering experienced when we do pass.
How can we deal with these fears mentioned above, we can keep a healthy intake of our lives. We can eat and exercise more to prolong a healthy life style. We begin to take hold of our emotional help speaking to family or friends maybe even seeing a therapist to help us cope with it.
We can get involved in community activities to keep our time going and not be lonely. Take courses on aging so we can be better prepared for the process.
What are some fears you may have and how can we support each other so we are not alone?
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Hi Pam, this is such an amazing discussion as I have been thinking about the aging process in the last couple of years. I am approaching 60 soon as I often think about my future, retirement, social security, my grandchildren, my health, and my job. So much is changing with social security as I often wonder what social security will look like in 6 years. I never thought about living with my child until my health opened my eyes. My child worries about me and my health. She wants to keep me near. At first my thoughts on this was no way. I like having my space, my peace, however, as I get older I don’t want to be alone and I want to spend as much time with my child and my grandchildren. So it’s not a bad idea to live with them. Also with the economy and everything else is going on it becomes a financial nightmare for many folks including myself. So we have been living together for almost two years and it has been wonderful as we split household expenses and it’s been great being around her and my grandkids. Our family has experienced the loss of family members within the last two years and it has not been easy for our household especially the grandchildren. I am very grateful to have my daughter and grandchildren with me. I am not in a position to save for retirement however I have a retirement plan with my employer and what little I will receive from social security when I do retire. Sometimes I often think of ways to retire at 65 however with social security laws and penalties of taking an early retirement which I will risk paying a huge penalty that will leave me with very little to live on. So that being said I must take care of myself mentally, emotionally and physically to work up to 65 years old. Hoping that I can do this without any additional health problems. I can’t see myself working up to the full retirement age of 72 just to receive my full social security benefits. My goal is to pay off any debts so when I do retire at 65 years old I will basically be debt free and to focus on enjoying my life and my grandchildren. I also missed not being able to do the things I like the most bending and moving around and doing things I enjoy doing. Having to ask for help was difficult as I have always been independent. But now I’m comfortable with asking and not feel embarrassed. It’s so many changes in this world that impacts us mentally and emotionally. I am looking forward to my retirement as I have ideas about improving my social skills, getting more involved with recreational activities, possibly taking some college courses, book clubs, I want to do as much as I can that bring me happiness and peace. I want to live my best life.
I had to increase my font size to make the text easier on my eyes 😊