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Ageing & Growing Old

Are you growing older?

  • Yes, I am

    Votes: 82 61.7%

  • No, I'm getting younger

    Votes: 28 21.1%

  • Sorry, I don't understand the question

    Votes: 16 12.0%

  • I'm a Mod; I think adding silly polls to chat threads is pointless

    Votes: 7 5.3%
  • Total voters
    133
Looks pretty good for 111.
 
Dying is 'more pleasant than you might imagine', say scientists
Adam Boult
6 June 2017 • 4:41pm

The prospect of our own inevitable death is something that fills most of us with fear.
However, according to new research, people who [are] closest to death experience far more positive emotions than one might expect.

“When we imagine our emotions as we approach death, we think mostly of sadness and terror,” said researcher Kurt Gray of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “But it turns out, dying is less sad and terrifying — and happier — than you think.”

Professor Gray and colleagues, whose research is published in the journal Psychological Science, looked at blogposts written by terminally ill patients with cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and the last words of prisoners on death row.

These were compared with a selection of blog posts and 'last words' contributed by volunteers who were asked to image they were in the same situation.
They found that, the closer people were to death, the more positive words they tended to use.

Both the terminally ill patients and the prisoners facing execution appeared to focus more on things such religion and family, which researchers suggested might help quell anxiety about approaching death.

“Humans are incredibly adaptive – both physically and emotionally—and we go about our daily lives whether we’re dying or not,” said Professor Gray.
“In our imagination, dying is lonely and meaningless, but the final blog posts of terminally ill patients and the last words of death row inmates are filled with love, social connection, and meaning.”

“Currently, the medical system is geared toward avoiding death—an avoidance that is often motivated by views of death as terrible and tragic,” the researchers write.
“This focus is understandable given cultural narratives of death’s negativity, but our results suggest that death is more positive than people expect: Meeting the grim reaper may not be as grim as it seems.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/mind/dying-pleasant-might-imagine-say-scientists/

Oh, I'll look forward to that, then! :)

So Dylan Thomas got it wrong?

"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
 
rynner2 said:
Dying is 'more pleasant than you might imagine', say scientists
Adam Boult
6 June 2017 • 4:41pm

The prospect of our own inevitable death is something that fills most of us with fear.
However, according to new research, people who [are] closest to death experience far more positive emotions than one might expect.

“When we imagine our emotions as we approach death, we think mostly of sadness and terror,” said researcher Kurt Gray of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “But it turns out, dying is less sad and terrifying — and happier — than you think.”

Professor Gray and colleagues, whose research is published in the journal Psychological Science, looked at blogposts written by terminally ill patients with cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and the last words of prisoners on death row.

These were compared with a selection of blog posts and 'last words' contributed by volunteers who were asked to image they were in the same situation.
They found that, the closer people were to death, the more positive words they tended to use.

Both the terminally ill patients and the prisoners facing execution appeared to focus more on things such religion and family, which researchers suggested might help quell anxiety about approaching death.

“Humans are incredibly adaptive – both physically and emotionally—and we go about our daily lives whether we’re dying or not,” said Professor Gray.
“In our imagination, dying is lonely and meaningless, but the final blog posts of terminally ill patients and the last words of death row inmates are filled with love, social connection, and meaning.”

“Currently, the medical system is geared toward avoiding death—an avoidance that is often motivated by views of death as terrible and tragic,” the researchers write.
“This focus is understandable given cultural narratives of death’s negativity, but our results suggest that death is more positive than people expect: Meeting the grim reaper may not be as grim as it seems.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/mind/dying-pleasant-might-imagine-say-scientists/

Oh, I'll look forward to that, then! :)

So Dylan Thomas got it wrong?

"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
Click to expand...

I will rage for every last breath!
 
Sure, perhaps most people are able to stay sane until right before the death moment, but then?
 
Vardoger said:
Sure, perhaps most people are able to stay sane until right before the death moment, but then?
Click to expand...

Exactly ... The study seems to address people who know that death is inevitable, but it doesn't seem to focus on those for whom death is immediately imminent.
 
I don't think rage is an appropriate or natural response. What good will it do?

