Prejudices about aging are harmful

l’daily ageism it is none other than the set of negative prejudices related toaging. It is very harmful to health. Aging is always undesirable and the elderly are a burden. These are real forms of microaggression.

Such micro-aggressions have negative effects and those who suffer from them are at greater risk of suffering from Health issues. The researchers analyzed 2,035 Americans between the ages of 50 and 80. 93% faced negative prejudices about aging. They then compared their exposure to negative biases about aging and their health outcomes. As a result, those exposed to forms of everyday ageism have more health problems. The latter are: general physical health, general mental health, numerous chronic conditions and depression.

These are the words about the investigation:

Such a study cannot say for sure whether age discrimination is actually the cause of the health problems. But it’s in line with the work of research pioneer Becca Levy of the Yale School of Public Health, whose experiments suggest that beliefs about aging have a direct impact on individuals’ well-being. Levy’s team took older people into the lab and subliminally exposed them to positive and negative stereotypes about aging, then tested their performance on various tasks. They found that negative stereotypes increase blood pressure and deteriorate performance on memory tests, while absorbing positive messages about aging improves physical strength, balance, walking speed and the will to live. Messages about aging infiltrate people’s minds and bodies in different ways. For example, Levy found that people with positive ideas about aging tend to eat healthier and have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Aging is therefore a physical decline, but also a growth. Recognizing this would be good for both the elderly and the young.