Why People Fear Old Age essays

Why People Fear Old Age essays In todays society every one wants to look young and attractive. We want to be able to stay independent, and in touch with modern times. Old age has become a social problem in our time. The reality of getting older is manifested through stereotypes and myths. Common stereotypes of aging view the old as out to the pasture, over the hill, and all washed up. We want to be able to stay youthful and enjoy life to its fullest. No matter what lengths we go to, to stay young, there will always be that fear in the back of our minds of getting old. Because of this we often look at aging as a negative perception. We fear the mental and physical decline. The thought of not remembering our past or even friends and families is scary, what is there to like about forget all the wonderful memories that took us so long to accumulate. And then theres the fear of physical decline, knowing that we risk the chance of not being as youthful as we would like to be. Missing out on all the fun of playing with the grandchildren, taking long walks at night or even those bike rides that we once enjoyed. The thought loneliness, being unwanted, or becoming a burden and dependent upon our friends and family members is another reason we fear getting old. It seems like when we get older our friends tend to diminish and our interests seem to clash with the younger generation, so they stop coming around as much. Then theres the thought of having to rely on other people to help us in our daily activities. The last thing we want is for someone to have to take care of us, and loosing our independence. No more being able to jump in the car and go to the store or friends houses. Finally theres the thought of disease and death, which people state are their biggest fears or old age. Who wants to think about all the health problems we will have to look forward to and all the doctors visits and pills that accompany these pr ...