Wednesday 27 July 2016

"You are as old as you feel"

Almost ten years back while collecting data for my PhD work I asked one of my participants about his ageing experiences and in response to my question he said "You are as old as you feel". This one liner response gave me a clear picture about his conceptualization of ageing. By saying this he was emphasizing on one's subjective health and the important role it plays in someone leading an healthy and positive life.

Same point has been emphasized in this article  (https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/out-the-ooze/201605/the-surprising-factor-can-predict-long-life) which shares details of a longitudinal study done on 6000 British individuals. An important finding of this research is that the most sensitive measure of longevity was the individual’s own subjective evaluation of how healthy he or she felt.

Being a psychologist and a gerontologist I strongly believe that one's positive perspective and outlook towards life has an important role to play in one leading a healthy and active life and also ageing gracefully. That is why one should try their best to think positive and at least create a positive psychological environment around them.

Same post has been shared on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/productiveageing