Causes of Aging – Another View
In an earlier post, there appears a general discussion about the Causes of Aging. From that entry, it should be apparent that there are many opinions, both scientific and psycological about why we age. One aspect of the process is fear of aging which is inculcated in us in our early years. The following article describes how that fear alone can accelerate aging. It's not only the physical process, but the thinking that goes with it that can determine how fast we age.
Understanding the Real Causes of Aging
By Elaine Sihera
For me, there are three main causes of ageing. First and most important is the brainwashing people have from society and the media around the ageing process. As soon as we are born, we soon learn about the negative things we can expect from being older, because of society's fear around ageing. There is nothing positive associated with ageing, so everyone is directly and indirectly taught to fear it mainly because of its connection with ill health, physical degeneration, compulsory retirement and exclusion from the wider society. Not surprisingly, people come to dread the ageing process and precipitate it in more negative ways through their attitude. I bet if we were told we would live forever when we are born we would have a different mindset about ageing!
Second, we age through our thoughts first and then our bodies follow. We cannot get a positive life from negative thinking, especially through our negative labels. We need to get rid of that old' label and think in youthful terms. A guy I spent some time talking to kept saying "You can't teach an old dog like me new tricks." Not only did he look older than his age but he acted it. Whatever he kept saying was becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy because he certainly had a closed mind. If you see yourself as old' and useless', your body will happily oblige. That is why some older people are extremely youthful and agile because they refuse to conform to age boxes.
Most of the illnesses we have are induced by the mind. A long time back we started fearing getting older, fearing certain illnesses, telling ourself that by a certain age some painful things are going to start happening. We focus on them constantly, dreading them daily, instead of on the positive things and the great health we are enjoying. Surprise, surprise! They all fall into place exactly as expected a few years later. Sadly, by that time, we would have forgotten that we brought them into being by our continuous focus upon them. The powerful mind is what dictates the quality of our life and when we use it to think negatively, negative events are all we are likely to get.
Third, we age through not using our brain and other faculties. Many people, especially when they retire, stop using their brains, memories, problem-solving faculties, they stop dreaming and aspiring, and live a completely sedentary fearful life. Of course the quality of their life deteriorates much quicker. If we don't use it we lose it and that is the biggest cause of both mental and physical ageing, the way we CHOOSE to live as we get older. We might age physically according to our natural years but it is our thoughts, expectations and activities that determine how much we really age in every other aspect.
ELAINE SIHERA (www.myspace.com/elaineone) is an expert author, public speaker, media contributor and lifestyle columnist. Confidenial advice on personal/relationship issues is available on http://www.kasamba.com/Ms-CYPRAH). The first Black graduate of the OU and a post-graduate of Cambridge University. Elaine is a Personal Empowerment, Relationships and Diversity Consultant. Author of: 10 Easy Steps to Growing Older Disgracefully; 10 Easy Steps to Finding Your Ideal Soulmate!; Money, Sex & Compromise and Managing the Diversity Maze, among others (available on http://www.amazon.co.uk as well as her personal website). Also the founder of the British Diversity Awards and the Windrush Men and Women of the Year Achievement Awards. She describes herself as, "Fit, Fabulous, Over-fifty and Ready to Fly!"
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