Читать книгу The Power of Positive Aging - David Lereah - Страница 8

CHAPTER ONE

Why Positive Aging?

At 63 years old, I looked in the mirror and saw a thin and drawn face with a hopeless and almost vacant demeanor. I saw loose skin bundling below my chin. My self-worth was eroding by the day.

I was petrified about my life. I had survived stage 3 esophageal cancer and was now one of the walking wounded. The aftermath left me thirty pounds underweight, precariously living off a feeding tube, and incessantly coughing and gagging throughout the day. Further, my mind often felt foggy and was no longer the spry tool it once was. I was aging rapidly and didn’t know how to cope with my sudden physical and mental decline.

I realized that everything I had learned and done with my life was no longer a “fit” in my altered state of existence. Of course, my doctor’s solution was for me to see a psychiatrist. He believed I was deeply depressed about my post-surgery life, and thought I needed psychiatric therapy sessions to help me better cope with my new normal.

I ignored his diagnosis and prescription and took another route. I embarked on a journey of discovery and I found the power of positive aging. I came to understand that positive aging is a way of living life—a combination of developing certain mindset changes and physical and spiritual improvements—that I believe is a genuine solution to successful aging. It literally saved my life by helping me cope under the most trying conditions.

I’m convinced that the practice of positive aging is destined to enhance quality of life for everyone facing the marks of aging—whether it’s a serious life-threatening disease like cancer; or a disease that lowers quality of life like arthritis and diabetes; or a mark of physical decline like mobility and hearing loss; or a mark of mental decline like dementia.

But before we go knee deep into the practice of positive aging, let’s define what it means to achieve “successful aging” and how positive aging gets us there.

Successful Aging

Everyone wants to age successfully, but what is meant by “successful”? This question has been the subject of research for decades. However, the discussion over successful aging takes on greater importance today because the large baby boomer population is becoming senior citizens at a rapid pace and enjoying—along with everybody else—a significant improvement in life expectancy numbers.

Fortunately, doctors Elizabeth Phelan and Eric Larson conducted a review of over four decades of successful aging literature in order to present a consensus definition.⁴ Later, working with two colleagues, they expanded on the previous study.⁵ From the literature identified, they presented nine major elements of successful aging:

1. Life satisfaction

2. Longevity

3. Freedom from disability

4. Mastery/growth

5. Active engagement with life

6. High/independent functioning

7. Positive adaptation

8. Psychological health

9. The importance of interpersonal relationships

In summary, successful aging refers to a multidimensional involvement with life that is inclusive of physical, functional, psychological, and social health.

Based on my own experience, I would add a tenth element to the definition of successful aging:

10. Spiritual health

Positive Aging

While the literature is filled with different versions and meanings of positive aging, and while there is no set definition of positive aging across cultures and nations, there is universal agreement that growing older has a psychological impact on us. In general, positive aging covers our ability to maintain a positive attitude, stay in the present moment, feel confident about ourselves, keep fit and healthy, and engage fully in life.

That’s why I believe that positive aging embodies all ten of the elements of successful aging. When embraced with enthusiasm, positive aging becomes successful aging, and allows us to write a fulfilling final chapter to our lives.

As we age, the practice of positive aging helps us better control our ability to cope with physical and mental decline. It also provides us with the wherewithal to fight off the stereotypes of ageism that could erode our self-worth.

Simply stated, positive aging is adopting a positive mindset of aging as a natural way of life. Rather than viewing aging in a negative light as something to be endured, aging is viewed as a positive journey of transition. Positive aging encompasses the elements of psychological, spiritual, physical, and social support. And beyond practicing positivity and holding a positive mindset, it also includes all the other beneficial things someone does because they are in a positive frame of mind, such as exercise, healthy diet, social interaction, and so on.

So, as you will see throughout this book, I set out on a journey to cope with the horrors of my cancer battle, and on the way I discovered useful notions and techniques that introduced me to the practice of positive aging. You will see boxes labeled “My Journey” scattered in subsequent chapters to demonstrate how I applied positive aging practices to my encounter with cancer.

I’ve come to believe that positive aging is a belief system that helps individuals better cope with the inconveniences one experiences throughout the aging process. The system’s emphasis on an individual’s psychological and spiritual health, as well as on developing and maintaining meaningful interpersonal relationships, creates a powerful defense system against the inevitable slings and arrows that life throws at us as we age.

The positive aging movement—led by educators such as Jan Hively, Encore.org; Meg Newhouse, Life Planning Network; and Dorian Mintzer, Revolutionize Retirement.org—is growing rapidly, and there is no shortage of research on it. Literally hundreds of articles and studies have been written on the subject (see Appendix C: Information Sources for Practicing Positive Aging). For a thorough review of the literature on positive aging, including theories of positive aging and the principles and philosophies behind it, see Kori Miller’s article at Positive Psychology.com.⁶

Information about positive aging can also be found at places such as the Center for Positive Aging, in Atlanta, Georgia: Centerfor-PositiveAging.org. The Center exists to assist elders connect to the resources they need, and to educate consumers about the types of services available to assist in successful, positive aging. The Mather Institute is another organization focused on positive aging, sharing research, trends, and best practices (visit www.matherinstitute.com).

