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Via: defendernetwork.com

Turns out the stereotypical midlife crisis and ornery old senior citizen is just that –a stereotype. 

A host of studies in recent years have shown that people actually get happier as they age and that seniors may be happier than most.

This is because older adults tend to be more optimistic and to have a more positive outlook on life than their younger, stressed out counterparts, LiveScience reports.

Aging can also bring happiness as people become more comfortable with themselves and their role in society, a study published in 1989 by Walter R. Gove, professor of sociology, emeritus, at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.

“What seems to happen as people grow older, they gain a new perspective on things,” Daniel Carlat, a Newbury, Massachusetts-based psychiatrist told AOL Health. “Happiness is related to attitude and attitude is a skill people work on throughout their lives.”

Carlat, who is also an associate clinical professor at Tufts University, said one of the biggest worries and causes of depression in his younger patients is that their families, including spouses, children and parents are making the wrong decisions in life.

As people age, however, they often realize their worries were unfounded.

“Over time, as people live and watch their families grow, they see that the things they worried about didn’t come to pass,” Carlat said. “They may have worried that their kids were running with the wrong crowd, but then saw that they grew up, were able to raise a family of their own and that everything worked out fine. It’s the power of perspective.”

But while research indicates that many older adults have less stress and better attitudes than their younger counterparts, there are some downsides to aging.

With Aging Comes Illness

Fifty may be the new 30, but many older Americans do feel the sting of aging, especially in their bodies.

A June 2009 Pew Research Center survey of 2,969 adults found a sizable gap between the expectations that young and middle-aged adults have about old age and the actual experiences reported by older Americans themselves.

Some older adults responding to the survey reported experiencing fewer of the benefits of aging that the younger adults participating in the survey expected to enjoy when they grew old, such as spending more time with their family, traveling more for pleasure, having more time for hobbies, doing volunteer work or starting a second career.

Furthermore, about one-in-four respondents age 65 and older reported experiencing memory loss. About one-in-five said they have a serious illness, were not sexually active, or often felt sad or depressed. About one-in-six reported loneliness and trouble paying bills. One-in-seven couldn’t drive, and one-in-10 said they felt they either weren’t needed or that they were a burden on others.

But the Pew survey wasn’t all bad news. When asked about a wide range of potential benefits of old age, seven-in-ten respondents ages 65 and older said they were enjoying more time with their families. About two-thirds cited more time for hobbies, more financial security and not having to work. About six-in-10 said they got more respect and felt less stress than when they were younger. Just over half cited more time to travel and to do volunteer work.

The survey also found that you’re never too old to feel young. In fact, it found that the older people get, the younger they “feel.” Among 18 to 29 year-olds, about half said they feel their age, while about quarter say they felt older than their age and another quarter say they felt younger. By contrast, among adults 65 and older, 60 percent said they felt younger than their age, compared with 32 percent who say they felt exactly their age and just 3 percent who said they felt older than their age.

Among respondents ages 65 to 74, a third said they felt 10 to 19 years younger than their age, and one-in-six said they felt at least 20 years younger than their actual age.

Carlat said the aging conundrum, especially as it relates to illness once again has to do with attitude. He said that although medical advancements, especially in medications, were helping some older Americans gain relief from conditions like arthritis, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and bladder problems, many others are still suffering from chronic conditions.

“If medications are helping people live a more normal lifestyle, that’s definitely a piece of the puzzle to feeling happy,” he said. “And yet some people are suffering with chronic conditions related to aging, but they’re able to deal with that by adjusting their expectations of what life should be like.”

Aolhealth.com