By Julie E 
Photo Credit ( Greety Image )
Do you picture contented, calm, and at ease elderly people, or do you picture sulky, nervous, unsure, and depressed ones?
Research has consistently demonstrated that the contrary is true, which may surprise you if you typically believe the latter. Despite the negative effects of aging, older people are often happier than younger people. However, why?
Most individuals spend their entire lives pursuing happiness, which is loosely defined as a sense of fulfillment and pleasure. Ironically, the search for happiness tends to find fulfillment as one ages.
As you age, your physical health will probably deteriorate, but older people have an advantage in their mental health. The late 40s to early 50s are typically the most unhappy, stressful, anxious, and angry age groups. While enjoyment, contentment, and a sense of well-being tend to rise with age, anxiety, melancholy, tension, and anger tend to decrease. Research has consistently demonstrated that as people age, their mental health gradually improves. As you age, you may lose some of the things you value most, including your appearance, mental clarity, and physical stamina, but you may also discover that elusive trait called happiness.
Why, therefore, do people seem to be happier as they age? Several theories have been put forth by researchers to try to explain this phenomenon:
Compared to younger individuals, older adults are typically more emotionally stable, sympathetic, and better at controlling their emotions.
Older adults are better at resolving disagreements and have fewer arguments.
The positivity effect refers to the fact that they are more likely to remember pleasant memories than unpleasant ones. As a result, they see life more positively.
As people age, their brain physiology changes; research indicates that older adults are less sensitive to distressing imagery than younger ones.
Instead of looking for circumstances that will make them unhappy, older folks are more likely to seek out happy ones.
In addition to being better able to ignore their stressors and face life with more wisdom, older individuals are also typically better at handling loss and disappointment.
They frequently make goals to enhance their sense of well-being.
When older persons reflect on their life accomplishments, they frequently report feeling more satisfied with their lives.
People become more adept at living in the now and discovering fulfillment and significance in the “now” when they begin to acknowledge their own death.
Elderly folks have learned what is most important in life and strive to live their lives focusing on that instead of the irrelevant and inconsequential.
Younger people occasionally experience pressure to make the best choices and are under pressure from obligations related to their education, careers, interpersonal relationships, and finances. Peer pressure and the drive to compare themselves to others also have a greater detrimental effect on them. These risk factors for poor mental health are known to decrease with age.
People who are older tend to know themselves better and feel more at ease with their identities.
Life is easier for older people now than it was in the past because of advancements in technology and medicine, which make it possible to combat and minimize many of the issues related to aging.
Many elderly people want to make the most of their remaining years.
All of these point to a more positive picture of aging than you may have imagined, even though the majority of them are based on conjecture rather than concrete data.
Nonetheless, maintaining greater levels of happiness requires a positive outlook about aging. Negative attitudes about aging have been linked to shorter lifespans and lower levels of happiness as people age, according to research. There is no doubt that happiness contributes to your overall health.
Developing social ties is also beneficial.
Therefore, even though aging presents many difficulties, it’s encouraging to know that there are some positive surprises along the way!