Another important goal of the positive aging movement is to counter and oppose the age-biased beliefs of ageism. One example is the article “Old Age Appreciated: The Positive Aging Movement,” by Ruth Mutzner, PhD (PioneerNetwork.net, September 19, 2017). Of course, there are numerous organizations speaking out against ageism, including the Administration of Aging, AARP, American Society on Aging, Gerontology Society of America, and the National Institute on Aging.

The Benefits of Positive Aging

There are obviously a number of major benefits of practicing positive aging, notably enhanced physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. More specifically, individuals practicing positive aging will also likely become:

➢ More proactive about health

➢ More resilient to illness, enjoying improved immunity

➢ Less stressed-out, reducing their likelihood of developing chronic diseases or disorders

➢ More in touch with their spirit

➢ Practitioners of a healthier lifestyle

➢ More energetic

And perhaps most important of all, they will experience greater happiness and joy.

All these benefits clearly suggest that the greatest gain of practicing positive aging is to improve your overall quality of life as you age. A positive aging mindset will help you better cope with the onslaught of the marks of aging that you will confront throughout your senior years. A positive aging journey will contribute enormously to your happiness, so you can enjoy a richer, more satisfying life in your senior years.

The Science of Positive Aging

Positive aging is strongly supported by the science of aging. Not only will positive aging help you better cope with the marks of aging and the transition to getting older, but from a biological perspective, positive aging may indeed enhance life expectancy and lessen the likelihood of disease and other ailments. Positive aging means that not only will you cope better with the marks of aging and improve the quality of your life, but you will likely live a longer, healthier life.

A 2019 study asserts that positive thinking (a key element of positive aging) can result in an 11 to 15 percent longer life span and a stronger likelihood of living to age 85 or older. This effect remained after other factors such as age, gender, income, depression, and health status were controlled.⁷

The study indicates that optimistic individuals tend to have a reduced risk of depression, heart disease, and other chronic diseases. But optimism also might be linked to exceptional longevity. Optimistic people might be more motivated to try to maintain good health habits and practices, such as maintaining a decent diet, engaging in regular exercise, and not smoking. And they are better at regulating stress. All these factors are positively correlated with longevity.

This revelation claims that stress-free positive aging attitudes will lengthen life and make it more joyful in your senior years. But there’s something biological behind the stress-free longevity claims, and it has to do with the telomeres and chromosomes in our DNA.

The 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine was awarded jointly to Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.⁸

Essentially, they were recognized for discovering the molecular nature of telomeres, the ends of chromosomes that serve as protective caps essential for preserving genetic information, and for co-discovering telomerase, an enzyme that maintains telomere ends. Their work allowed us to understand the critical role telomeres and telomerase play in how we age.

DNA is the genetic material that provides the blueprint for who we are. Telomeres are the caps at the end of each strand of DNA that protect our chromosomes, like the plastic tips at the end of shoelaces. Without those tips, shoelaces become frayed until they can no longer do their job—just as, without telomeres, DNA strands become damaged to such an extent that our cells can’t do their job. Telomeres get shorter each time a cell copies itself, but the important DNA stays intact. Eventually, telomeres get too short to do their job, causing our cells to age and stop functioning properly. Therefore, telomeres act as the aging clock in every cell.⁹

According to Blackburn, the enzyme telomerase adds bases to the ends of telomeres. In young cells, telomerase keeps telomeres from wearing down too much. But cells divide repeatedly during the course of our lives, and there is not enough telomerase to last forever, so the telomeres grow shorter and the cells age. Geneticist Richard Cawthon at the University of Utah found shorter telomeres are associated with shorter lives. Among people older than 60, those with shorter telomeres were three times more likely to die from heart disease and eight times more likely to die from infectious disease.¹⁰

Telomere length represents our biological age as opposed to our chronological age, and many of the behaviors associated with positive aging have the unintended effect of protecting and lengthening your telomeres. According to studies conducted by Blackburn and Epel, and Epel and Prather, there are a number of ways you can protect and lengthen your telomeres that are consistent with positive aging behavior.¹¹ These include: eating healthy foods, reducing stress, meditation, attitude, social interaction, and exercise. While it is clear that telomeres alone do not dictate life span, more interesting developments are sure to emerge on this fascinating front as an ever-increasing number of scientists continue to study telomeres and the benefits of stopping or possibly reversing the telomere shortening that happens as we age.

Final Thoughts

Why positive aging? The science supporting positive aging is tantalizing. The practice of positive aging is correlated to the length and health of our telomeres, which are directly related to aging. Positive aging likely lengthens life expectancy. Given the numerous benefits and life-changing effects of positive aging—which include enhanced physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, and an improved quality of life as you age—perhaps the more interesting question is, Why would anyone not practice positive aging?

So, now that the “Why” for practicing positive aging has been addressed, let’s turn to the “How.” What are the steps for practicing positive aging? My journey in battling cancer helped me stumble upon what I believe are the building blocks for practicing positive aging, which I will share with you throughout the rest of the book. Let’s begin!