Acceptance of what is happening to you in old age is the only sensible response. I'm at that stage now - none of the medical problems I have will get better if I 'rage' at them. It's just nature taking its course.

Those of you who think rage is appropriate will probably change your opinions as you get older. Otherwise your old age and subsequent death will just be a very bitter experience.

Remember that Dylan Thomas was writing about his father's death. Dylan didn't want him to die, but that didn't necessarily reflect his father's view on the matter. His father, like most other old folks, probably accepted the inevitable, and therefore died peacefully.

As I hope I will.
 
Coal said:
True. Needed to remove the all too attractive distraction that is 'this place' for a bit.
Click to expand...

A pity you missed how we definitely found out that Bigfoot was the ghost of Abraham Lincoln and that Justin Case's Loch Ness Monster photo was actually an alien Kraken.

But those posts were deleted by the Illuminati. In an alternative universe.

I'm a liar.
 
rynner2 said:
I don't think rage is an appropriate or natural response. What good will it do?

Acceptance of what is happening to you in old age is the only sensible response. I'm at that stage now - none of the medical problems I have will get better if I 'rage' at them. It's just nature taking its course.
Click to expand...

Zen.

Think of all the billions of human beings who have died before you.
 
Some hipster sounding types visit a 102 year old woman and show her film of her dancing in the 40's .. I've got mixed feelings about this, on one hand I think she already remembers, was probably a bit tired that day anyway and then had to put up with well meaning but patronising kids .. on the other hand though, she does manage a few smiles in this vid ... she was a very attractive looking woman in her day though ! .. Miss Barker, they missed out the middle R in her name all the time she says ..

 
Adrian McKinty‏Verified account@adrianmckinty Jun 9
I’m not saying The Daily Telegraph skews to an older demographic but this is their health & fitness section

DB1s-KbVYAAE_va.jpg
 
MEET THE 89-YEAR-OLD REINVENTING THE TRAIN IN HIS BACKYARD

ON A CLEAR, sunny day at a vineyard in the northern California town of Ukiah, a most unusual train chugs through a field of barely budding syrah grapes. Well, it doesn't chug so much as whoosh because this train—actually, a one-sixth scale train—doesn't rely upon a diesel engine or electricity to get around. It uses vacuum power and heavy duty magnets.

The 89-year-old man who built it believes it could change how the world moves.

That man is Max Schlienger, an accomplished engineer who owns the vineyard and leads his family-run company Flight Rail Corp. Its sole product, the “Vectorr” system, uses a propulsion method like no other: Between the rails lies a PVC pipe, 12 inches in diameter, connected to a pump that can draw all of the air out of the pipe or fill it. Within the pipe you'll find something Schlienger calls a thrust carriage, which is connected to the train with powerful magnets. This carriage is about the size and shape of a large watermelon and moves back and forth through the pipe under vacuum power, bringing the train with it. ...

https://www.wired.com/story/flight-rail-vectorr-atmospheric-railway-train?mbid=social_twitter


 
One of UK's longest-married couples celebrate anniversary

_96536763_80anniversary.jpg

PHOTO: Peter Rhys Williams

One of Britain's longest married couples have been reunited to enjoy their 80th wedding anniversary.
Ken Harris, 102, celebrated with wife Margaret, 99, after being parted for the first time since the war.
Mr Harris feared he would never again see his beloved wife after he went into hospital with a broken hip.

But the couple, who were married in 1937, have been reunited again at a nursing home in Llangynidr, near Crickhowell, in Powys.
"They hold hands every day now because of the memory of being separated in the war," said daughter-in-law Pat Harris, 75.

Mr Harris, who has carried a photograph of their wedding day in his wallet since, was deployed to Burma in World War Two with the South Wales Borderers.
The couple from Llanhilleth, near Newbridge, who have two children, Alan and Ann, have spent every day together since.
That was until Mrs Harris was moved into a care home after being diagnosed with dementia.

The former butcher was then admitted to hospital after breaking his hip in a fall just six weeks before their 80th anniversary and believed it would be the last time he would see his wife.
But after spending a month in hospital, Mr Harris was given the all clear to leave and was found a room in the same care home as his wife in the Brecon Beacons.

