F7: Perception Is Reality When It Comes To Age
Do you think much about aging? Further yet, do you think about yourself as an older person? What do you envision, both physically and cognitively? A new study tells us that how we perceive aging, as well as how we perceive our own cognition as we age, actually matters. The findings will have you thinking a bit differently about how you judge yourself and your mental capacity, because perception is reality, much more than we originally thought.
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F7: PERCEPTION IS REALITY WHEN IT COMES TO AGE
I REMEMBER THE DAY MY WIFE AND I WERE ENGAGED. IT WAS FALL IN VIRGINIA, AND WE WERE IN THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS STAYING IN A QUAINT RESORT MOUNTAIN HOME FOR THE WEEKEND. I HAD PREPARED FOR WEEKS FOR THIS MOMENT AND THE WEATHER WAS PERFECT. BOTH OF US WERE CAREER-DRIVEN, AND WE WERE VERY INDEPENDENT, EACH WAITING YEARS TO MAKE SURE THIS WAS THE RIGHT DECISION, SO I WAS CERTAIN IT WAS WHAT WE BOTH WANTED. I PROPOSED ON A TRAIL WHILE WE WERE HIKING, SHE SAID YES, AND EVERYTHING WAS WORKING OUT JUST RIGHT. THAT WAS, UNTIL WE ARRIVED AT THE MOUNTAIN RESTAURANT FOR DINNER…
SINCE IT WAS FALL, THE RESORT, WHICH IS PREDOMINANTLY A WINTER DESTINATION, WASN’T FULL…SO MOST OF THE PEOPLE AT THE RESORT, AND AT THE RESTAURANT THAT NIGHT, WERE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE…MOSTLY RETIREES… AND A FEW WERE WELL INTO RETIREMENT. WE SAT DOWN AT THE TABLE AND LOOKED AROUND. THE RESTAURANT WAS VERY QUIET AND A BIT OLD FASHIONED. WE COULDN’T HELP BUT FIXATE ON THE OLDER MARRIED COUPLES IN THEIR ORTHOPEDIC SHOES AND SWEATERS. AS WE WATCHED COUPLES QUIETLY NAVIGATE THEIR MEATLOAF, HEARING NOTHING BUT THE SOUNDS OF KNIVES AND FORKS AGAINST PLATES, THE REALITY OF THE LIFE-CHANGING, PERMANENT DECISION WE HAD MADE ONLY HOURS EARLIER HIT BOTH OF US HARD. WE LAUGHED ABOUT THE SITUATION AS WE ATE OUR MEAL, BUT DEEP DOWN, WHAT WE BOTH WERE STRUGGLING WITH WAS ALL OF THE STIGMAS AND FEARS OF AGING SUDDENLY STARING US SQUARELY IN THE FACE.
THIS IS A STORY ABOUT THE BELIEFS WE FORM WHEN WE’RE YOUNGER, AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO NOT LET STEREOTYPES AND STIGMA LEAD US TO BECOMING OLDER THAN WE ARE…
EPISODE
FOR YEARS, RESEARCHERS HAVE KNOWN THAT A PERSON’S EXPECTATIONS FOR THEIR OWN HEALTH AS THEY AGE IS A MAJOR PREDICTOR FOR FUTURE HEALTH OUTCOMES. FOR INSTANCE, IF SOMEONE EXPECTS A 50-YEAR-OLD TO HAVE A LARGE BEER BELLY, THEN IT’S MORE LIKELY THEY TOO WILL HAVE A LARGE BEER BELLY WHEN THEY’RE FIFTY.
IN A RECENT RESEARCH STUDY RELEASED IN SEPTEMBER OF THIS YEAR BY NIKKI HILL, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN THE ROSS AND CAROL NESE COLLEGE OF NURSING AT PENN STATE, SHE AND HER COLLEGUES FOUND THAT WE CAN NOW TAKE THIS FINDING ONE STEP FUTHER AS IT RELATES TO COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE.
WHAT THEY FOUND WAS THAT PEOPLE WHO HAD NEGATIVE EXPECTATIONS ABOUT AGING TENDED TO RATE THEIR OWN COGNITIVE HEALTH LOWER AS THEY AGED…EVEN IF THERE WAS NO COGNITIVE DECLINE…AND THAT PERCEPTION OF A DECLINE, PUT THEM AT A HIGHER RISK FOR DEVELOPING FUTURE COGNITIVE ISSUES.
SAID ANOTHER WAY, IF YOU EXPECT YOURSELF TO DECLINE MENTALLY BECAUSE YOU’RE AGING, YOU’RE PUTTING YOURSELF AT A HIGHER RISK FOR IT COMING TRUE.
AT THE CENTER OF THIS PHENOMENON IS AGING STEREOTYPES AND WHAT THEY CAN DO TO OUR PERCEPTIONS. AND WHILE STEREOTYPES OF AGING ARE ALL AROUND US, FROM THE ADS WE’RE SERVED TO THE MOVIES WE WATCH, THE DAMAGE THAT THESE STEREOTYPES ARE DOING CAN BE REVERSED WITH EDUCATION. AND THIS IS GOOD INFORMATION FOR CLINICIANS BECAUSE THEY CAN SHIFT THEIR FOCUS TO EDUCATION ON STEREOTYPES AND GROUNDING PATIENTS IN WHAT IS REAL, AND WHAT IS PERCEIVED, WHEN YOU AGE.
I’M NOT THAT OLD, BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE OLD. AS MY WIFE-TO-BE AND I SAT IN THAT DINING ROOM RIGHT AFTER OUR ENGAGEMENT, I DOUBT THERE WERE VERY MANY OLDER, SLOW PEOPLE IN THAT DINING ROOM…IN FACT, I BET IT AMOUNTED TO TWO OLDER COUPLES TOTAL…BUT WE SUCCUMBED TO A CONFIRMATION BIAS…WE WERE BOTH SLIGHTLY AFRAID OF THE BIG STEP INTO ADULTHOOD WE WERE ABOUT TO MAKE… WE SAW WHAT OUR FEARS ALLOWED US TO SEE, AND IT WAS FUELED BY OUR STEREOTYPES.
AND I GUESS IT MAKES SENSE.
BUT, WHAT I DIDN’T REALIZE IS THAT OUR FRIGHTENED YOUNGER SELVES WERE PROBABLY MAKING OUR OLDER SELVES LESS EQUIPED TO HANDLE THE REALITIES OF AGING…WHICH ARE ONLY AS DRAMATIC AS WE ALLOW THEM TO BE.
WE’VE ALL BEEN AROUND OLDER PEOPLE WHO ACT…WELL, OLD, AND OTHERS THAT ARE INCREDIBLY STUBBORN ABOUT BEING LOOKED AT OR TALKED TO LIKE THEY’RE OLD. I WANT TO BE THE LATTER, AND THIS INFORMATION CONFIRMS THAT’S THE RIGHT CHOICE.
MY BIG TAKEAWAY IS OPTIMISM. PERCEPTION IS REALITY. MINDSET IS POWERFUL. EMBRACE YOUR AGE, WHATEVER NUMBER IT IS…BUT DON’T FORGET THAT YOU’RE ONLY AGING AS FAST AS YOUR EXPECTATIONS…AND MOST LIKELY, YOU’RE NOT DECLINING IF YOU’VE HAVEN’T LET YOURSELF BELIEVE YOU ARE.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13607863.2024.2399080#abstract
https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/can-positive-outlook-aging-lead-better-cognitive-performance