Do you increasingly experience or notice ageism toward older individuals across domains of life, ranging from social to work settings or from media to institutions? This is ageism..Some attitudes toward ageing have major impact on people’s health (e.g., poorer physical and mental health), well-being (e.g., reduced quality of life and increased social isolation and loneliness) Yet, there is a neglected aspect of ageism that many of us may not hear as much, and that is the significance of Self Directed Ageism.
Self-directed ageism
In other words, the negative attitudes and subsequent behaviours we have toward our own selves due to our you may have heard or said at least something like “I’m too old for this!” and wanted to, or actually did stop whatever it was.
Next time, you may want to reconsider relying on such feelings.!
Although self-directed ageism may be less visible in our daily lives and receive less scholarly investigation, it actually is an integral part of the definition of ageism. In the Global Report on Ageism (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021, p.2) from March, 2021 by UN and WHO, ageism was defined as: “the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) directed toward people on the basis of their age. It can be institutional, interpersonal or self-directed”. We can see , from the definition , that ageism is multifaceted and can appear in different contexts from the external community and in our own mindset and our personal lives.
Research shows that holding positive attitudes toward ageing, relates to positive outcomes such as better physical health, affect and cognitive functioning as we age
The more we understand why we may be feeling or acting in a certain way, the more likely it gets to alter our views to better embrace ourselves and others as we age.
The three main attitudes towards self-directed ageism are;
- Psychological growth. Attitudes toward having gains in old age in relation to the self and others, such as gaining wisdom
- Psychosocial loss, which relates to the attitudes toward having reduced participation in society and loneliness.
- Physical change. Physical change is a natural part of ageing. However, higher levels of openness to experience predicted more positive attitudes toward physical change. Since openness to experience is characterized by flexibility and curiosity.
Maintaining a good physical and mental health
As much as we can throughout our life in developing a positive relationship with our own ageing processes. What can we do to maintain a healthy attitude towards ageing? We can decide to take individual responsibility by;
Trying to identify ways to manage our negative emotions;
By being more open to experience and being involved in diverse activities life brings to us; such as learning, travel, connection with others, finding a purpose
By keeping a physically and mentally active life despite the sedentary lifestyle that the current world pushes upon us.
It’s never too late…
See you on the mat,
Lisa x