"Ken went to war and Margaret stayed home working as a doctor's secretary but he always had her photo in his wallet," added Mrs Harris.
"When Ken went into hospital he didn't think he would ever see her again. It is so fortunate that a room became available at Margaret's home.
"It has been a real battle trying to keep them together. Ken gave his life for his country and he deserves to be able to be with his wife.
"They are a very loving couple and we are so proud to have celebrated their 80th anniversary with them."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-40312767
 
Wasn't at all bothered till The Tide is High was on the radio today made a comment about geriatric
pop stars only to be told "You are the same age" did the maths and I am 2 years younger
but she is 72 serves me right foe taking the piss out of Blondi.
 
'They sent a motorbike courier at 11pm': how elderly people fall for bank scams
Sam Meadows
4 July 2017 • 6:46am

When Ian Price handed over his bank cards, pin, and all the cash he had to a motorbike-riding courier in the dead of night he thought that he was acting on instructions from the police.

In fact, he was one of an estimated half a million over‑65s who have fallen victim to scammers. More than half of all pensioners have been targeted by fraudsters, according to research by Age UK, the charity, so being aware of scammers is more important than ever.

Mr Price, 89, was phoned by someone purporting to be a police officer. The caller told him that he had been monitoring his bank accounts and had noticed some suspicious activity. The “officer” would send a courier, he said, to collect his bank cards for his own protection. The clincher for Mr Price was the scammer’s claim that he could hang up and dial 999 if he was unsure.

He did so, but the fraudster was relying on a little-known quirk of the telephone system that allows a caller to “tie up” your line for a few minutes if they remain on the line after you have put the phone down. This meant that when Mr Price dialled 999 immediately, he was reconnected to the scammer (BT said lines were now tied up for no more than 10 seconds).

Reassured, Mr Price handed his cards and pin to the courier – who arrived at 11pm – thinking that he was doing the right thing. Instead, the scammers ransacked his accounts.

etc...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/co...-courier-11pm-elderly-people-fall-bank-scams/

Aargh!! This resonates with me, as only today I got a potentially Phishing email, but as far as I can tell at present it hasn't done me any harm. But I feel less secure in the online world now than I used to. Just phoning my ISP to check up on things was very stressful, and I'm still not totally convinced everything is OK.

Take my advice and buy yourself a gun, then you can shoot yourself before you get too old! :twisted:
 
A veteran of the Normandy landings has been awarded France's highest honour for his role in helping to liberate the country from German occupation.

Irvine Rae, 93, was due to be presented with the National Order of the Legion of Honour at Edinburgh Castle in January with nine other men who took part in the D-Day landings in France.

However, the Fife veteran was unable to attend due to a broken hip.

So, the French Consulate rearranged a special presentation ceremony for him.

He received the honour at Leuchars military base in Fife on Thursday.

_96840888_pic2.jpg
Image copyrightFERGUS MUTCH
Emmanuel Cocher, the French consul general in Scotland, presented Mr Rae with the award.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-40530570

Sgt Rae is looking good for 93.
 
108-year-old Irish woman says she’s only visited a doctor’s once
July 08, 2017 07:57 AM


A County Antrim woman who just celebrated her 108th birthday says she has only visited a doctor once in her entire lifetime. Born in 1909, Maud Nicholl celebrated here latest birthday early this month surrounded by friends and family in Ballymena.

Maud, one of the oldest people in Northern Ireland, has seen four kings and one queen on the throne, 26 different British Prime Ministers and nine Presidents of Ireland.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Maud said: "I don't feel my age in the slightest, in fact I have never felt my age.

"I have never had any illnesses. I went to see the doctor once and I had to get an antibiotic, but that was all.

"When I see other people, younger than me and I see how they are, I know how lucky I am.

"I have a great appetite and I can eat anything. I don't think I ever missed a meal.

"My father loved to grow vegetables, we had a garden full of vegetables so we never went short. When I was growing up where I lived was the countryside and I loved to go for long walks in the fresh air. ...

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/1...-visited-a-doctor-s-once#.WWN15lmI8UE.twitter
 
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