Do you feel old?

Health and fitness have a lot to do with not feeling old - but I also think it matters how much you have and have had to cope with over the years. A close friend of more than 50 years standing says she still feels 18 on the inside! However, she and her husband are both fit and healthy; they have good relationships with their 4 children/spouses and grandchildren who all live/work nearby, and they are financially worry-free with many opportunities to travel and enjoy their retirement.
How different from another mutual friend of ours + spouse of the same age. This friend had to retire far too early, which had a huge impact on their finances; and now receives 24 hour care from spouse and paid carers following a major illness in the new area they had retired to only a year previously. They have no children, and close family members still alive live in Australia.
We can do very little living a long distance away but try to keep in touch regularly, send small presents to both on occasion so they know they are not forgotten, and visit when possible. This is a light hearted thread - and good for all of you who have contributed to the fun - we all need it! - but this has taught me that those of us who are lucky enough still to enjoy life must not forget those who find it more difficult to do so, for whatever reason

I feel the same inside as I did when I was young and am in quite good health at 68. However, everything that could possibly go wrong with my physical appearance has done so!
Hair loss, teeth loss and now awful skin. Purpledaffodil I would have killed for hair like yours in that pic when I was young

We were lucky, of course, with fresh milk in 1/3 pint bottles at school every morning, and vitamin tablets. I remember little orange flavour ones, vitamin C I think. This must have laid the foundation for our youthful looks and good health (compared with previous generations anyway). Now I hear complaints that there are too many of us baby boomers, we're living too long and using the NHS too much! Well, I've paid in and intend carrying on as long as I can and meanwhile looking as beautiful as I can!

I quite like being 70, although I don't think about it in a negative way. Fingers crossed xxx I am reasonably healthy, I am a therapeutic counsellor and still see clients and do some supervision on a part-time basis. I have two children and four grandchildren. When I stopped working full-time I joined the gym and go to aquarobic and Pilates three times a week. I made loads of new friends and we often go out to lunch together. I joined the W.I. and made a new set of friends and aquaintances and again got involved with lots of outings, curry club etc. Best of all I still have my brilliant husband who also works on a semi-retired basis and he is my best friend. I consider myself truly blessed and I feel at this time in my life I can just enjoy doing whatever I want. We will never be remotely wealthy, we live simply, love our garden and are grateful for every day we have together. My next thing will be to study philosophy. One lifetime is never enough to cover all the things we would like to do.

Hit 70 end of last year and still feel young but the body is now saying differently. I am not going to say 70 anymore just 69 plus 1.

I can only really answer this by first asking what is old and how is one supposed to feel? I say this as someone who is so fortunate at the moment with health but realise this could go pearshaped at any moment. One can feel old simply by being one degree under or by watching their offspring making foolish decisions or by various other daily events. At the end of the day I think it is mostly a state of mind tempered with personal circumstances, of course. I'm so glad still to be here that I honestly don't think about it.

I'm 62 & DGS1 says I'm old (yes I feel old when everything aches, other days I feel like a spring lamb) but Granny (my DM) is really old, she's 89 Some days I look in the mirror & think how old I look but it's better being old than the alternative

As said earlier good health and fitness help you to feel younger. Since being diagnosed with back problems that affect my spine, legs and feet I cannot get about very well even with my walking stick. Also lost a couple of inches in height-now 4' 10", so feel very much a little old lady even tho I ve only turned 60 last year and family and friends tell me I don't look it! On a bad day I can get quite upset at seeing much older ladies dashing around ! Sometimes think I'd be a bit more mobile in a wheel chair. Upside is that I have found lots of people who are kind to a 'little old lady' !

Talking to my doctor recently she described old age as frailty rather than a number. I thought that was a good way of looking at it. Some 65 years olds are elderly in their lifestyle and outlook and some 85 year olds are sprightly as spring chickens

The arthritis makes me feel old, and being called "love" by strangers, and seeing the new wrinkles on my daughter.....my age always comes as a shock, because the past is still so, so clear.

On a good day I'm a spring chicken. On a bad one I'm an old crone.

DH and I went to the GP yesterday and he told us how fit we are for our age and how little we have wrong with us! At our last visit he told us we couldn't join any of the fitness classes for older people because we are too fit! Came home and thought about it and added it to my list of things to be grateful for.

To answer the question, no I don't feel old although I think my ACs think I am but they are only looking at the numbers. When we do energetic things they don't give our age any thought at all.

Age is but a number until I see the vast array of fashion available that I haven't a cat in hells chance of wearing. Unless I am happy to look mutton dressed as lamb

Health and fitness has a big influence on how 'old' we feel. I'm 67, but my brain still thinks I'm 17. I'm usually very fit and active but because of Asthma and recurring chest infections I feel more like 97 right now! Not being able to get a doctors appointment for two weeks has not helped. Hopefully I will soon be dancing to 60s pop music and chasing the dog around the garden again soon.

I'm lucky, at 73, to be physically fit and not on any medication at all, no aches, pains or ops. Since I decided to cut down my coffee intake from 5 to 1 cup a day and drink a minimum of 6 tumblers of plain water, I've noticed a distinct difference in my skin being more plumped up and brighter plus a general feeling of 'wellness'.
No I don't feel my age but nor do I feel 25. I'm happy to be the age I am.

Fascinating topic/posts. I am 74 next month but I rarely think about my own ageing. I am fit and in good health though I don't think this is due to luck – siblings and parents are/were less healthy at this age.

