Fight the fear of ageing

BEING POSITIVE, MAINTAINING STRONG SOCIAL CONNECTIONS AND PRIORITISING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH CAN HELP YOU EMBRACE GETTING OLDER, AS CAMILLA FOSTER DISCOVERS

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IN A society that often idolises youth, ageing can trigger fears of losing relevance, beauty and vitality.

Highlighting this concern, recent research has found that nearly half (46%) of midlife respondents fear getting older, and almost two-thirds (64%) worry about whether they'll still be able to enjoy life as they age.

In addition, more than half (56%) of the 2,121 UK adults aged 50-65 who took part in the Age UK survey, which used Kantar online polling, expressed concerns about others, assuming they're less capable as they age.

Here, Age UK CEO Paul Farmer shares his insights into what drives these negative perceptions and offers advice on how we can shift our mindset and start to embrace ageing with confidence, curiosity and joy.

Why are so many people scared of ageing?

"It's understandable that people do fear ageing because as a society we've created this world where that sense of ageing is a bad thing," reflects Paul.

"The whole concept of ageism almost acts like a black cloud over a lot of people's experiences as they get older, because they feel as though the nature of people, of what you're doing, is a slow and inevitable decline.

"There's also prevalent concerns around issues like mental and physical health, finance, and isolation in later life."

What factors can exacerbate these negative perceptions about ageing?

"I think it's all about the way that society generally treats older people," says Paul.

"Our research found that more than 40% of people in midlife said their feelings about ageing were mostly negative, and people cited that this was due to things like the portrayal of older people in the media and what they have seen happen to other people.