“Finally, I’m turning gray!” and other pleasant aging changes

It seems that youth gives undeniable advantages over maturity. Wonderful skin (if teenage acne has already passed), a clear look, a figure without any diets, plenty of energy to walk half the night, and then go to work and after – to university. The strength to give to your loved one many times a day, and also to run, swim, play volleyball – and preferably at the same time. Drink and not get hangovers.

Yes, it’s all true. But let’s look at signs of age differently. Perhaps much has been given to us as a reward, not as a punishment, and adulthood can be a wonderful time for us.

1. Hair

Margarita, 57 years old: “I have been a brunette all my life, at the age of 25 I started going gray and began to dye my hair black. And at the beginning of quarantine, she shaved almost baldly with a typewriter. My hair grows quickly, very soon I became the owner of white hair and only then I realized that I can dye my hair in any color, which I always dreamed of in my youth, but could not. Black is not particularly paintable.

Gray hair does not necessarily add years to you. Today it is a trend – gray hair, or gray hair with a hint of pink. You can leave your natural color or soften it with tint paint. Or even try on green or blue. The main thing is not to be afraid. And gray hair is thicker than dyed and even natural. Have you always wanted thick hair? So enjoy. Finally you have it.

2. Vision

Inna, 64 years old: “I suffered from myopia and wore glasses with strong diopters. And I could not believe that with age I could change them for weaker ones or remove them altogether. Not that I was embarrassed by glasses, but without them I am much more comfortable.

It happens that with age, vision is corrected, myopia is compensated by farsightedness, and a person for the first time in his life can do without glasses. True, this also means that in a few years you will need “plus” lenses. And yet you can enjoy the moment.

And one more thing – if you just like glasses, but in your youth you always saw well, there is a reason to finally start wearing them. Now you can get some fashionable ones in expensive frames.

3. Movement

Irina, 59 years old: “At the age of 24, I decided to do yoga, but it seemed to me that it was terribly boring. Now I can’t move as fast as I did then – my joints hurt. Step latina is no longer for me, like many other things. But I can slow down, do yoga, meditate. I have a legitimate reason not to rush anywhere else.”

Age naturally slows down our movements, and this can benefit our mind and body. We learn to return to it, to feel again. We comprehend what once in the bustle we simply did not have enough time – awareness.

4. Epilation

Veronica, 60: “I have always had a lot of body hair. Did epilation, shaved every other day. The hair is black and very visible. But with age, I found that they become rarer and thinner. As a result, now there is almost no hair on the arms or legs. Incredible joy.”

Epilation is an expensive and tedious task. If you don’t go to salons, you probably wax or shave them. Imagine how great it is to realize over time that the hair has become smaller or completely gone.

5. Stomach and more

Maria, 54 years old: “I love fast food, especially I never limited myself to sausages, sausages, fatty and fried foods. But recently, doctors forbade me to eat my favorite foods in the amount in which I ate before. And now I practice healthy eating.”

Problems with the gastrointestinal tract force us to give up our favorite but harmful foods. After all, the diagnosis of a doctor psychologically leaves us no choice: either abstain or get sick. We can discover that there are, for example, avocados, spinach, celery in the world, and that they are delicious.

And also, when we finally allow ourselves some unhealthy fried potatoes or a piece of sausage, we experience real happiness, because the forbidden fruit is actually sweet.

6. Estrogen – the extension of youth

Lyudmila, 55 years old: “All my life I wanted to have a flat stomach, even cubes. And then I found out that, it turns out, a certain amount of belly fat is even useful – it helps to stay young longer.

The lack of the hormone estrogen is accompanied by a wide variety of disorders: from accelerated “withering” of the skin, deterioration of hair and nails, poor sleep, irritability, decreased mental performance and concentration, to increased fragility of bones, cardiovascular disorders, changes in body weight.

A certain proportion of female hormones is produced in the subcutaneous fatty tissue, including estrogen, so a small tummy helps to push back hormonal aging. However, it is worth considering that excess body weight can, on the contrary, reduce the level of these hormones.

7. Asking for help

Alexandra, 69 years old: “I used to be ashamed to ask for help – after all, I could do everything myself, I coped with everything. And now, without a twinge of conscience, I can pretend that I don’t understand anything about mobile phones or computers, and shift all the work of updating and installing to grown-up children and grandchildren.

Age allows you to relax and allow yourself to delegate part of the responsibility. You no longer have to cope with the moods of teenage children, endure their antics, organize weddings and so on. You can ask for help, you can pry. After all, now is the time for others to help you.

8. Your style

Svetlana, 59 years old: “I worked as a lawyer from my youth, I always wore heels and suits. And then – again high-heeled boots, short skirts, chemicals, hair curlers, cosmetics. I didn’t even go to the store without makeup – you have to be beautiful, suddenly the prince will meet. And now my prince has long turned into a gray-haired king, the children grew up, and I suddenly realized that I could afford to take off my heels and think about what I really want to wear.

The inevitable changes in the figure allow you to abandon the heels, neckline and other uncomfortable things. Get rid of stereotypes, turn to yourself, find your style. Attitude towards appearance is changing for the better, a woman maturely perceives the signs of age, becomes herself and wants to please others for who she is.

And even if you are still searching or starting a new life after a divorce, you still most likely will not return to crazy coloring and high heels if you really were uncomfortable with all this. After all, now you understand that those who love all this simply do not suit you, and those who suit you look deeper, and makeup and decollete are not important to them.

9. Sexy

Lyudmila, 64 years old: “After sixty, I felt that passion no longer fogs my head, that I can take sex soberly, I can choose and I know exactly what I want and what I will be pleased with.”

Sexuality changes with age. You are no longer chasing quantity, quality is important to you. You know exactly what you need, you know how to tell your partner about it.

“We are not afraid of age – we are afraid that you will not return time, so we need to live now”

Gurgen Khachaturian, psychotherapist

The concept of age goes further and further into the back rows due to the increase in life expectancy, the development of medicine and other sciences. And if quite recently in 60 years it was necessary to have time to unlearn school and babysit grandchildren, now (unfortunately, mostly only in megacities) you can even study, be in demand professionally or do what you always wanted, but never had enough time.

Of course, the sooner each of us comes to the understanding that we live only our own lives and bear the main responsibility for it, the more interesting and happier any age will be and we won’t have to wait for conditional aging to finally think about ourselves.

There is no better indicator of psychological well-being than the ability to relate yourself to your own age, then you don’t expect a teenager to be quick from your forties. And you appreciate every day not for the number of things done, but for the saturation, first of all, with positive emotions for yourself. And age is just a number, and there’s nothing you can do about it, life goes forward, not backward.

We are not afraid of age – we are afraid that you will not return time, so we need to live now. And, fortunately, at a certain point, there is still an understanding of what not to do, so that there is an opportunity to enjoy the present and remain confident that tomorrow will come.