I don't take medicines without checking their effectiveness and side effects. I think that the medical profession is too quick to hand out (free) prescriptions to older people who then obediently take them plus all the extra ones to cure the side effects!. Eg I refused statins in favour of porridge – Google it if you're interested. I take vitamins and fish oil every now and then.

I went camping (in a tent) last weekend to be with some slightly younger friends. I will be going to France this summer on my small motorbike (test passed at 55) and tenting again then – hopefully in warmer weather! I enjoy hiking (5 to 15 miles) here or abroad. I think I'm actually more active than I was in my 20s and 30s. On travels, every other day is salad day! I don't eat much fried or smoked food.

I sometimes get pains which I think are arthritis but I have manage to cure these by stretches which I found on the internet. The body is a self-healing thing and I try not to take painkillers or anti-inflammatories. It takes longer but I feel it's healthier.

Whenever possible I leave my car at home and travel on public transport. I swim 3 times a week (free in my Borough but for how long?). I try to 'bustle' everywhere.

But I think it's really all in the mind. It's so sad to see my contemporaries seizing up and refusing to do what they used to – even if little physical effort is involved.

I think we should do as some posters have advised – take up new things. I have just read that they have discovered that the brain IS capable of making new neurons if required. Competition swimming is my next endeavour as the competitors of my age have mostly given up and I've never won a cup or medal – yet

I am minded of a quote: “the person I see in the mirror looks good but is not me”.

I'll be 77 tomorrow and while I don't feel that age most days. When it's wet and cold and my knees hurt I remember I'm not 46 any more and can't run and jump and climb like I could when I was younger. But I don't know how I got to be this age. As a birthday card reminded me, I'll never be this young again.

It always gives me a shock when I realise my age. I keep thinking I am ten years younger and in my head feel no different to my youth. This last gloomy winter has made me slow down a bit and I am feeling pains in my knees and hips again which had eased when I lost nearly three stone two years ago. ( Kept it off until this Christmas and have put on about 10 pounds since then so that probably isn’t helping.)

Feeling old seems to me to be dependent upon who is around you. My hubby is 10 years older than I am and now at 68, he has made me feel very old as I am expected to fit in with his sedentary lifestyle - someone on a thread about a week ago coined the term 'joysucker' and this is a great one to describe him. However, when I am out of the house, meeting friends, and doing my volunteering work for a large organisation, I feel and act as though I'm 20 years younger, and more to the point, when people find out I'm knocking on 70 they're genuinely amazed - especially those in their 20s and 30s who think that 70 is literally the one-foot-in the grave decade. So while I do appreciate I am heavier than I used to be and that my skin sags in places I don't want it to, I still colour my hair as I have done for most of my life, I still use mascara, and I try not to get dragged into that pit of old age that my DH would like me to drop into.

I will be 68 this year and can't believe it I still feel like a 30 something at heart.
The years seem to have fled by since my early 40s when my first DGC was born and he is 26 now
Appearance wise I don't think I look my age I have good skin and still have my waist length hair and my fashion sense has not changed in years I am still fond of my jeans and leather jacket.

I'm 63 and don't feel old unless my hip or knees play up. However, when I see young girls in the latest fashions such as very ripped jeans, really thick eyebrows and tattoos, etc that makes me feel old as I can't imagine any of these styles for myself.

Happy birthday for tomorrow nipsmum. Have lovely day

Yesterday, taking DD’s dog for a walk, I got chatting to an eldely couple with a spaniel. Telling DD about it afterwards, she said yes I know them, they’re X’s parents, they are about the same age as you. Oh dear.

I am my own worst enemy. I adore "nothing days" when I can completely please myself and have no plans. I can watch films, catch up with emails, do a bit of painting, read and be generally slothful because I am not needed for anything. (I do mind the GC and get out and about with partner, but we tend to drive everywhere. It's bliss being slothful after an extremely busy working life as a single parent. I did everything alone and was always completely shattered at the end of the day. There was no time for idle pleasures, no 'me time' really.

Now I have that time, the children have grown and I'm retired. However, I cannot help thinking that this will be my life later on, in a home, maybe, sitting in an armchair, passing the day with reading etc, because I am no longer very mobile.

It's a double edged sword really. I need to keep my fitness as some days I feel decidedly stiff climbing stairs or going down them. That is a new thing and I remember my old Mum doing the same - holding on to railings and taking stairs slowly when she was in her 80s. She was very, very active in her 60s, walking to the shops every day and carrying back shopping. (I am early 60s.)

It's a reminder to me that although I love retirement and the release from pressures it gives me, I must still keep active. Use it or lose it. In my head I am 25, but my body is slowing down.

And I think I may get rid of my magnifying mirrors. Horrible, mean things! Plucking my eyebrows the other day I saw my lined and saggy-skinned eyelids. And where did those crows feet come from???

GrannyPaulinewhat an inspiring post. Well done you!

I used to love outward bound type pursuits in my 40s and early 50s, (abseiling, kayaking, orienteering etc ) then I was felled by lots of serious illnesses one after the other and now seem unable (or unwilling?) to get back those years spent recovering when I lost my fitness - and my mojo.

I am 78 and feel in my mind as if I am 35 - in spite of a few (not many - I'm lucky) health issues. Sar53 - if you have vertigo, which is truly horrible - you may have BPPV (Benign Positional Paroximal Vertigo - I hope I've got that right, but they often just use the abbreviation) And BPPV can be cured for 80% of suffers, for ever, by the Epley Manoeuvre, which takes about 4 minutes or less. Others need to use the Epley Manoeuvre again from time to time, but it is such a relief to know there is help available for this particular vertigo. Ask your doctor if you think this may be relevant to you.